Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) alumni Jesse Hogan and Kate McGuinness have been awarded a combined $40,000 as recipients of the 2025 Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship supports mid-career/established and emerging artists to expand their practice through self-directed travel and research.

Established in 1997, the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship empowers SCA graduates by funding travel-based professional development, enabling artists to deepen their practice and broaden their perspectives.

"We received an incredibly strong field of applications this year,” said SCA Co-Director, Professor Julie Rrap.

“The strength, clarity, and ambition across both categories made the judging process especially challenging. Each artist brought a distinctive voice and powerful presentation, and we commend all finalists on their contributions.”

This year's esteemed judging panel included Professor Rrap, curator and writer Talia Linz and artist Marley Dawson, a 2023 Fauvette recipient in the mid-career/established category. 

Jesse Hogan (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Honours 2005) received the mid-career/established scholarship for his project Classroom Ecologies, comprising architectural models and installations made from historic bricks, clay cast plaques, and 3D prints. The work evokes memories of educational spaces he has inhabited, reimagining them through a sculptural lens.

“Jesse’s work reconstructs and reimagines the educational art faculties he has attended — including the old and new SCA facilities,” Professor Rrap said. 

“His presentation is thoughtful and layered, inviting slow, contemplative engagement. The judges were impressed by the project’s depth of research, its engagement with memory and place, and its ability to remain open, generous, and resonant.”

Based between Sydney and Tokyo, Jesse is an interdisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, and installation. He also curates exhibitions, teaches at university level, and contributes to art publications. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts (Oil Painting) at Tokyo University of the Arts.

With the scholarship, Jesse will undertake a residency across Austria and Germany, presenting lectures, conducting workshops, and exhibiting new work, with confirmed shows in September 2026.

“I am thrilled to receive this scholarship – it will allow me to actualise the proposed project in artistic contexts that both inform and support the work," Jesse said. "The Fauvette is a unique opportunity to be a part of the SCA alumni who have contributed to contemporary art practices both at home and internationally."

Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) 2024 graduate Kate McGuinness received the emerging artist scholarship for her 20-minute multi-screen video installation North Land, which documents life inside Australian shopping centres. Filmed across five suburban locations, the work blends semi-scripted performances with observational documentary to explore the accidental poetry of built environments.

“Kate’s distinctive and confident voice stood out to our judging panel,” said Professor Rrap. “Her work evokes a seductive and humorous fusion of memory and reflection on shopping malls as civic space, blending documentary, staged performance, and chance interactions.”

Kate’s practice spans video, installation, and performance, often exploring urban decay and overlooked public spaces such as motorways, bus stops, and pokie rooms. Her work combines fiction, documentary, and dry humour to examine how neglected spaces continue to serve social functions.

With the scholarship, Kate will embark on a national research trip, visiting shopping malls across Australia and accessing key archives – including early material from the country’s first malls inspired by renowned architect Victor Gruen, a pioneer of shopping mall design – to expand her video series.

"This scholarship really changes everything for me," Kate said. "I ambitiously wanted this work to be a national long-form project and I'm so excited that this dream can now be realised."

“The generous bequest of the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship continues to be the gift that keeps on giving,” Professor Rrap added. “Alongside this award, the fund also supports several student scholarships each year.”

Exhibition details

The prize-winning works of Jesse Hogan and Kate McGuinness, along with those of nine outstanding finalists, are currently on display at the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship Exhibition.

• DATES: 9 October – 8 November 2025
• WHERE: Sydney College of the Arts Gallery at the University of Sydney, Camperdown 
• OPENING HOURS: Monday to Friday, 11 am–5 pm and Saturdays from 12–4 pm

2025 SCA Alumni Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship finalists: 
Mid-career/ established: Barbara Campbell, Cybele Cox, Jesse Hogan, Lucas Davidson and Tim Silver.
Emerging: Jennifer van Ratingen, Kate McGuinness, Remi Siciliano, Sophie Penkethman-Young.

About the SCA Alumni Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship:
The Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship was established in 1997 through a gift from the estate of Renee Fauvette Erdos, an educator and founder of the History Teachers' Association of NSW, celebrating the memory of her mother Fauvette Loureiro. There are two categories of the award – an emerging artist receives a prize of $10,000, and a mid-career/established artist receives $30,000. The purpose of the scholarship is to support graduates of the Sydney College of the Arts to pursue a program of professional development through travel.

Hero image: Installation view of Kate McGuinnesses North Land. Photo credit: Document Photography/GarryTrinh.