Albert Watson Prize Winner SPA 2023

The Award judges have chosen 80 pieces of fine art and photography for our annual travelling exhibition visiting Edinburgh, Kirkcudbright and Glasgow.

This year we're thrilled to welcome guest judge Albert Watson OBE. An internationally renowned photographer, Albert looked at every photograph entered before selecting the winner of the £1,000 SPA Albert Watson Portrait Prize: Summer by Nina Davidson.

Find out more about our judges https://www.scottishartstrust.org/judges

SPA Albert Watson Portrait Prize

WINNER 🏆
Nina Davidson, ‘Summer’

@ninadavidson_

Nina Davidson: “I am very touched to be the first winner of the SPA Albert Watson Portrait Prize. I entered the award on a whim, so for this photographer to recognise my work is humbling. Photography has always been a part of my life since I was very young. It is a way of focusing on the good things, the little snippets in life, the beautiful moments I share with my family.”

Tajine Banane

Nina Davidson - Fee(d)l good et Robe Vichy

Son compte Instagram :@petiteschoses_

Qui es-tu ? Des enfants ? Que fais-tu dans la vie ? Où vis-tu ?

Je m’appelle Nina, j’ai un bar/ bistro depuis 8 ans. J’habite en Écosse.

As-tu des origines ? Quel est le plat de ton pays d’origine ou celui de ton/ta copain(e) ?
Française expatriée, les crêpes et le pain maison sont les deux traditions culinaires que j’ai emmené dans mes bagages. 

Enceinte te rappelles-tu d’avoir eu des envies particulières ?
Magnum Classic ! Tous les jours 🍦😍

Pendant le confinement as-tu cuisiné plus que d’habitude ? Quelle est la recette que tu as découverte pendant le confinement et que tu pourrais nous partager ici ?
Oui un peu mais je cuisine déjà beaucoup. J’ai essayé de rivaliser avec les biscuits/ cookie de supermarché pour les enfants. Et j’ai trouvé les recettes, après pleins d’échecs 🙄

Pain au lait
Recette de @pomverte

Cookies 
200g beurre salé pommade
250g cassonade
80g sucre semoule
350g farine
1cc bicarbonate de soude
1cc levure chimique
1 gros œuf
200g de pépites de chocolat 

Variation breastfeeding ! Substituer la farine par :
200g de farine
150g de flocons d’avoine
60g flaxseed (grains de lin) 

Je fais de petites boules d’environ 25g et cuire à 180 degrés pendant 10/12 minutes

Un ou deux comptes insta / blog food à ne pas rater selon toi ?
• @pomverte, super recette de base pain, viennoiserie, glace
• @beardedbakerscot meilleur bagel du monde
• @lesyeuxgrognons
• @griottes pour donner envie

On veut bien connaître tes 3 restaurants/coffee shop préférés en France et/ou l’étranger ?
• Évidemment @skylarkporty à Edimbourg
• @steampunkcoffee à North Berwick 
• @timberyard10 pour le restaurant des grandes occasions
• @lalchimiste_torrefacteur à Bordeaux

Eat local selon toi, cela signifie quoi ?
Des produits frais ou fraîchement cuisinés, qui n’ont pas fait beaucoup de kilomètres.

Est-ce que tu considères que l’allaitement c’est la liberté de donner le sein partout.tout le temps ? Sur place ou à emporter ? Si oui, as-tu un endroit insolite où tu as allaité ton bébé/kid ?
Partout tout le temps ! Je suis à ma septième année d’allaitement avec ma troisième fille. 🚀🥛
Je ne crois pas qu’il y ait un endroit où nous l’avons pas fait, avions, voitures, trains, plages, parcs, magasins, piscines, chez des amis, chez ma famille, chez des inconnus, au restaurants... Je me sens vraiment chanceuse d’avoir eu des allaitements plutôt faciles.

Mamaowl, wool lovers series

Hello, i'm Nina, a 37 years old photographer and Mum of 3.

I spent most of my childhood in France. I then came to Scotland when I was 22 for a summer, with some friends. Mainly to work and learn English and discover Edinburgh. I then met my husband Michael, whose office was across the street from the café I got a job at. We moved in together two months later and I never moved back to France! 

We have three daughters Ada, who is 10, Colette, who is 6 and Nico is 2. Our fourth baby is due in December. 

When I settled in Edinburgh we set up a bistro in our old neighbourhood and ran it for 10 years. I am now a photographer, although photography has always be a part of my life from very young. For me, it is a way of focusing on the good things, the little snippets in life, the beautiful moments I share with my family. I make a point to print my family photos so there is an analogue feel and touchable object. I think it is very important to be reminded in our fast paced society to take time, appreciate what we have. Photography helps me focus. As well as my photography I have just published a cookery book for children available at the moment just in France. 

 One of the reasons I love wool so much is because I moved to Scotland!

I have always been conscious of fabric and always preferred natural, good quality items. It amazes me that people would buy acrylic fast fashion when you can buy second hand wool for the same price. 

We didn’t have central heating in our Edinburgh flat, and we always layered up our merino to keep warm. Then we moved to the countryside 4 years ago and we only have an open fire in the living room. The house can get very cold so now we wear wool inside and and outside, for comfort, warm and also necessity!

My number one priority when buying for the kids is that it is durable, comfortable and wearable. I like the girls to be able to play, move, get dirty, make holes, be kids… 

Whether it is clothes or toys, it has to be of good quality to be passed on. My mum was already shopping that way and I inherited some of our clothes from our childhood -  I have three siblings. Some of these clothes have been worn by all my kids too and may even last the 4th! If I work out the price per wear that is always going to be better than some cheaper less quality clothing. The clothes I choose also have to wash well and be well made to be able to stay wearable for a long time. I absolutely don’t mind mending them to prolong the wear. 

The girls are sharing one room, I categorised their toys and store most of it in the attic. I do a rotation and bring a box down at a time, for example the wooden train track, the marble run, the dolls. When I buy something new, I try to be conscious that it can be used by all of them. Open ended toys are amazing in that way. 

They have a large bookshelf under Ada’s bed and I try to rotate them too. Although I find it hard because I love kids books and they read in both French and English. Whenever we go to visit my family I bring a lot of books back with us. There is always an overflow. 

My best tips for wearing wool is to dress in layers. It won’t make you sweaty and if you are a little too hot you can peel one layer like an onion. 

The girls wear a vest (called second skin in France) in merino, a shirt or t-shirt and jumper. To go outside a wool fleece from SISKIN or Engel and rain jacket from Fairchild. It makes it a lot easier when in and out a lot to keep at the right temperature.

I often meet people who are scared of caring for wool but we wash our wool in the machine on a very low spin - as a fast spin heats the wool - and cold water. If there is a stain, I will spot clean it first with marseille soap. 

I don’t like washing wool often so if it has been worn for a day but it isn’t dirty, I’ll pop it on the line to freshen and put it back in the cupboard. Garments will last for a long time if not overwashed. 

There is so many brand I like from MamaOwl, I totally trust the selection for ethical and quality items. 

Repose AMS - 24 HOURS BY NINA

Mama to Colette, Ada and Nicole

Based in Scotland 

We start the day all piled up in our bed. One of us makes breakfast for everyone. Everyday ritual since the rush for school is no more. We cook, one of the girl helps me in the kitchen. Then we go in the garden or the wood. We play, talk, check the growing plants, skate and carry our baby. 

Endource- guest edit

We invited French photographer, Nina Davidson of @ninadavidson_, to create an edit for endource. Nina and her family have made their home in rural Scotland, surrounded by breathtaking wild beauty: from sand and sea to mountains and forest.

This deep everyday connection with nature shines through in her edit, and also reflects her wider way of living. Here, she shares some of her influences and inspiration, allowing us a window into her life and passions, beyond clothes.

Caramel - INTERVIEW WITH NINA DAVIDSON

Four years ago, Bordeaux-born Nina Davidson left Edinburgh, and the bistro she’d opened a decade earlier, for the promise of an altogether different life in the countryside. As she and her architect husband and two small children (who are now the eldest of four daughters, aged 10, six, three, and just three months) adapted to their new life, Nina photographed their next chapter, sharing it as @petiteschoses_. Last year, she turned her years of experience as a chef, and her years of cooking with Ada, Colette, Nicole and little Esther in the kitchen at home, into Je Sais Cuisiner, a beginner’s recipe book for children.

Where is home?

 We’re on my husband’s family farm, surrounded by a hill, loch, fields, and woods. We have no neighbours except sheep! The farmhouse is a few miles away from us, and the house is Michael’s granny’s, so we’re doing it up while we are there, slowly doing things as we go. It’s a little house with not really any heating, but it has a couple of fireplaces and big south facing windows! It’s quite cold, so we’re used to wearing hats and woolly socks indoors, but we’ve got such a big outdoor space that it makes up for it.

How did you adjust, swapping the city for the countryside?

It was a first for me. I don’t think I'd go back, it’s just wonderful with the children. Growing up in the city, they were asking permission to go out and play, and now it’s very fluid and they just do it. The transition to the school, that was something very different - there is one school with one class, 19 kids in total, so my two eldest are in the same class, and there’s a little school bus that comes to pick them up. It’s a lot more adapted to their skills, rather than their age.

 How does it compare to your own childhood?

It’s very different! I grew up in the city and I started dancing ballet when I was eight. I did it quite intensively and left my family to go to a dance school when I was 12, so there was a lot of self discipline and pushing myself. Not a lot of time for doing nothing, which is what I try to implement with my kids - boredom. For them to have nothing to do is great!

We don’t have a TV at home, but like every other parent, if I have something to do I can put the tablet on, I don’t ban it! But there are so many more things to do, with the freedom of them being able to do what they want outdoors. It’s a lot more imaginative: there’s not an adult watching over you. They’re not self-conscious anymore, it’s this completely un-reined play.

WOMEN WE LOVE

HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A MUM? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MOTHERHOOD?

“YES, I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A MUM. I HAD A VERY PHYSICALLY DEMANDING CHILDHOOD LEAVING HOME REALLY YOUNG TO PURSUE A DANCING CAREER. I KNEW IT WASN’T A GIVEN AND ALWAYS HOPED IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE. MOTHERHOOD HAS REALLY REDEFINED ME INTO SOMEONE I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE.”

 HOW’S LIFE WITH THREE GIRLS? WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE BOYS TOO?

“LOVE IT! THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER. THE GENDER OF OUR KIDS WEREN’T EVEN A SUBJECT. WE DIDN’T WISH FOR ONE OR THE OTHER AND WE KEPT IT A SURPRISE EACH TIME. NOW IT IS A FAMILY JOKE AS MY BROTHER IS HAVING HIS THIRD BOY IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.”

DO YOU CONSIDER PHOTOGRAPHY AS A HOBBY AND LIFESTYLE OR AS A JOB?

“DEFINITELY A LIFESTYLE BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. I DON’T GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY CAMERA. IT REALLY HELPS ME FOCUS ON THE GOOD THINGS. IN TODAY'S ERA, WHEN EVERYTHING CAN BE SO STRESSFUL, TAKING TIME TO LOOK BACK AND SEEING BEAUTIFUL TINY MOMENTS OF CALM, PEACE, BEAUTY HELPS ME FOCUS ON WHAT IS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT.”

WHERE DO YOU FIND THE INSPIRATION TO TAKE YOUR PICTURES? WHAT LOCATIONS DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU DO YOUR SHOOTINGS?

“EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME. I AM LUCKY TO LIVE IN A BEAUTIFUL PART OF SCOTLAND BETWEEN LOCH, WOOD AND HILLS. IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND BEAUTIFUL LIGHT AND SURROUNDINGS.”

WE LIKE COLLABORATING WITH PEOPLE WHOSE VIBES MATCH OUR BRAND. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE NEW SOCIETY? WHAT  INSPIRES YOU?

“SINCE I HAVE 3 CHILDREN, I FIND IT IMPORTANT TO CHOOSE DURABILITY IN A GARMENT AS THEY WILL BE PASSED ON. ALSO TIMELESS NEUTRAL STYLE IS WHAT I PREFER. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR ME TO USE NATURAL FIBERS THAT ARE MANUFACTURED ETHICALLY. THE NEW SOCIETY HITS ALL THE SPOTS!”

DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PROJECTS IN MIND?

“YES IT IS STILL A SECRET BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO SAY MORE SOON.”

Minimiz, une française en Ecosse

Pour commencer, pourrais-tu nous présenter ta famille ?

Je m’appelle Nina, je suis française et je suis mariée à Mikey, un écossais. Ensemble nous avons trois filles, Ada qui a 9 ans, Colette 5 ans et Nicole 2 ans. 

Est-ce que tu peux nous parler de ton expatriation ?  

Je suis partie avec mon Ford break et 3 copains l’été 2007, direction Édimbourg pour deux mois. Le but était de trouver une sous location et un boulot afin d’apprendre l’anglais. 

Cet été là, rien ne s’est passé comme prévu mais j’ai rencontré Mikey et je ne suis jamais rentrée! 

Est-ce que tu as essaye d’entretenir un lien particulier avec la France pour tes enfants ?

Oui! J’ai habité plusieurs pays, l’ecosse est aujourd’hui celui où je suis resté le plus longtemps. Après avoir aménagé avec Mikey quelques mois après notre rencontre la nécessité à assouvir une soif de culture française a été très forte. Musiques, films, livres bien plus qu’auparavant. Lorsque je suis devenue maman,il était certain pour tout les deux que nous les élèverions bilingues. 

Je ne rentrais pas beaucoup avant d’avoir les filles mais depuis nous passons 2 mois l’été et un mois en octobre. 

Tes enfants parlent anglais et français ? 

Naturellement nous avons parlé tous les deux français aux filles jusqu’à leur deux ans environ, puis Mikey leur parlent anglais quand son français devient trop limité. Je continue en français encore aujourd’hui. Je ne lis jamais d’histoire en anglais. Je ramène des kilos de livre à chaque voyage en France! 

Comment sont-ils scolarisés ? 

L’école commence au CP a 5ans ici. Actuellement les deux grande sont dans une toute petite école publique avec un classe commune de 18 élèves. 

Elle sont dans un programme flexi school. Je les garde un jour par semaine à la maison pour leur apprendre à lire, grammaire et orthographe en français. 

L’école en Ecosse ? c’est comment ?

Beaucoup plus à l’écoute de l’enfant. L’apprentissage se fait par le jeu en CP, CE1 et CE2. C’est une sorte de mis à niveau. Certain enfants arrive sans savoir de quelle main tenir leur stylo! Mais tous finissent le CP en sachant lire. 

Je ne pense pas pouvoir parler en général mais d’après mon expérience l’enfant n’est pas dans un environnement strict et autoritaire. Ils choisissent un sujet d’étude et vont faire tous les apprentissages en relation avec ce sujet. C’est plutôt cool! 

Qu’est ce qui te plait le plus où tu vis ? ce que tu aimes le moins ?

L’espace, la campagne, la nature, les écossais, la culture et cette relation profondes avec leur racines. 

J’aime moins le manque de lumière en hiver. C’est très dur, même après 15 ans! 

À voir

National museum sur chamber street gratuit et immense, top pour les enfants. 

Pas très loin descendre victoria street très mignonne avec plein de magasins indépendants

traverser the grass market glace culte au Mary Milk Bar et remonter jusqu’à bread street, mignon petit cafe love crumb ( gateau a tomber) Tout ce quartier est le vieux centre ville, près du chateau. Il y a un grand parc au pied de la bute. 

Dean gallery et gallery of modern art dans le dean village quartier à visiter absolument charmant.

Portobello, la plage d’Edinburgh

Arthur seat un ancien volcan et une des 7 collines de la ville. Descendre the royal mile du chateau au Palais de la reine. En face il y a le parlement Ecossais, bâtiment très moderne en béton. Arthur seat se trouve juste à côté. La montée semble infaisable mais cela est du à une illusion d’optique environ 30/45 min pour arriver au sommet.

attention aux midgies. Acheter un Skin so soft de la marque Avon ils détestent ça!!!

Quelle est la meilleure période pour venir ?

Printemps sans comparaison 

Des spécialités culinaires à tester ?

Cullen skink (soupe au haddock fumé)

Fish and Chip à Anstruther, petit village de pêcheur au Royaume de Fife. Il faut le prendre à emporter et le manger sur le port (le meilleur! )

Les glaces de Mary Milk Bar

Tes accessoires/produits pour enfants « indispensables » à mettre dans ton sac lors de vos sorties ?

Une gourde pour l’eau, des granules d’arnica 9ch, un carnet et un stylo, un mouchoir en tissu ou tetra. 

 

Le voyage que tu rêves de faire en famille ?

Il y en a pleins! Japon, côté ouest de États Unis, Nouvelle Zélande, Bali. 

Peut être nous en croiserons un de la liste cet été 🙂

Je Sais Cuisiner

Grâce à des recettes simples et accessibles, des techniques de base et des astuces, l’enfant découvre tout ce qu’il faut savoir pour préparer des plats en famille tout en s’amusant.Un ouvrage au contenu, ludique et pratique et richement illustré par des recettes en bandes dessinées, des rébus, des pas à pas en dessins ou en photos…Découvrez :Des recettes salées : gratin, soupe,pâte, salade, galette…Des recettes sucrées : brioche, biscuits, mousse au chocolat, gâteau roulé, crumble…Des techniques de base : éplucher, couper, pétrir, presser, cuire…Des connaissances indispensables et des idées amusantes : connaître les légumes et les fruits de saison, ce qui se mange cru/ce qui se mange cuit…

• Développement de l'enfant

Friends Of Trees // #4: Nina Davidson

We’ve teamed up with 5 inspiring creatives from across the globe to introduce our very first YKRA KIDS line co-designed with artist Anna Kövecses: THE FRIENDS OF TREES - THE REFORESTATION MOVEMENT Collection!

It all starts with small steps and we’ve asked each guest to help us raise awareness through their own artistic lense, while educating children and youth about deforestation, and the importance of protecting nature.

Join French photographer Nina Davidson (@ninadavidson_) as she shows us her favorite tree in the fourth edition of our mini-series!

Tell us a little about yourself! (Where are you from? What do you do? etc.)

Hi there, my name is Nina, and although I’m French, I’ve been living in Scotland for 14 years. My husband is Scottish and together we have 3 wonderful daughters, Ada, Colette and Nico. We moved from Edinburgh to the countryside 2 years ago, but I own a bar in the city. 

Why did you choose this tree (or/and the location too)? Why is this location special to you?

This tree is my childhood tree. I remember climbing its branches as a child. It’s in Cap Ferret, southwest France. I love that it’s the same for my kids now and the thought of the games we played on these branches over decades is just magical. 

If you were a tree, what type of tree would you be and why? :)

I would probably be a pin des Landes. I am fascinated by the cycle of the forest over there. How fast growing they are to then let space to a new generation of trees.