A SCOTTISH folk musician is one of ten artists to have been awarded one of the biggest cultural prizes in the UK.

Kate Young, a musician and composer from Edinburgh, has won a Paul Hamlyn Foundation award, worth £60,000.

She has won the award - which comes with no artistic "strings attached" - along with fellow composers Sarah Angliss, Frank Denyer, Paul Dunmall and Deirdre McKay.

Visual artists Becky Beasley, Anthea Hamilton, Simon Ling, Matt Stokes and Anne Tallentire have also won the award.

Launched in 1994, the awards support visual artists and composers with financial assistance "at a pivotal moment in their careers."

Each award is £60,000 and is to cover a three year period - with no obligations or conditions as to how the money is used.

In 2017 the award sum was increased from £50,000 to £60,000 in acknowledgement of the "increasing costs of living in the UK," the award organisers said.

Ms Young has toured with bands including Moulettes, Ethno in Transit, and her own baned, Kate in the Kettle.

In 2015/16 she collaborated with ten other folk musicians for Songs of Separation, a record which won the Album of the Year prize at the BBC Radio 2 folk awards.

She currently performs as part of Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening, on fiddle and vocals.

Jane Hamlyn, chair of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation said: "Finding the time to reflect, explore and experiment - to produce new work or move into a new phase of creative expression - is not always easy for visual artists and composers.

"Awards for Artists has sought to address this need and is an ongoing commitment for the Foundation.”

Kwame Kwei-Armah, the actor and playwright, speaking at the award ceremony said: “Paul Hamlyn Foundation is one of the few foundations in this country that really supports artists in a fundamental and no-strings-attached way.

"It’s my absolute pleasure to be able to play a very small part in celebrating the essential and profound role that these awards and the artists who will receive them play in our ecosystem.”

Since being set up, the awards have been given to 160 artists, a total worth £6.5m.

Previous recipients have included Sally Beamish, Jeremy Deller, and Charlotte Prodger, who is representing Scotland at next year's Venice Biennale.

Artists are nominated by their peers, who are either artists or arts professionals.

Moira Sinclair, chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said: “Awards for Artists are a cornerstone of our support for talented individuals and I want to thank everyone involved in the selection process for the 2018 Awards.

"The value that can be derived from the right award at the right moment can be seen in the achievements of previous recipients - who can fail to be heartened by the contributions they make to our world?"

Of Kate Young, the award organisers said: "[Her] practice extends outwards from her background in Scottish folk music and song to encompass an ever-growing range of world traditions.

"Drawing inspiration from folklore and ancient botany, Young weaves her interests into her compositions as a way of perpetuating and empowering traditions at risk of being lost to current and future generations."

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