Every year, the Cromer Artspace Bursary Programme brings together emerging artists who are ready to take risks, stretch their practice, and root themselves in the unique creative energy of the North Norfolk coast. This year, we’re thrilled to welcome Marco Yuen, Isabel Lowdell, and Amy Liddington – three artists whose work spans continents, disciplines, and imaginative worlds, yet converges beautifully here on the edge of the North Sea.
What follows is a glimpse into what drew them to Cromer, and what they hope to explore during their year with us.
Marco Yuen: Finding a Voice Between Places
For Marco, joining the bursary feels like returning to a place that has been quietly calling him for years.
“I have always had a strange connection with Norfolk since a young age,” he says. “Even though I only moved here from Hong Kong five years ago, I hold hazy memories of visiting my distant family along the coast.”
His practice is shaped by movement, memory, and the search for belonging — themes that resonate deeply in a rural coastal town shaped by tides, tourism, and shifting communities.
“With this bursary opportunity, I hope to reflect my environment through active research and with the guidance of mentors. Beautiful place and people — sounds like a good direction for my post‑graduate practice!”
Marco’s year will be one of grounding: listening, observing, and finding his place within a landscape that feels both familiar and new.
Isabel Lowdell: Breathing With the Sea
Isabel’s work is shaped by water — swimming, breath, immersion, and the quiet rituals of being in and around the sea. For her, the bursary is a chance to deepen that relationship.
“My work often draws on swimming, breathing, and marine environments, so the opportunity to spend time developing new projects on the Norfolk coast feels incredibly special.”
Fresh out of university, she’s ready to push her practice into new territory: “I’m excited to experiment, take risks, and connect with a community of artists while figuring out what my practice looks like after university.”
In her shorter reflection, she captures the heart of her year ahead: “The bursary offers a unique chance to develop ambitious new work inspired by the sea and coastal landscapes.”
Expect work that moves — fluid, sensory, and shaped by the rhythms of the shoreline.
Amy Liddington: Exploring the Human, the Digital, and the Imagined
Amy arrives with a practice rooted in multimedia, interaction, and digital experimentation – a fascinating counterpoint to the physicality of the coast.
“I am excited to further develop my practice as a multimedia artist working with technology, digital media and interaction,” she says. “My hope for the year is to create work that invites viewers to question how they interpret the world around them, while exploring the relationship between the human, the digital and the imagined.”
Her work asks big questions:
What does it mean to be human in a digital age?
Where does imagination sit between code, body, and landscape?
How do we make sense of the world when the boundaries between physical and virtual are constantly shifting?
Amy’s year promises to bring a bold, contemporary edge to the programme — one that sits intriguingly against the backdrop of Cromer’s Victorian seafront and wide, open skies.
A Year of Curiosity, Experimentation, and Coastal Imagination
Together, Marco, Isabel and Amy represent exactly what the bursary is designed to support: artists who are curious, ambitious, and ready to grow – and who see the Norfolk coast not just as a place, but as a catalyst.
Over the coming year, they’ll take part in residencies, mentoring, creative intensives, and a collaborative exhibition at Artspace on the Prom. We can’t wait to see how their ideas evolve, collide, and take shape in dialogue with this place and its people.