Arts Scholarship Winners 2025-26

In addition to a £200 cash prize, each scholar is entitled to a tailored package of support to help them develop their talent during the year. This support may include (but is not limited to) one-to-one tuition or mentoring, training or event fees and possibly the purchase of specialist equipment.

I have always lived between worlds. Turkish and Persian shaped my early life, then English became my third language and a new way of understanding myself. Moving from place to place pushed me to confront a lingering question that followed me everywhere: 

“I am a nomad in my life, 
Never one to stay in place.
Always in motion, 
Stillness stirs unease, unsettling my soul. 
Where is home?” 

This question became the beginning of my writing journey in English. 

My writing is rooted in creative nonfiction. I draw from personal experience, women’s voices and everyday realities to explore how belonging is shaped, complicated and sometimes unsettled. I began writing as a child, but later, through workshops and courses, I realised how essential it was to develop a reflective, voice-driven approach that could carry the complexities of multilingual life. 

Alongside writing, my professional world is about architecture. As a doctoral researcher in the architecture group at Loughborough University, I study women’s everyday spatial experiences and the emotional dimensions of domestic life. Sometimes my creative writing and my research overlap, revealing how space, memory and movement across borders shape the narratives I hold inside. 

Being awarded this scholarship would allow me to continue developing my voice in English while staying anchored in my multilingual background. I hope to refine my craft, expand my portfolio and write pieces that capture the beauty and layered complexity of living across languages and places. Most of all, I want to reach readers and writers who, like me, navigate multiple languages and carry several senses of home. 

Kai Benjamin (also known for his music as B3nji) is a rapper and singer/songwriter. Born in Japan and raised in the Southwest of England, he has been creating and performing since the age of 7, experimenting with a range of sounds, spanning acoustic/folk to hip-hop to UK grime. Kai's musical journey gained momentum whilst he lived in Bristol, a period during which he reached the semi-finals of the Voice UK, performed at Glastonbury Festival, and co-headlined at his international debut in Japan. 

Kai has been releasing music consistently since 2020, and is particularly committed to collaborative work, with the last run of singles all released together with other artists and producers. Moving forward, Kai is looking to continue his collaborations, whilst finding a personal sound that is authentic and unique. He is currently finishing a joint album, which focuses on past relationships, his time travelling and his future ambitions.  

The LU Arts Scholarship will contribute significantly to the final touches needed on the album, as well as allowing for its successful release and promotion. Kai is also looking to expand his creative toolkit by learning how to DJ, a role which he considers integral to communal music enjoyment (particularly within hip-hop culture), and the scholarship will give him the chance to develop this skill over the coming year. 

Eloise started dancing from the age of three and since has developed her passion for dance and performing arts in many genres. Growing up, she trained in ISTD Tap, Modern, and Rock'n'Roll dance, as well as Cecchetti Ballet and Contemporary dance with the CAT Satellite scheme in conjunction with The Place, London. Where she really became involved with performing arts was with RARE Productions from a young age, and further on worked for them as a Choreographer in Loughborough. Her work was chosen to be performed at a 20th Anniversary Gala at His Majesty’s Theatre in London's West End. 

In her second year, Eloise was able to successfully audition for Loughborough Students' Dance Club (LSDC) after breaking her leg in her first year. She now competes in six out of eight teams for Loughborough, and is also a Dance Activator for the AU’s Recreational Sport programme. 

Futhermore, on her study exchange she trained in traditional Balinese dance at Kaki Bebek House, Batuan. She also trained at Singapore’s iconic L5 by O School; here, she was exposed to dance in an academic setting, and gained an international insight into the professional world of dance.  

To Eloise, dance is her ultimate form of expressing her innermost energy and her desire to tell stories through movement. While she studies Politics and International Relations, dance offers a release for her to contribute something meaningful to the world. Projecting her artistic vision well is something that greatly satisfies and validates Eloise, and she has learnt incredible amounts about herself through dance.  

With the support of this scholarship, she cannot wait to begin focusing on more choreographic ventures. Whether this be through taking classes with industry professionals, or filming choreographed music videos across campus, she hopes to project her passion for others to join in with and enjoy! 

I started performing at six years old with the Hywel Girls Choir and Boys Singers, where I was introduced to a professional standard of musicianship at a young age. From singing at Covent Garden each Christmas to performing at the Royal Albert Hall with Lesley Garrett, these early experiences gave me not only technical grounding but also a deep appreciation of what disciplined, collective music-making can achieve. Alongside choral work, I developed a strong interest in musical theatre, eventually taking on lead roles in productions including Chicago and Legally Blonde. In 2017, as part of Angelicus Celtis, I performed in the Semi-Finals of Britain’s Got Talent. These early experiences shaped my approach to vocal performance and strengthened the versatility I rely on in my practice today. 

When arriving at Loughborough, I looked for new ways to grow my practice within a different musical environment. I first joined Tuxedo Swing as a saxophonist in 2021 before gaining the confidence to audition as a vocalist. Becoming the band’s lead female vocalist in 2023 marked a major turning point in my development, shifting my focus from classical and musical theatre techniques into jazz, swing, and soul. This transition demanded greater stylistic flexibility, improvisation skills, and a more dynamic form of musical communication. 

Now serving my second consecutive year as Chair, I have had the opportunity to support and guide the society by coordinating events,  encouraging new members, and contributing to the band’s musical direction. Alongside my work with Tuxedo Swing, I have continued to broaden my experience through performances at Loughborough Town Hall, open mic nights, contributions to LSU Stage productions, and the creation of jazz/soul arrangements for combined performances with Tuxedo Swing and LSU Classical. A key motivation in my work is helping other vocalists grow, whether through ensemble leadership, arranging, or sharing my developing knowledge. My contributions to the university’s creative community has been recognised through the Marvis Stone Loughborough University Award for Music and the LSU Societies Lifetime Achievement Award. I also hold Grade 8 in Singing, Piano, and Saxophone. 

A significant focus of this scholarship will be strengthening my understanding of vocal health. Learning about breath support, stamina, recovery, and safe technique in order to improve consistency of my performances and to better support other musicians, both instrumentalists and vocalists. Receiving the LU Arts Scholarship offers a valuable opportunity to access professional tuition, masterclasses, and vocal health resources. My aim is to become more technically versatile and confident while contributing insights to those around me. 

Alex is an oil painter who specialises in portraiture. From age seven he started sketching and doodling in the school breaks, and he began painting when he was 14, specialising into portraiture a couple years later as part of his Art A-Level. Being the only person on the course, Alex spent a lot of time alone in the art studio silently working on his practice, or having one-to-one sessions with his teachers, who refined his technique and process to what it is today. 

His paintings - as part of his A-Level course - explore the troubled mind of a creative who is torn between the quality of his paintings and the potential of what they could be. The seven pieces form a narrative that follow feelings of self-destruction, regret and finally resolution. 

Alex is part of the Urban Sketchers drawing club, and he continues to practice art in his free time, although he is hoping the art scholarship can provide a studio space that will allow him to work on larger canvases like the ones he produced for his A-Level course.