Emerge 2026 Recipients Announced!

We're delighted to announce the recipients of our 2026 Emerge bursary as Sonah Chaudhry and Trinity Coombs. We are now open to applications for mentors to work with the artists - read on for details.

• Sonah Chaudhry (@sonah_chaudhry_jewellery) is a Scotland-based jewellery artist whose practice explores the intersections of heritage, identity, and material longevity. Drawing on their Scottish and Pakistani roots, they merge historiographical and sculptural methodologies to create pieces that serve as wearable narratives and acts of repair. Working predominantly in recycled silver—and aspiring to ethically sourced gold—they craft jewellery through techniques such as stitched-metal surfaces to evoke healing, cultural convergence, and the layered legacies of craft labour.

  Their work reflects on the histories of Partition and Mughal craft architecture. Through each piece, they invite wearers and audiences to engage with a dual encounter: immediate visual allure followed by deeper narrative resonance. With the support of the Emerge Programme, they plan to expand their practice into new materials and collaborative research, advancing their vision of jewellery as both art and active archive.
  
  
• Trinity Coombs graduated this year from the City of Glasgow Collage, studying BA photography. Trinity's art blends landscape, editorial, and documentary style photography, with storytelling at its core whether capturing the details of a place or intimate moments with a subject. She enjoys merging approaches and letting narratives guide her images. 'Photography is my way of exploring the land, understanding people, and connecting with their sense of belonging. I enjoy developing large-scale projects and immersing myself in the stories they tell.' Trinity is eager to continue growing creatively and would value working with a mentor who can challenge her and help expand both technical skills and creative possibilities within photography.

For 2026, Upland is offering two Emerge Artists Bursaries for emerging artists and makers originally from or with a connection to Dumfries and Galloway. Upland will offer a mentoring programme with an established practitioner in a related discipline, £1000 to fund the creation of new work, and funded and automatic entry into Spring Fling 2026. The programme is aimed at emerging artists/ makers who intend to pursue a career as a professional artist / maker. Emerge aims to provide support which will enable the participants to develop both creatively and professionally providing a steppingstone between education and a career in the arts.

Emerge 2025 is funded by the The Holywood Trust and Creative Scotland.

We are looking for mentors from the Upland Membership to join the programme, which will run from January to August 2026, with an initial meeting to take place in January. We're looking for at least two established artists/ makers, who have creative and business experience to share. Emerge artists will have a total of 8 days mentoring. Please note that sometimes we contract more than one mentor, therefore splitting the allocated days. The daily fee for mentoring is £300.

Apply by 9am on the 17th of December. Details on the OPPORTUNITIES page.