Visiting research fellow awarded 60k

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Visiting research fellow one of ten recipients of UK’s largest individual awards for visual artists and composers

Thursday, 21 December, 2023

Composer, enthnomusicologist, and Bath Spa University visiting research fellow, Hyelim Kim, has been awarded £60,000 by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF) as one of only 10 recipients of Awards for Artists 2023 – the largest individual awards to visual artists and composers in the UK. 

Now in its 29th year, PHF’s Awards for Artists support visual artists and composers at a critical moment in their careers. Each award is for £60,000 over three years with no strings attached, giving artists the time and space to develop their work and relieving them of the pressures they may be facing.   

Hyelim Kim is a composer, creator, academic and solo performer of the Korean daegeum flute. Her compositional style is shaped by her backgrounds in performance training and instrumental practice alongside her academic training as an ethnomusicologist. Conceptually, her work depicts dynamics within various binary dichotomies: traditional/contemporary, performer/composer, improvisation/composition, and Western/non-Western. 
 
As an ethnomusicologist, Hyelim’s main field of research is Practice Research, which analyses performances as academic objects. Her works focus on the processes involved in creating new music across cultural boundaries, with an emphasis on the adaptation and transformation of languages of sound, notation and gesture. It considers the fluid relationships between composers and performers and the processes of invention in traditional music through experimentation and improvisation.  

In addition to being a visiting research fellow at Bath Spa Univeristy, Hyelim completed her PhD in Ethnomusicology at the University of London and had a monograph published by Routledge in 2022. Her album, Sensitive to Light, was recorded and published by Strikes Records in February 2023 with two of the UK's leading improvisers, Mark Sanders (drums) and John Edwards (double bass). 

Commenting on her win, Hyelim said:

“This award will enable me to effectively use my expertise in Asian musical traditions to contribute to the cultural diversity of the UK, not only in terms of societal cultures but also the cultures of the natural environment. I am so grateful to be able to develop a creative dialogue that empowers different voices equally. The award would provide me with the platform and space to properly listen, learn and collaborate with everyone, across different languages, media and cultures.” 

Jane Hamlyn, Chair, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Chair of the Visual Arts judging panel, said:

“It’s a tough environment for artists at the moment. These awards help artists to focus on what they do best. With no strings attached, they are free to decide how the award can best support their life and practice.”  

Kevin Le Gendre, writer, broadcaster, journalist and chair of the composers judging panel, said:

“This is a special opportunity to support talented artists across a very rich breadth of styles and practice. Each brings an authentic voice and we hope these awards will give them the freedom to explore new creative possibilities.” 

Since 1994, Paul Hamlyn Foundation has made 347 awards to artists with funding of over £10 million. Each year, a panel of four new judges selects the recipients on the basis of talent, promise and need, as well as achievement. For more information and a full list of previous recipients, you can visit the Awards for Artists section of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation website.