Our Artist in Residence for 2026
We were delighted to introduce Kim Whitby as the Winner of our Artist Residency 2026 at the Hugo Burge Foundation.
Throughout February Kim will be taking up residence in the Old Squash Court Studio, one of the Hugo Burge Foundation studios at Marchmont Estate, near Duns, before exhibiting her work at Borders Art Fair.
Currently based in Malvern, Kim is a British artist whose practice is rooted in the direct observation of the world around her. She draws and paints from life, responding immediately to her physical environment, often working outdoors en plein air. She uses watercolour, oil, and ink, frequently moving between what might traditionally be defined as drawing and painting. Her work explores the threshold between these
disciplines—how marks, shapes, and patterns can shift between line and wet
media to capture a moment in time with spontaneity and economy.
Kim grew up believing that drawing was a widespread and valued human skill, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. Her work is partly a celebration of this disappearing craft and a commitment to keeping it alive as a way of recording life. She has had early success, largely among fellow artists who recognise the technical qualities that become evident when her work is seen at
scale and in person.
Digital reproduction rarely communicates the immediacy, scale, and physicality essential to her practice. Seeing is believing!
In October 2025, while participating in the global event Inktober, Kim created a portrait of William Morris in response to a daily prompt. This unexpected detour into portraiture opened a new creative direction for her that she wants to use her time in the Old Squash Court Studio exploring — where she can experiment, take risks, and fail safely if needed, in order to discover what this new direction might become.
Kim wants to explore portraits not simply as likenesses, but as a way of documenting the human contributors to an arts community - the people who shape a place just as profoundly as its buildings or geography. This aligns naturally with Hugo Burge’s vision of art as a fundamentally human endeavour. Her intention is to explore the “artistic part” of a person: the qualities, habits, tools, and expressions that reveal their creativity.
The residency will allow Kim to investigate this thread deeply: testing ideas, developing techniques, and building a body of work that shifts from her usual focus on place toward a recognition of the individuals who animate a community.
Kim has won national outdoor painting competitions, enjoys exhibiting and was a finalist on Landscape Artist of the Year in 2016, having entered as a wildcard.
She is also a qualified, experienced teacher working nationally and internationally. Kim is happy to undertake commissions for works by individuals and organisations, or teaching engagements across the UK.
We are thrilled that Kim will be exhibiting at the Borders Art Fair, where she’ll be showing some of the work created during the residency, alongside other pieces. Visit her on Stand no. 10 to hear more about her time on Residency, and the beautiful work she creates.
Click here to visit Kim's website.
About the Hugo Burge Foundation....
Based on the Marchmont Estate, located near Greenlaw in the Scottish Borders, the Hugo Burge Foundation was established to nourish and inspire creativity in everyone, young and old.
As well as running courses, hosting events and providing opportunities to those wanting to enrich their lives and surroundings with art and the magic of making, the Hugo Burge Foundation offers affordable workspaces for creative practitioners as well as funded and self-funded residencies throughout the year.
Art-lovers, schools and community groups are also welcomed to visit the Foundation's beautiful walled garden and restored glasshouses on the Marchmont Estate.
As part of the Foundation's continued support for the Borders Art Fair, they fund our month long Artist Residency in their Old Squash Court Studio during February. The opportunity is given to an artist we feel would really benefit from the experience, and also includes an exhibition stand at the Borders Art Fair where the recipient can show their work, engage with a new audience and network with other creatives. For details of previous residency beneficiaries, please click here.
For more information about the Hugo Burge Foundation please click here
