This week the Isle of Man Arts Council announced that six students were chosen as recipients of their annual student bursaries for 2024/25.

Awarded to students moving into or currently in further or higher education within the arts, the bursaries are each worth £10,000 over the duration of a course.

The Awards are named in memory of former Isle of Man Arts Council members, music promoter Jonathan Gollow and artist Norman Sayle, and are awarded annually.

The Jonathan Gollow Awards for Performing Arts are awarded to Abbigail Radcliffe, who will be attending the University of Huddersfield to study for a BMus (Hons) Music degree and to Ophelia Watts, who will be undertaking a BA (Hons) in Music at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge.

The Norman Sayle Awards for Visual Art and Literature are awarded to Ealish-Grace Royle, who will be studying a semester abroad in Australia during her second year of a BA (Hons) in English Studies and Climate Change at Aberystwyth University, and to Ntshila Lubilanji who will be studying for a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.

The Isle of Man Arts Council Awards are awarded to Liam Behan who will be studying for a diploma in Musical Theatre at the London School of Musical Theatre, and to Katie Hepworth who will be attending De Montfort University in Leicester to study for a BA (Hons) in Design Crafts.

Chair of the Isle of Man Arts Council, Sarah Maltby MHK, commented: ‘The Isle of Man Arts Council is proud to support these exceptionally talented students as they advance their studies within the arts.

‘The high quality of applications received made the Council’s decisions very challenging. On behalf of the Isle of Man Arts Council and the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, our sponsoring department, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of the recipients and wish them success in their chosen fields as the new academic year begins.’

Talking about the creative scene on the island and her plans for the future, Ealish-Grace Royle remarked: ‘I think that there’s this stereotype that if you choose a creative degree then you’re going to end up with no job, but it doesn’t actually have to be true.

‘On the Isle of Man especially we have awards like this one and there are so many creative opportunities on the island that a lot of people don’t have elsewhere, and young creatives should absolutely take advantage of that.’

Ophelia Watts added: ‘The opportunity to be surrounded by so much music and so many like-minded people is amazing. Cambridge is a great city for choral music. I think the opportunities to make music on such a high level will be brilliant.’

When asked what being chosen for the Isle of Man Arts Council Award meant to him, Liam Behan said: ‘Honestly, this award will change my life!’