Announcing our 2026 Graduate Scholars

August 2026

We’re delighted to announce six new participants in the University of Salford Art Collections’ Graduate Scholarship Programme: Levi Betts (BA Fine Art), Jarvis Best (BA Photography), Pavani Chandana (BA Photography), Eli Clack (BA Fine Art), Kiera Jones (BA Photography) and William Rowe (BA Photography).

Delivered in partnership with Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, this long-running programme grants support packages to graduating students from the University of Salford School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology. Aiming to support graduates to develop their careers in the arts and cultural sector, each 12 month award is bespoke and includes a combination of mentoring, coaching, research trips, studio space, membership of Castlefield Gallery Associates, and a bursary for research, materials or travel. At the end of the scheme, each artist has the opportunity to gift work to the University’s permanent collection.

Director and Artistic Director of Castlefield Gallery, Helen Wewiora says:

“We are delighted to welcome Pavani, Kiera, Levi, Jarvis, Eli and Will to the Graduate Scholars Programme. We can’t wait to start working with the 2026/27 cohort.

The standard of applications this year was unprecedented. A great year for the University of Salford! I know all partners engaged in the Graduate Scholars programme found it really tough deciding on the final awards.

As the programme enters its 13th year, we are looking forward to working with such a skilled group of practitioners, and alongside our programme partners, the University of Salford Art Collection, Paradise Works, Hot Bed Press and Islington Mill.”

Stephanie Fletcher, Curator at University of Salford Art Collection states, “The Graduate Scholarship scheme has supported over 50 artists since its inception in 2014, and it is a joy to welcome 6 new graduates onto the scheme this year. This year was one of our most difficult decisions yet, with a very high standard of applications and equally impressive degree shows. Eli, Jarvis, Levi, Kiera, Pavani and Will and all have strong and interesting practices and we very much look forward to supporting their career development over the next 12 months. We’re pleased to continue this work through our partnership with Castlefield Gallery Manchester, who share our commitment to supporting emerging artist practice in the region”.

Jarvis Best (BA Photography) says, “I feel very excited about starting the scheme. It’s really fulfilling having your worth and potential be seen enough to be granted a place on the scheme, and I am looking forward to experimenting and understanding myself and my artwork more deeply. I am most looking forward to having my own studio space, and getting to know and potentially collaborate with the fellow artists at Islington Mill. I have never had my own designated space for making, and I can’t wait for my creativity to flourish in this environment.” .

Levi Betts (BA Fine Art) is “so excited and grateful to be presented the opportunity to take part in this scheme. I cannot wait to continue creating and utilising all that this scheme has to offer, building connections, developing my practice further and forming a career in the arts. I know the scheme will help me build confidence in real world settings and help me evolve as an artist.”

This years’ programme is co-ordinated by artist, curator and writer Elliott Flanagan, who graduated from BA Visual Arts at the University in 2017 and took part in the scholarship scheme in 2017-2018.

Find out more about the artists below, and about the scheme here.

Jarvis Best
BA Photography

Website

Jarvis is an interdisciplinary artist whose creative practice encompasses photography, moving image, sculpture and installation. His practice explores themes of folklore and the human connection to nature. Utilising analogue methods within his lens-based art, Jarvis favours the more methodical and considered approach of film photography which allows him to become more engaged in the environments that he photographs. Jarvis will be based at Islington Mill studios.

Levi Betts
BA Fine Art

Instagram: @l3vis.art

Levi is a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on installation using digital projection mapping, combined with a screen printmaking practice. He uses these two
opposing practices to explore the digital sublime and the impact that digitalisation has on human life. Levi’s practice is his interpretation of digitalisation, the growth of the internet and our reliance on modern technology, presented through photography, videography, projection installation, digital editing and screen-printing. Levi will be based at HotBed Press, accessing their facilities and workshops.

Pavani Chandana
BA Photography

Website

Pavani is a fine art photographer whose creative practice is rooted in using analogue techniques and printmaking. Through her work she explores diverse styles in photography ranging from documentary to landscape and fashion, while experimenting with different media. Her current work explores cultural identity within diasporic contexts, drawing on memory, belonging, and her Indian heritage, using photography as a medium that can move beyond simple documentation, and act as a way of expressing personal and cultural narratives through visual storytelling. Pavani will be based at HotBed Press, accessing tutorials and facilities.

Eli Clack
BA Fine Art

Instagram: @eli.clack.art

Eli’s practice explores the complex relationship between humans and the natural world, whilst also looking at themes of identity, gender and sense of being. They work with textiles, performance and photography to convey these ideas. Drawing from the New Animism movement, their work aims to highlight the need for environmental preservation whilst demonstrating the societal disconnect from nature.

Kiera Jones
BA Photography

Website

Kiera’s practice explores the
relationship between photographs and memory. She is interested in how identity is constructed and visualised within everyday spaces, considering the domestic setting as a site where class is quietly embedded. Often working with family archives, Kiera reworks vernacular imagery to interrogate the construction of personal histories, approaching the archive not as evidence, but as a partial and active site of memory. Kiera will be based at Paradise Works studios.

William Rowe
BA Photography

Website

Will’s practice is process and experimentation-led, working with found objects and found photography, either inherited personal items or pieces. He finds himself drawn to found material by what it carries before he gets to it. The findings of these found objects informs the evolution of his work. Will states “Though I would broadly align myself with archival practice, I resist the label. The work is less about preservation and more about what happens when pressure is applied to a material.”