Launching an Independent Art Space: Conceptual and Practical Skills

Duration: September 23 – October 21, 2024
Fee: 189€
Max Seats: 30
Enroll Before: September 19, 2024
Live Sessions: 2 hours per week

Project spaces (also known as independent art spaces, artist-run initiatives, off spaces, etc.) are an important part of the art ecosystem: nurturing experimentation, promoting new artists, sparking dialogue and working closely with local art communities. While project spaces take many different forms, what they have in common is that they are usually not institutional, not commercial, nor a white cube.

Whether you’re an artist, a curator or a collective group of people, having your own art space – no matter how small it is – brings a lot of opportunities to realize your ideas, experiment with concepts and build your career. Nevertheless, for a fruitful outcome it is important to consider certain structural, financial and conceptual aspects before getting started. This course is for people who want to set up their own independent art space. We will discuss the essentials of setting up your own space, including how to get started, potential organisational structures, developing a curatorial line, handling finances as well as PR strategies.

Over four weeks, participants will learn the practical aspects of establishing a project space and discover case studies of structural organisations and conceptual approaches. In addition, this course will also provide an overview of the history of prominent project spaces as well as current developments and existing networks.

Come with an already existing idea or start from a blank page! Throughout the course you will develop a concrete outline of the steps you need to realise your independent art space.