What happens when an artist practices in an art school?
How can their work influence the art school and its faculty?
How is their artistic practice impacted? From their making to their thinking, process, relations, motivations, connections and frameworks...
Launched in 2021 as a Painting Fellowship, and expanded in 2023 to encompass wider studio practice, the Freelands Studio Fellowships take place annually to connect six artists with host UK universities.
Fostering a symbiotic relationship between teaching and artistic practice to enrich both artists’ and art students’ work, the programme continues the crucial legacy and impact fellowships have in the arts education ecosystem; enabling artists to develop their own practice in a learning environment in connection with students, while gaining experience delivering tutorials and lectures.
Host universities include:
- Bath Spa University
- University of Brighton
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
- Ulster University, Belfast
- University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea
About Fellowships
Fellowships were once a staple part of the landscape of art education, providing a first step into teaching for emerging artists. These positions were a vital stage in many artists’ careers, enabling them to develop their own practice, while gaining experience delivering tutorials and lectures.
A fellowship provides an environment in which an artist and art students can build a symbiotic relationship. As well as offering students immediate insight into an early career practice, working alongside art students can also afford an emerging artist the opportunity to examine their own working methods and practice.
About the Freelands Studio Fellowships programme
The programme is a partnership between Freelands Foundation and six UK universities, who co-develop the programme, with the Foundation providing the funding and infrastructure and the universities hosting the individual fellowships, as well as recruiting and supporting the artists.
Each year, the Fellowships conclude with a group event, exhibition and/or publication, organised by Freelands Foundation, showcasing the work of that year’s fellows. This enables the reflection of the fellow's time at their respective universities, documenting the impact of being a fellow on their artistic practice, and developing critical discourse at a significant point in their early career.
Evolution of the programme
In 2021, Freelands Foundation launched a two-year pilot of Painting Fellowships in partnership with the Bath School of Art, Film and Media, Bath Spa University; School of Art and Media, University of Brighton; and Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University.
In 2023, the Studio Fellowships expanded to collaborate with six host organisations across the UK, with additional partnerships with Belfast School of Art, Ulster University; Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University; and Swansea College of Art, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.