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Syllabus has secured a landmark grant of £500,000 from Freelands Foundation which will enrich the support available for artists across the next ten years, funding bursaries and access costs for artists, a new online element, an annual Artist Advisor position,  robust evaluation and a dedicated Syllabus coordinator. Syllabus will resume activity from June 2024.

Syllabus: Meet the new Partners podcast 

Tune in to hear the new Syllabus partners PS2, TACO! (guest partner 2024-25) and New Art Exchange talk about their organisations and what they are most looking forward to on the Syllabus programme.  

Read the podcast transcript here.

Click here to listen to the podcast on Soundcloud, or find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more!

Syllabus is a collaboratively produced alternative learning programme in its seventh year that will support ten artists across ten months. The programme offers time to come together with artists from across the UK to discuss ideas, work, life and approaches to practice.  

Applications close Monday 18 March at midnight. 

Click here to apply now!

Artists

Wysing Arts Centre, Eastside Projects, New Art Exchange, PS2, Spike Island, Studio Voltaire and TACO! invite applications from artists for Syllabus VII. Syllabus is a collaboratively produced alternative learning programme in its seventh year that will support ten artists across ten months. 

Syllabus offers time to come together with artists from across the UK to discuss ideas, work, life and approaches to practice.

Download the full recruitment pack here.

Download our FAQ here.

Apply via Submittable here.

Starting in June 2024 the Syllabus VII curriculum will be built around a series of six intensive in-person weekend gatherings and an online programme, which the ten selected artists will collaboratively develop with curators and artists who work with the partner organisations, the Syllabus Coordinator and this year’s Artist Advisor, Uma Breakdown.

Artists will benefit from: 

  • The opportunity to rethink individual practices through an intensive programme of in-person gatherings and an online programme, hosted by the partner organisations.
  • Working together to collaboratively shape and develop a reflexive, collective learning experience.
  • Critical conversations about ideas and work in progress with a supportive, national network of artists, curators and organisations.
  • Becoming part of a new network of artist peers
  • Introductions to, and connections with, arts organisations, communities in cities across the UK and access to new networks, expertise and resources. 
  • Two gatherings at Wysing Arts Centre and gatherings at Eastside Projects, New Art Exchange and PS2.
  • An online programme convened by Spike Island
  • A gathering with this year’s guest partner, TACO! and associate partner, Studio Voltaire.
  • Two 1-2-1 meetings with Artist Advisor, Uma Breakdown, over the course of the year 
  • One 1-2-1 meeting with a partner organisation.

To support participation in Syllabus VII, artists will receive:

  • A bursary of £1,000 for accommodation and travel
  • An access budget for those who need it.
  • As in previous years, gatherings will include content generated by the cohort itself, and so we are looking for participants who want to proactively bring forward ideas to the programme and contribute to its design and delivery across the ten months.
  • Syllabus VII aims to reach artists with a range of practices and artistic approaches and bring together individuals from across the UK who have not yet had access to similar programmes. We are particularly keen to support people who are currently underrepresented in the visual arts including artists those with Global Ethnic Majority heritage, those who have faced socio-economic barriers, artists who identify as LGBTQ+, and those with disabilities. We ask applicants to make this clear when applying, if applicable.

BACKGROUND

In 2021, Freelands Foundation agreed a landmark £500,000 grant to fund Syllabus as part of its multi-million pound commitment to support the work of organisations addressing racial inequality in the arts. With this grant, the future of Syllabus is secure for the next ten years. 

Find out more about Freelands Foundation here.

We look forward to relaunching Syllabus in June 2024 with a newly expanded programme, including bursaries for artists, access costs for artists, an online programme, an annual guest partner, robust evaluation and a dedicated Syllabus coordinator.

APPLICATION PROCESS 

Applicants must have been out of formal education for at least 4 years. We are also interested in hearing from artists who have not progressed through formal art training routes. 

We aim to establish a cohort that represents a diversity of cultural perspectives and artistic practices and welcome applications from a wide geographic spread across the UK.

We are looking for applicants who want to both develop their own work and actively contribute to the collaborative development of the curriculum for Syllabus VII. 

Applicants are expected to make a significant contribution to shaping the programme and must commit to attending all gatherings and retreats.

Syllabus VII is open to artists based in the UK

Applications may be made via video or audio, rather than written form.