Jerwood Charitable Foundation has announced the 40 organisations selected to take part in a new programme to develop talent in the arts.
The Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme will offer paid internships to 40 new graduates who would not otherwise be in a financial position to take up an unpaid position. The programme, which launches in June, aims to give ‘each bursary recipient the best possible start to their career’ by committing £430,000 to help graduates ‘get a foot on the competitive career ladder in the arts’.
Visual arts organisations taking part include: Craftspace and Eastside Projects (Birmingham); Situations (Bristol); Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge); Stanley Picker Gallery (London); The Lowry (Manchester); Turner Contemporary (Margate); Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield); The Common Guild (Glasgow); and g39 (Cardiff)
Unequal, middle-class territory
The programme follows a successful pilot, the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme, which concluded in 2012 and saw 90% of the 44 participants gaining employment in the arts at the end of the evaluation period.
One bursary recipient who took part in the pilot scheme commented: “The scheme should continue because it is blazing a trail in terms of creating some equality in the arts. The arts sector still feels primarily like unequal and middle-class territory to people like myself who are from mixed backgrounds and whilst it would be nice to think that a sector like the arts is equal and embracing to all, I don’t think it is there yet.”
In addition to financial assistance, the new programme will create geographic and sector ‘cohorts’, facilitating networking and peer support for the placements and the hosts. Bursary recipients will also receive support outside their host organisations through a dedicated mentor, and professional development through the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Training Programme, one of the scheme’s backers.
Additional support for the project is provided by the Garfield Weston Foundation and J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust. Recruitment will be carried out by host organisations directly, with all roles also advertised by Jerwood Charitable Foundation.
