Chapel Arts Studios (CAS), together with *Friends in the Garden and Roche Court Educational Trust are pleased to announce the first year of our Emerging Sculptors Development Award, open to sculptors within 1 - 5 years of professional practice, based in South, South East or South West England, who can demonstrate a commitment to outdoor work.

The course will be residential, allowing 8 talented, emerging artists to come together for an intensive four days of creative professional development with industry professionals. Covering all aspects of running, growing and sustaining a successful practice, there will be ample opportunity for artists to share work and experiences, build relationships together, and forge valuable connections for future collaborations. 

There will also be an opportunity for participants to exhibit together at Sir Harold Hilliers Gardens in February 2024 as a result of the course. Famous for its magnificent 180-acre gardens, Sir Harold Hilliers Gardens welcomes 230k visitors each year, and regularly exhibits ambitious collections of outdoor work.

*‘The Friends of the Garden was a voluntary organisation which ran 7 exhibitions in gardens in Wiltshire. This course is funded by part of the legacy from the 2020 exhibition.’

COURSE DETAILS

DATES: Tues 19th - Fri 22nd September 2023

You must be available to attend all of these dates. Self catering accommodation will be provided free to artists as part of the award. Artists will be expected to cover their own travel and subsistence costs during the course. The finalised programme will be shared closer to the start date but will include sessions on;

• Sharing your practice with confidence, passion and integrity
• Cultivating a healthy practice - Setting goals, time management, sustaining and strengthening practice, building resilience, nurturing innovation
• Establishing relationships with galleries and collectors
• PR and marketing - showcasing your practice in the best light
• Curation & context  - based at the New Art Centre, Roche Court sculpture park
• Photographing your work professionally - also based at the New Art Centre, Roche Court sculpture park
• Practical business support - keeping accounts, scaling up your practice, planning for the future

ELIGIBILITY

We are looking for 8 highly talented and motivated artists, with or without formal training, who have been operating for between 1 and 5 years of professional practice, and are based in the South, South East or South West England. This award is supporting the future development of outdoor sculpture, so applicants will need to demonstrate a commitment to outdoor work in their application.

COURSE LEADERSHIP 

We are still recruiting our industry professionals to lead the course sessions but already in place are;

• Simon Hucker, Senior Specialist in Modern and Contemporary Art, Lyon and Turnbull
• Artist Mentor - Ceri Hand
• Professional sculptor - Rebecca Newnham FRSS
• Professional Photographer – David Bird

** We want to make our application process fair to everyone. If there are any other ways we can support an application from you, if you are experiencing difficulties with either of these formats, or would like to discuss any accessibility requirements for the application process or course, please use the contact curator tab and we will be happy to discuss. 

For example, if you would prefer to apply by video please do so (max 5 minutes). Please use the contact curator tab to get in touch and we will provide you with instructions of how you can submit in this way.