Research & media

Welcome into our new area especially for those engaged in arts, educational or cultural research or working in the press and media and looking for insights into the world contemporary visual arts and artists.

Arts funding index

Following Arts Council England's funding announcements from earlier this year and the launch of Creative Scotland's ten-year plan, a-n offers up some routes through the data and food for thought - and action - for use by artists as well as their champions, advisers and collaborators. Read on »

NEW! Little or large? Gillian Bates explores the complexities and hurdles individual visual artists face if they want to lever grants, and questions whether the funding dice is loaded against the artist in favour of arts organisations. Read on »

NEW! A fair share? Is there enough funding going to individual artists and are the application processes user-friendly? We asked Dany Louise to examine the current state of play for grants to individual artists from the UK arts councils - including comparators of volumes of artists applying and success rates - to see whether a 'fair share' has been getting into the hands of artists to develop their practice. Read on»

NEW! Over the past five years, the words Turning Point have been read, heard, written and spoken with increasing frequency by people in the visual arts in England, but for many individual arts practitioners, in particular, the origins and activities of Turning Point remain a bit opaque. Read on»

Creative Scotland investment strategies unveiled: Scotland’s cultural and artistic community responds to Creative Scotland’s new series of funding categories to consider what the future holds for the country’s artists and arts organisations. Report by Phil Miller, Arts Correspondent at The Herald. Read on »

Ladders for development: Dany Louise discusses new evidence exposing and quantifying the likely impact on the visual arts of Arts Council England's decisions on fifteen previously Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) visual arts organisations unsuccessful in their NPO application. Read on »

Current research

NEW! Over the past five years, the words Turning Point have been read, heard, written and spoken with increasing frequency by people in the visual arts in England, but for many individual arts practitioners, in particular, the origins and activities of Turning Point remain a bit opaque. This briefing paper is for them and for anyone interested in understanding more about what Turning Point is and does.  Read on »

a-n exposes how the economic recession has impacted on the livelihoods of artists and raises concerns about how artists' practice is likely to fare in this period of arts austerity.
Read on »

Evidence

Selected interviews with artists and arts organisers from across a-n's user generated and community sites:

Artist Alex Pearl on the forces at play in his work: repetition, loss and the 'destabilising language of humour' Read on »

Public Art Officer for Sheffield City Council Andrew Skelton talks to Kate Brundrett Read on »

Recent graduate Rebecca Cusworth discusses her RSA scholarship in Postcards from Italy Read on »

Case studies

Catherine Wilson explores the myriad ways artists engage with communities in residencies, collaborations, cross-cultural projects and research, including interviews with Gayle Chong Kwan, Guyan Porter, Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg, Rachel Grant and David Blandy.
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