Visual arts student earns Edna Manley Foundation bursary

Anneisha Walker, a second-year student of the School of Visual Arts at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, is the latest recipient of the Edna Manley Foundation bursary.

Walker, an art education major, said the award will help her achieve her personal and professional goals. Additionally, she said it has removed a financial burden from her shoulders.

"When I was first made aware that I was this year's awardee, I was elated. I was extremely happy because I knew that I had worked hard, but I was still having a difficult time putting my school fees together. So, earning this bursary will definitely help to take away the pressure of that burden. It also means a lot to me on a personal level. When I think about the fact that so many persons applied for this bursary, and they are all great artists in their own right, this was all about motivating myself to achieve even greater heights," Walker said.

The Edna Manley Foundation was set up in 1987 to carry on the legacy of the late Edna Manley, considered by many to be the mother of the modern art movement in Jamaica. Recipients of the bursaries receive a grant that covers their tuition throughout their college life.

Walker also sees becoming the recipient of the bursary as part of a continuum established by Edna Manley to uplift Jamaica through her art. She is a firm believer in the power of art to facilitate social transformation locally and across the world.

"This will help me to share my art with the world. As a teacher of art, I see my role as being that of a facilitator, the person who will enable a child to create his own art. I really want to reach young people, help them see that they can use their art to solve some of the issues that they are facing at this time," Walker said.