Announcement of artists for Hawthornvale Mentorship Scheme 2026

Following our open call to ESW Members we are delighted to announce the artists selected for the Hawthornvale Mentorship Scheme. The 2026 cohort will be Esther Castle, Molly Kent and David Lemm.

The Hawthornvale Mentorship Programme supports emerging visual artists who are beginning to establish their practice and require guidance to advance their careers.

The Programme is designed to foster the development of contemporary public art, reaching a wide audience and offering the public an unexpected encounter with thought-provoking artworks in a dynamic setting.

Hawthornvale Space is conceived as an ongoing programme of temporary public artworks, this programme reaches a broad audience, providing the members of the public with an unexpected encounter with contemporary art.

Esther Castle

Esther Castle is an Edinburgh-based artist whose work delves into personal experiences of childhood illness, using art as a means to explore and transform these realities. Through a process of “fictioning reality,” she reimagines and reframes her past through artistic expression. A key element of her work is the investigation of garden spaces, where she draws symbolic connections between non-normative bodies and weeds, which are often deemed undesirable and removed by gardeners. Castle experiments with a range of materials such as ceramics, cast metal and coloured pencils to create other worldly drawings. Through her art, Castle offers a unique commentary on bodily difference, control, and societal perceptions of what is considered “natural” or “undesirable.” 

Esther Castle graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2024 with a degree in Painting. Through being awarded the ESW/ECA Graduate Residency, Castle developed her sculpture practice at ESW and exhibited her work in the North Labs in 2025. They have been awarded the Helen Rose Bequest, Creative Scotland’s Visual Artist and Craft Makers Award, Runner up of the Astaire Prize, was the ECA Painting/Summerhall joint winner and the 2024 New Blood Art Winner. 

Instagram: esthercastle_art

Image: Esther Castle, Diseased Fennel, glazed ceramic, 2025.

Molly Kent

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Molly Kent is a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, receiving a Master of Arts with First Class Honours. Kent is a textile and ceramic artist who represents mental health through mediums such as rug tufting, weaving and stoneware ceramics. They portray contemporary existence regarding social media and internet living and how this affects our perception of self.

Kent is an internationally exhibited artist, having contributed to exhibitions such as WORD OF MOUTH at the Venice Biennale 2019, then toured Australia, and various exhibitions across the UK and Europe. Their largest showing of work outside of the UK was recently held by the Urban Nation Museum, in Berlin, Germany as part of the exhibition ‘Loneliness and Other False Friends.’ Their work is also held in public and private collections worldwide. Including work being held by the University of Edinburgh’s Art Collection and the National Museum of Australia, amongst others.

www.mollyhkent.com

Image: Molly Kent, Insta Perfect, But at what cost, Tapestry weaving and embroidery, 2025.

David Lemm

David Lemm is a visual artist based in Edinburgh. Informed by encountered environments, moments and systems, his approach is underpinned by situational and process led investigation. He often works with collected or existing materials reassembled into new contexts, engaging with notions of value, perception and intent. Recent work has focused on sculptural assemblage and installation, combining printmaking, drawing, timber and found objects. 

Lemm studied Animation at DJCAD (2006) and began his career working in design and illustration. His practice has developed through numerous residencies and research projects including the Jon Schueler Scholarship, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Skye (2017), LOCUS Public Art Trail, Lerwick (2020-21) and Artist in Residence at Royal Brompton Hospital (2020-22). Lemm has presented solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London and recently at Moray Art Centre, Findhorn (Fastenings, 2023) He regularly participates in group exhibitions, including Reduct: Abstraction and Geometry in Scottish Art, RSA, Edinburgh (2020), Scottish Landscape Awards, Kirkcudbright Galleries (2025), Edition One:Materiality, No Place Art, London (2025) and his Mapping Eigg series (2014) is currently included in the V&A Dundee Scottish Design Galleries. 