Welcome to the EXPANSION ACCELERATOR
We are delighted to welcome you to this transformative programme. The EXPANSION ACCELERATOR is more than just a course; it’s a carefully designed 12-week journey aimed at elevating your creative practice to new levels.
Throughout this programme, you'll receive expert guidance, essential tools, and insights, all while being supported by a dynamic network of peers. Our approach is divided into three key phases: understanding your artistic goals, developing a strategic plan to enhance your work, and taking practical steps to increase your visibility and impact.
On this page, you will find everything you need to navigate the programme effectively:
Programme Information: Insights into what to expect and how to maximise your 12 weeks, along with links to pre-recorded sessions from the school’s resource library for your reference.
Access to Recordings: Review sessions details, replays and resources at your convenience.
1-to-1 Booking Links: Arrange your personal coaching and mentoring sessions.
Participant Information: Connect with your Expansion peers and explore their work.
We’re excited to support you throughout this journey and look forward to seeing the remarkable progress you’ll achieve.
Let’s bring your work into the spotlight it deserves.
KEY DATES
SEPTEMBER: Self Awareness
Orientation Meeting: Group Activity
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 GMT+1 (10 - 11.30am UK time)
Date: Wednesday 4th September 2024
Overview: In this 90-minute orientation, Natasha will introduce the Expansion Accelerator programme, including key details about roles, communication, and the programme webpage. You’ll also meet Eleanor, your programme coach, engage in a breakout session and group activity focused on collaboration and networking, and have the opportunity to ask questions before wrapping up with next steps.
CRITS:
Facilitate peer crit sessions with Natasha Caruana. In these two-hour sessions, four artists will each have 30 minutes to present their work and progress to receive feedback. Please prepare to screen-share your work and ask targeted questions. Use these crits to refine your practice and strengthen your projects.
Tuesday 10th September 10:00 - 12:00 & 19:00 - 21:00
Wednesday 11th September 10:00 - 12:00 & 13:00 - 15:00
WORKSHOP: Group Activity
Evolving Your Practice: Refining and Analysing
Time: 10:00 - 12:30 GMT+1 (10 - 12.30pm UK time)
Date: Wednesday 18th September 2024
Overview: Engage in a self-reflective process to evaluate your current artistic practice, presentation, working values, and what has been effective or challenging. Identify sources of support and define your ideal audience and client. We will then workshop and analyse case studies of artists' trajectories to uncover insights and develop personalised roadmaps to achieve your goals.
MENTORSHIP SESSION: 1 to 1
Personal Artistic Journey & Project Review
BOOK HERE
Focus: This session will focus on helping you gain clarity on your strengths, challenges, and how past experiences have shaped the dissemination of your work. The session will also include a review of ongoing or completed projects, offering insights on refining and integrating them into a cohesive narrative to disseminate.
COACH SESSION: 1 to 1
Overcoming Personal Barriers
BOOK HERE
Focus: Eleanor will work with you to identify and overcome personal barriers such as self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and discomfort with self-promotion. This session aims to build self-confidence and self-awareness, empowering you to get prepared to try new ways.
OCTOBER: Strategy
CRITS:
Facilitate peer crit sessions with Natasha Caruana. In these two-hour sessions, four artists will each have 30 minutes to present their work and progress to receive feedback. Please prepare to screen-share your work and ask targeted questions. Use these crits to refine your practice and strengthen your projects.
Tuesday 8th October 10:00 - 12:00 & 19:00 - 21:00
Wednesday 9th October 10:00 - 12:00 & 13:00 - 15:00
WORKSHOP: Group Activity
Strategies for Expanding Your Artistic Reach
Time: 10:00 - 12:30 GMT+1 (10 - 12.30pm UK time)
Date: Wednesday 16th October 2024
Overview: This workshop will develop tailored strategies for promoting your work, reaching target audiences, whilst navigating and building key supporters. It will cover creating effective marketing plans, identifying the right audiences, and building systems to get your work out there.
MENTORSHIP SESSION: 1 to 1
Strategic Planning & Portfolio Review
BOOK HERE (to follow)
Focus: You will work to develop a strategic plan for promoting your work, refining goals, looking at marginal gains, and creating a clear roadmap. Additionally, you will receive feedback on your portfolio, to curate and present work that aligns with your strategic objectives.
COACH SESSION: 1 to 1
Goal Setting and Accountability
BOOK HERE (to follow)
Focus: You will set specific, measurable goals related to your strategy and establish accountability measures to ensure progress. This session will focus on breaking down larger goals into manageable steps and creating a framework to lay a foundation for consistent action.
NOVEMBER: Action
CRITS:
Facilitate peer crit sessions with Natasha Caruana. In these two-hour sessions, four artists will each have 30 minutes to present their work and progress to receive feedback. Please prepare to screen-share your work and ask targeted questions. Use these crits to refine your practice and strengthen your projects.
Tuesday 12th November 10:00 - 12:00 & 19:00 - 21:00
Wednesday 13th November 10:00 - 12:00 & 13:00 - 15:00
WORKSHOP: Group Activity
Building Bridges: Networking and Community
Time: 09:00 - 11:30 GMT (9 - 11.30am UK time) AEDT (8- 10.30pm Melbourne time)
Date: Wednesday 20 November 2024
Overview: In this action-oriented workshop, you will learn practical steps for building and strengthening your networks. We will have a guest expert visiting to discuss effective PR, and we will look at what action is needed to create an effective and sustainable community around your work.
MENTORSHIP SESSION: 1 to 1
Networking and Outreach
BOOK HERE (to follow)
Focus: You will receive personalised advice on strengthening professional relationships, making introductions, and effective networking strategies. The session will also include guidance on approaching exhibitions and presenting your work effectively in various settings.
COACH SESSION: 1 to 1
Implementation and Momentum
BOOK HERE (to follow)
Focus: You will be supported to take action on your strategic plan, addressing any challenges or obstacles that arise. This session will focus on maintaining momentum, adapting to changes, and ensuring that you are on track to achieve their goals. Eleanor will also help with stress management and time management techniques to keep you focused and productive beyond the programme.
In-person event?
PRESENTATIONS & RECORDINGS
ORIENTATION SESSION
Example workshops from the Resources Library
Here is a list of past workshop recordings from our Resources Library to help you disseminate your work effectively
Mentorship 077 - Getting Published and Commissioned - Emma Bowkett
Mentorship 034 - Building a relationship with a Gallery - Catherine Couturier Gallery
Mentorship 031 - Building an artist profile for longevity with a gallery - Frederick McDonald
Mentorship 030 - Daily Practice for Visibility - Gosia Walton
PARTICIPANTS
ALISON O’NEILL
Alison is a filmmaker based in Cambridge working on feminist narratives. Alison's work is currently supported by a DYCP grant from Arts Council, England (2023-24).
www.alisononeill.co.uk
@isitokifi
ADAM ISLER
Adam is a UK-based photographic visual artist and long-time street photographer most recently concerned with economic inequality in its many guises, working with staged and constructed images, as well as digitally collaged text-based images.
www.islerweb.com
@adam_isler_photoart
CLAIRE MAXFIELD
Claire is a freelance photographer, archivist, artist and studio Manager at Sunil Gupta + Charan Singh Studio.
www.clairemaxfield.co.uk
@claire_maxfield
HENRI BLOMMERS
Henri Blommers is an Amsterdam-based fine-art photographer working in general analog, based on contemporary socially engaged themes like plastics and the impact on our future, and digital influences on our lives. He is co-creator of Hello Gorgeous magazine fighting the stigma around HIV.
www.henriblommers.nl
@henriblommers
IOANNA SAKELLARAKI
Ioanna is a Greek visual artist and researcher. Her work investigates the relationship between collective cultural memory and fiction. Drawing emphasis on the photographic object, process and encounter, she explores the boundaries of a primitive, yet futuristic vision of places and people.
www.ioannasakellaraki.com
@ioannasakellaraki_photography_
JESSIE DIBLASI
Jessie is a photographic artist, writer and curator based in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. She creates work that is deeply ingrained in social documentary, multicultural history, tradition and collaborations that seek to present and preserve them.
www.jessiediblasi.com
@jessiediblasi
JULIA NEAL
Julia’s professional work spans portraiture, architecture and interiors and social documentary. She holds an MA in documentary photography, delving into topics such as state-sanctioned surveillance, control and misinformation. Her personal work explores themes of connection and loss, with a focus on the significance of objects in navigating grief.
www.julianeal.photography
@julnealpics
KAREN BLOCK
Karen specialises in documentary, fine art and portrait photography. She has obtained her HND in photography and digital imaging, and completed a BA in Photography at Westminster University, London.
www.karenjblock.com
@karenjblock
LOUISE TAYLOR
Louise, based in Oxford, UK, uses photography, film, writing, and family archives to explore themes of autobiography, identity and loss.
www.lou-taylor.com
@loutaylor__
MOOSE AZIM
Moose is a Brighton based photographer working for small companies and artists and makers. Her personal work is about our shared human experiences around memory, belonging, quiet spaces, and a love of nature.
www.mooseazim.com
@mooseazimphotography
NASTASSJA NEFJODOV
Nastassja Nefjodov is a German/Russian artist living in Amsterdam. Her work is based on family stories around (war) trauma using archive material and combining it with her own photography. Stories which show how the political impacts the personal, how experiences and memories are passed down and sometimes repeated in the next generation.
www.nefjodov.nl
@nnefjodov
SABINE KIBBEL-REGITZ
Sabine is a vocal coach based in Frankfurt, Germany.
www.sabine-kibbel.de
@sabinekibbel
STUART LEECH
Stuart is an artist based in Ramsgate, UK. His work utilises photography combined with a research-based practice to explore political and social issues often discussed but not often visualised.
www.stuartleech.com
@stuartleech
SUE VAUGHTON
Sue is a Devon-based photographer and visual artist specialising in architecture and interiors. Her recent work has explored themes of family, memory, belonging, and loss, examining heirlooms and objects to uncover the stories they hold.
www.suevaughtonphoto.com
@suevaughton