Meet the Axis Artist Award Selectors 2026

Catherine Hemelryk

Catherine Hemelryk is Director of CCA Derry~Londonderry, a curator and arts leader based in Northern Ireland. She has worked across the arts for over 20 years, with experience spanning the UK and Republic of Ireland, Europe, local government, national networks, programming, artist development and organisational strategy.

"I'm looking forward to being part of the team selecting this year's Axis Fellowship. It's a great award that has a winning combination of support with mentoring, publicity and, crucially, money - because we all have bills to pay! Awards that allow artists to focus on their practices are so necessary particularly when the continual rise in the cost of living and other noise can provide such an interference."

n:u (melissandre varin)

n:u (melissandre varin) (b. Gonesse, France, 1992) is an atmosphere-maker with a practice rooted in Congolese, Guadeloupean, and Beninese heritages. Building upon (more than) human, cross-border collaborations, they unearth ancestral ceremonies to be with change. They play with unexpected pairings between materials, bodies, and concepts, disrupting colonial binaries and dominant narratives.

"The Axis Fellowship has been such a nourishing and regenerative experience for me. At a time when i needed to expand into the next phase of my practice, the regular and generous temporary community we formed allowed me to dream bigger and jump more fully into myself - beyond my immediate environment. It is an honour to support artists getting resourced financially and hopefully emotionally by participating in the selection panel."

JC Candanedo

JC Candanedo is a queer, Catalan-Panamanian multidisciplinary artist and photographer based in the UK, moving fluidly between forms, roles, and contexts as needed. Like stepping into different personas, his practice shapeshifts across photography, mixed media, performance, and socially engaged work… each iteration responding to the urgency of the moment, the needs of the community, or the call of a shared struggle.

"I’m excited to join the selection committee for the Axis Fellowship. As an artist myself, being able to provide artists with dedicated time, financial support, and a community to develop their ideas it’s vital for the sustainability of our practices. This fellowship offers a crucial space for contemporary artists to dive deep into their research, question existing narratives, and spark the conversations we so desperately need." 

Click here to find out more about the Axis Artist Awards