Timaru North Rotary Art Scholarship

An annual art scholarship fund has been established by the Rotary Club of Timaru North, to help with tertiary education costs for 17-25 year-old students studying arts. They must be NZ citizens living in South Canterbury at the time of application.

The fund was kicked-started in 2017 with a donation of art work by artist, Clark Esplin - one having been raffled and others auctioned during November 2017, Another collection of prominent works also went under the hammer.

This project was initiated by a club committee led by Past President Harley Smithson, with support from Rose Waldron of the Saffron Gallery.

Donations to the fund and future fundraisers are highly welcomed.

$2500 is now allocated each year. Upon agreement, this can be used towards course fees and related material costs incurred during the year.

The successful applicant must be prepared to report formally to the club and agree to publicity.

Application criteria can be downloaded here:

Applications close 5:00pm 27th January 2024, and will be considered by our club committee.

Past recipients:

  • 2022: Kate Gard – studying towards a Batchelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. Kate would like to pursue a career in Graphic Design.
  • 2021: Brooke Dwyer – studying towards a Batchelor in Performing Arts at Whitireia Polytechnic. Brooke would like become a musical theatre performer and eventually open her own performing Arts studio. Brooke studied at Geraldine High School and was the 2020 Geraldine High School Arts Leader as well as the recipient of a Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership award. She also won a range of drama, music and performing arts awards while at school.
  • 2020: Benjamin Donaldson – studying towards a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts at Unitec. Benjamin has already completed a Level 5 Certificate of Digital Photography at Aoraki Polytecnic before starting a qualification aimed at moving into the film industry and developing his own studio.
  • 2019: Emily Bell - studying towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Otago Polytechnic, having won a wide range of Timaru Girls High School awards and endorsements for arts, graphics and enterprise, and was 2018 Deputy Head Girl.
  • 2018: Isabel Whitticase - studying towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, and wanting to work as an animator or storyboard artist. In August 2018 she received the South Canterbury Arts Society Prize at Artarama for a digital piece combining a photo and drawings.