Aspire is a skills-driven professional development course designed for artists, curators and arts professionals, delivered by industry experts to further your career in contemporary visual arts. Through the course, you'll join a community of arts and cultural professionals, foster new relationships with prospective project partners and acquire practical experience by curating a group exhibition at a reputable National Portfolio Organisation.

Course Overview

Fundraising for Your Project

Participants will look at the various approaches to fundraising, from individual giving to grant applications, including:

• Giving versus bidding

• Fundraising Events

• Arts Council Applications

• Individual giving

• Managing donor relationships

Budgeting & Project Management Masterclass

In this masterclass, you will cover a range of concepts that provide a broad understanding of project management and budgeting, including:

• Forecasting Budgets

• Event design and conceptualisation

• Risk management

• Tools for planning and managing events

Arts Facilitation Practice

Learn strategies and techniques to encourage community participation in projects, events and activities, including:

• Building trust with the community

• Effective communication strategies

• Engagement tools and techniques

• Arts Facilitation as methodology

• Measuring and evaluating engagement

• Overcoming challenges

• Case studies and best practices

Promoting Your Own Work

Get equipped with the tools needed to create and manage successful marketing campaigns and developing a distinct brand and visual identity, including:

• Developing and delivering a digital campaign

• Creating a distinct brand/visual identity

• Audience development

• Social media for artists/arts professionals

• Content creation and storytelling

Curatorial Masterclass

In two curatorial masterclasses, you will gain hands-on experience in all aspects of curating a Communal Space exhibition at Aspex, including:

• Conceptualise an Idea

• Gather the work necessary to exhibit

• Manage consent forms

• Installation

• Write an interpretation panel

Course Dates

Aspire will run from October 2025 to March 2026, with monthly sessions delivered in a hybrid format. Most sessions will take place online, with occasional in-person events such as curation masterclasses held at Aspex in Portsmouth.

Course Fees

The cost of the full course is £360 and can be booked on Art Tickets. Please note, we are unable to offer payment in instalments.

Aspire offers 15 places, with 3 reserved for bursary-supported participants. Paid places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and early booking is advised to avoid missing out.

Further information

For more information about the course, please visit the Aspex website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at info@aspex.org.uk.

For any questions, please contact info@aspex.org.uk