These scholarships are awarded to up to nine students every year, offered to students who demonstrate ability, passion and commitment to music, performing arts, creative writing and spoken word, or film and media.
Each scholarship winner will receive a £200 cash prize, as well as a tailored package of tuition or mentoring to develop their skills and knowledge further and opportunities to showcase their talents with performances at University events.
Having worked and lived extensively in various contexts in the Global South, Steyn began to develop a keen interest for documentary photography as a means to provoke a wider and more nuanced discussion around (mis)representation and foster dialogue and action around social and environmental injustices. Something he would refer to as visual-based activism, especially in conjunction with other media.
He founded iMPACT JOURNEY as a platform to support visual storytellers around the world and co-founded a non-profit space for documentary photography with his sister, iMPACT DOC. They hosted masterclasses, documentary screenings and co-curated various exhibitions in Amsterdam, bringing academics, journalists and visual artists together in an informal fashion.
His work was recognised by several international media and institutions through awards, grants and publications. He feels privileged to be awarded with the Loughborough Arts Scholarship for Film and Media and feels particularly devoted to share his experiences and network coming years, while learning from and advancing new interdisciplinary partnerships within and outside of the University.
Steyn was born in the Netherlands, where he studied Cultural Anthropology, Development Sociology (BSc) and Environmental Science (MSc). Currently he is pursuing his PhD in Human Geography, focusing on just energy transitions in informal settlements, like slums. For more info: www.steynhoogakker.com
We are also proud to announce that two other students from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities have been awarded this scholarship.
Natasha (Tasha) Kitcher is completing a PhD in Media and has received the scholarship on account of her Playwriting.
Oliver Strickland is completing a BSc in Politics and International Relations and has received the scholarship on account of his talent as a singer-songwriter and contemporary solo artist.
To find out more about LU Arts Scholarships, please follow this link.