The Collective Studio is a development programme for early-career artists and/or recent graduates, and is open to creative practitioners in any discipline. It provides care, support, guidance and space to test out ideas within a nurturing and critically engaged community at The NewBridge Project.
The Collective Studio provides affordable studios and workspace, and a programme of training, events, mentoring, socials and opportunities to exhibit work tailored to each cohort and open to a very diverse range of practices. Perhaps you’ve just left university or finished a masters. You might not have been to university, but are searching for like-minded people. Maybe you are returning to a creative endeavour after life got in the way for a while? All these routes and more might lead you to applying to the Collective Studio!
The programme uses a very broad definition of art and artistic practice, has a flexible approach and evolves each year. The structure and content of the programme is shaped by and for its members with support from The NewBridge Project’s Artist Development Programmer and other staff. It is set against the backdrop of our evolving public programme, which explores big topics like climate change, who our cities are for and methods for collective solidarity that can help us imagine and live new futures.
It is run by The NewBridge Project in partnership with Newcastle University and is supported by the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
Programme
The Collective Studio runs as an 11-month events programme and subsidised studio provision between October 2024 – September 2025. It is structured around nine two-day workshops, with a mixture of planned activity led by guest practitioners, and flexible time for peer-led activity, studio time, and exploring The NewBridge Project. Please see here for full dates.
The Collective Studio is about much more than subsidised studio space. It includes:
- Crits, events & workshops
- Invited local and national workshop leaders
- Socials
- Work-in-progress exhibitions
- Field trips
- Mentoring
- Budget allocated for the cohort to collectively use, providing the opportunity to exhibit work and/or programme events.
- Peer-led activity
- Studio & workspace
- Access to member-led workshops (including wood workshop, darkroom, print studio, ceramic studio)
How does it work?
The Collective Studio operates through an 11-month membership model providing
different types of space membership including:
- shared studios (£40 per month – two people sharing a 5m2 space with own desk);
- co-working and hot-desking (£25 per month);
- associate membership for practitioners from outside the region (£60 per year / £5 per month – most activity accessible virtually).
Through this membership you also have access to a broader range of events and development opportunities through NewBridge’s ongoing artistic programme and Practice Makes Practice (our wider member-led development programme).
Along with studio and workspace, Collective Studio members will gain access to a regular and flexible curriculum of support, including events, socials and mentoring. The structure will be shaped around monthly scheduled two-day workshops between October 2024 and June 2025.
Who is The Collective Studio for?
The NewBridge Project is for any early-career practitioners and creative graduates. It is open to all creative disciplines including (but not limited to) visual artists, curators, filmmakers, photographers, performers, writers, architects, sound artists, designers, creative producers/organisers, musicians, activists, ceramicists, sculptors, conceptual artists, socially engaged practitioners, poets, directors, actors and researchers.
The Collective Studio is for:
- Those who have not undertaken a formal education course but can demonstrate a developing creative practice.
- Those who have completed an alternative or non-formal education programme in the last 3 years.
- Those who have graduated from any university/art school/college in the last 3 years from an arts-based or related, creative course (BA and MA level welcome).
- The Collective Studio 2024-25 is not open to those who have previously completed a graduate/Collective Studio programme at The NewBridge Project, or for people currently enrolled in Higher Education – just wait ‘til you’ve finished.
