a-n is widely acknowledged to be the leading UK agency for supporting artists’ practice.  a-n’s NAN’s (Networking Artists’ Networks) mission is to promote the aspirations of artists and the development of practice through peer dialogue and exchange.

Website

Finding information or advice on a specific artform can be difficult as the arts covers a huge range of activities.

Umbrella bodies can be a great way to find out more about a specific artform, craft or activity and, as they are often membership bodies, they can also point you towards local groups near you!

See the link below for a list of associations and socities listed by art form, and check out our ‘Creativity Map‘ for direct links to groups across the UK and Ireland.

Visit: Creative Network

Theatre Bristol is to theatre and performance what Bristol Creatives is to visual and applied arts.  Theatre Bristol’s ambition is to make Bristol the nexus for theatre makers and audiences of new work.  The Theatre Bristol (online) Directory aims to comprehensively map all theatre and theatre-related activity in Bristol.  You can raise your profile and platform your theatre practice by listing it in the Theatre Bristol Directory for free.  You can also submit News, showcase your work, look for work and subscribe to their e-bulletins and much more at Theatre Bristol.

Spike Island’s Associate Programme supports Bristol-based artists, writers and curators operating in the contemporary visuals arts. Membership of the Associates offers a shared base in Spike Island Studios, access to opportunities and a network of peers. The culture of the Associates is led by Associates. Launched in March 2007, the Associates has built up a membership of over 80 practitioners.

The programme has to date funded visits to international arts festivals such as DOCUMENTA, Venice Bienniale 2007 and Istanbul Bienniale 2009 and invited international artists and curators for studio visits, conversations and supported Associate-led exhibitions, screenings and events. The culture of the programme is centred around practice, production, dissemination and collaboration.  Visit Spike Island Associates for more information and details of how you can get involved.

The Royal British Society of Sculptors is committed to the pursuit of excellence in the art form, the Society aims to inspire, inform and engage people with sculpture.  It offers opportunities to see and experience the extraordinary diversity of contemporary work and to learn from those who make it.  RBS supports sculptors by providing bursaries to newly emergent sculptors, professional development seminars, a mentoring scheme and various awards. It also provides professional advice, advocates good practice, runs workshops and lectures, houses an archive and resource centre, manages and facilitates commissions, shows works in its gallery and in other sites.  Visit Royal British Society of Sculptors for more information.

Evolver Magazine was set up in 2001 to support and promote the Arts in Wessex, and now covers an area that takes in Somerset and Dorset, Bristol and Bath, extending east to Salisbury and West Wiltshire, and west to Exeter and East Devon.  It is available FREE at arts centres, venues, galleries, libraries, cafes, and other cultural outposts, and is now firmly established as the region’s most popular arts and culture guide.  To coincide with it’s new-look 50th issue, Evolver is now taking another big step forward with a website that can at last provide the region’s arts audience with a one-stop hub for information and features about the wealth of events and creativity that Wessex has to offer.  You can now list your events, exhibitions, festivals, gigs, etc for free by visiting Evolver Listings.

Connect. Collaborate. Empower.

We champion, connect, support and invest in creative people and businesses. We’re a group of diverse and inclusive professionals who believe in the power of the creative industries to change lives, placing creativity at the heart of the UK’s culture, economy and education system.

Our goal is simple: to cultivate a world where creativity is championed, valued, and fundamentally nurtured.

We unite the creative industries and generate opportunities for innovation to thrive by investing in people and their ideas. We are here for those who dare to imagine: imagine a fairer, more prosperous world, achieved through the power of creativity.

Visit www.wearecreative.uk for further information.

Music is changing

We believe that music is everyone’s right. We believe that music should reflect the whole of society and that, in order to do this, it needs to continuously evolve. This evolution is only possible if we remove the barriers currently preventing many people from a meaningful musical life…because evolution and diversity are mutually inclusive.

What is it?

The National Centre for Inclusive Excellence (NCIE) is a national initiative, established by Bristol Music Trust, which aims to transform the music industry and education sectors by removing barriers to participation at all levels. To do this, the NCIE brings together partners from the music industry, higher education, local and national government, and creative and cultural organisations to connect the dots between music education and the music industry.

Visit Bristol Music Trust for more information.

Bristol Creative Industries support the creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone.

Connecting Bristol’s creative sector

We forge collaborations – bringing together a community of like-minded creative businesses to promote opportunities and support sector growth.

Business growth & opportunities

We support Bristol creatives – providing a digital platform to recruit talent, raise the profile of our members and showcase excellence.

Events & skills development

We encourage learning through our programme of keynote talks, portfolio review nights, community initiatives and skills workshops.

This is a festival, lit-shape and Bristol fashion. We showcase acclaimed authors alongside voices from across the city. Everyone has a tale, so bring your ears or bring the truth you want to tell. We run for a week or so every October, in venues across Bristol.

If you want to be part of the festival, if you have a great idea for an event, or just want to perform at one of our spoken word events then drop us an email at contact@unputdownable.org

Bristol Festival of Literature is a programme of events and performances celebrating creative writing, mainly fiction. We inspire audiences with the very best local, UK and international authors; we engage communities with each other through events in unusual places and we equip writers at all levels with masterclasses, showcases and routes to publishing. We love irrepressible creativity and dissenting voices. That’s why we call it ‘Unputdownable’.

For more information visit www.unputdownable.org

BANA is an artist-led network that is trying to raise the profile of arts activity in the Bath area with the aim of establishing and strengthening links between artists, artists’ groups and art promoters, and of advocating for increased investment in local arts activities. BANA was established in 1998 by artists, for artists, and works through artists to achieve these aims. It is a non-selective network and its membership is made up of artists committed to professional practice.  Visit BANA for more information.

The Association for Contemporary Jewellery is devoted to the promotion, representation, understanding and development of contemporary jewellery in the United Kingdom and abroad.  Founded as a membership association in 1997 and registered as a Limited Company in 2006, it recognises a need to foster discussion, debate and critical review and interaction amongst its members. To this end it organises conferences, lectures, seminars, workshops and an annual general meeting for members. The ACJ’s regular newsletter, findings, features reviews, information, comment, book offers and discounts and is of benefit to both our members and the wider public.  It also produces a monthly e-bulletin featuring news and opportunities. 

The ACJ welcomes as members practising jewellers, associated designers and crafts people, educators, students, gallery owners and retailers, museum curators, critics and collectors – indeed, anyone with an interest in contemporary jewellery.  It also has regional groups, with the ACJ Bristol group being particularly active and well worth joining.