Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) has launched a new $12,000 grant program for creative professionals from any industry, trade or the arts to pursue ideas and interests relating to the field of landscape architecture.

Founded in memory of founding director, Kevin Taylor (1953-2011), the Kevin Taylor Legacy will invite one individual to be a ‘creative in residence’ at the practice, and to pursue a topic of their choice with the assistance of the grant.

The program aims to encourage the exchange of ideas and thinking within a studio environment, and will culminate in a showcase of the selected individual’s work. Successful applicants will be given access and use of TCL studios in Melbourne and/or Adelaide.

“Kevin (below) liked to dream; and the Kevin Taylor Legacy provides an opportunity for us to engage with Kevin’s living memory, to continue the dreaming in areas that Kevin was passionate about, and for us to dream about the future, while also expanding the field of landscape architecture,” said Grace Lin, senior landscape architect at TCL.

The first ‘creative in residence’ is Kasimir Burgess, an international award-winning filmmaker who will commence the program in 2015.

“We wanted the first recipient to set the bar high and have found the qualities we’ve been looking for in Kasimir,” said Lin.

“Though not a prerequisite, Kas was also fortunate to have known Kevin. Kevin was acutely sensitive to the poetic qualities of landscape, and Kas, similarly, shares these sensibilities, understands the metaphoric power and potent narrative quality of landscape, and often features the landscape as a key character in his films.”

Burgess, who has won a Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival, says he looks forward to creating a film that will build up the character of, and depict the human relationship to, an environment.

“I’ve always been inspired by Kevin Taylor and TCL’s sensitivity to site, their ability to respond to its history, its people, its spirit and build a kind of engaging conceptual narrative; it’s the goal of every filmmaker,” Burgess added.

The Kevin Taylor Legacy was launched at the State Library of Queensland as part of the Forecast Festival of Landscape Architecture 2014. It will be run by an appointed panel nominated by TCL directors, consisting of four people.

According to TCL, applicants will be assessed on the following criteria:

The strength of their idea and how well the proposal is articulated
The applicant’s demonstrated history and ability to collaborate
Their field of interest and how this contributes to the expanded field of landscape
architecture
That a clear outcome is achievable within the time and budget
The principal of mutuality – a lasting contribution to both resident and TCL
The rigor of an end date and milestone
The applicant’s ability to define their needs – studio space, mentoring, engagement

To enquire about the Kevin Taylor Legacy, contact Alexandra Lock, landscape architect at TCL, at alex.l@tcl.net.au.

Geraldine Chua

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