Endorsements
'"Getting it across: communicating your art practice" allows artists to reconnect with the original inner forces in art-making. It can be described as a valuable writing and presentation workshop for artists at any stage in their careers. It helps to find clarity and simplicity to transmit complex processes and ideas about the artwork. The course also allows writing from a principle of empathy. The oral presentations are powerful exercises to put your ideas in motion and own the words to present your making.'
-- Felipe Arturo (Colombia)
'Wow! What a ride... It was soooooo intense! In a good way. I needed a shake-up and I certainly got one. I think being held accountable and relentlessly constructively criticised was the best aspect - I have never had this in any other education programme (BA / MA / PhD). I loved the international feel of the course. It was incredible to see many other artists letting their guard down and being vulnerable. It made me feel like I am not alone. Thank you!'
-- James William Murray (UK)
'So many essential points vital to artists' careers, but everyone shies away from talking about them in the real art world! The Getting it Across course made me confident, empowered, and transparent. It has been an extremely informative four weeks. My most significant takeaway from this course was building a new relationship with language, text and articulation. Thanks, Francesca. You Rock <3
-- Ghazaleh Avarzamani (Canada/Iran)
'Under the disguise of a 'communications course', there is such a nurturing community-building space. I walk away with a renewed sense of "I can do this!" which is really empowering.'
- Arabel Lebrusan (UK/Spain)
'The ACT Programme helped me outline my new independent project as a curator. No matter the age or the role one plays in the artistic environment, this program provides a complete toolkit to structure an effective, clear, empathetic communication with the needs of artistic projection and other possible contexts in mind. I would recommend that each actor in the creative ecosystem enrols annually because it trains, updates and links a support network that every art professional requires in these challenging times.'
-- Adriana María Ríos, curator (Colombia)
'This has been an incredible journey of unlearning, reflecting, searching and constantly questioning what I'm trying to say and do through my work. This programme has been so rigorous, intense and in-depth -- I did not imagine it would have been able to impact my thinking and writing so much over the month, but it did'
-- Izabela Pluta (Poland/Australia).
'Why does the important and practical knowledge about life and work come so late, and not in art school or university? This experience has been incredible, helpful, engaging, clear and empowering.'
-- Luz Broto (Spain).
'I have been lucky to take part in professional development programmes before. But they don’t compare at all with the level of focus, clarity, intensity and support that you, tutors, have put behind this.'
-- Bijan Moosavi (Iran/UK).
'The programme's most valuable asset is the concise, thoughtful and caring comments and answers from Francesca. She tailored each comment to what every artist was trying to say. The videos are excellent and very helpful, but one could go on making mistakes without participating in the weekly practices and posts.'
-- Pedro Tyler (Uruguay/Chile).
'Even though it was hard, [a key strength of the programme] is whittling down your own practice, which at times can feel vast and unwieldy. But having the time to do this and feedback made it more achievable and incredibly valuable.'
-- Katrina Beekhuis (New Zealand)
'The ACT programme was a catalyst for me to revisit and rethink both my art practice and previous projects that I’d jettisoned because I was unable to articulate them well (...) [It] helped me look intensively at specific areas of my practice and think about them ⏤ an activity I would usually avoid as self-scrutiny might be uncomfortable'
-- Jonathan Murphy (UK)
Read More About The Programme
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Participants by Age Group

Programme Experience
This graph illustrates participants' response to the question: 'On a scale from 1 to 10, to what extent would you say this programme can positively impact your work and/or life?'

Related Institutions
Exhibitions, residencies, collection and awards associated with our alumni (selection).
Akademie der Künste Berlin
Banco de la República (Colombia)
Delfina Foundation
Flora Ars Natura
Gasworks
Kempinski Young Artist Program
Kunstmuseum Basel
MACBA
Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize
MAMBO
Manor Art Prize
MUSAC
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza/TBA21
Museum Fine Arts Houston (MFAH)
Museum Mestni Muzej Ljubljana
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts
PIVO
Queens Art Museum
Residency Unlimited
Sagrada Mercancía
Sharjah Biennial
TEOR/eTICA
the Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Jewish Museum Of Thessaloniki
The National Gallery of Victoria
The Showroom
Toronto Biennial
Participant Feedback

The program helped me to structure my writing and see it with the eyes of other artists, curators, collectors, actors in the art field. It was great, great, great to hear the teachers speak in their own words in the videos. The combination of inputs and exercises in the workbook, and to then work on one's own writing was really good. The exchange with other peers in the blog was really encouraging, and nice! Also to see how others apply the inputs to their practice. To have the experience of a group learning process. Francesca's personalised comments on the writings were really great, so so helpful and direct, extremely motivating!

I think the most valuable asset is the concise, thoughtful and caring comments and answers of Francesca. Each comment tailored in what every artist was trying to say. The videos are excellent and very helpful but without the practice in each week posts one could go on making mistakes.

The strength of this program is its good structure and organization. It communicates very well and is easy to use and follow. The content is straightforward. It gives valuable information on how communication works on a practical level in different formats (pitch, statement, application, press). The lecturers are professionals who work communicating in the art world every day. From the inside, they share their knowledge, analysis, and advice, with practical examples. It is also essential the structure by weeks. Each week you have to do an exercise to apply what you have learned. It gives you a sense of engagement and improvement. And also at the end the live session to practice with other professionals. The constant feedback from Francesca is key and very motivating. It is also beneficial to meet artists from all over the world, to see their exercises and contribute with comments. You feel at home.

'Real world' knowledge from specialists in each of these fields. The ability to watch pre-recorded sessions within our individual schedules/time zones . Straight talking. Gathering a more objective view on your writing. Also (even though it was hard!) whittling down your own practice which at times can feel wide and unwieldy - but having the concentrated time to do this and with feedback made it more achievable and incredibly valuable.

ACT helped me to look intensively at certain areas of my practice and thinking --an activity I would avoid as close scrutiny might be uncomfortable. Having deadlines and a tight schedule was the impetus to turn over these rocks and try to effect change. I feel that this would help those at the basic levels of writing through to helping more proficient writers find clarity. I know a Director of a London arts organisation that would benefit from this course! The range of speakers was great + informative. The industry contrast with Georgina Adam was very unexpected and a bit of a revelation and really underscored how necessary it is to be able to operate in different contexts / audiences. ACT has helped me reach out to a number of friends/ artists who, in my mind, operated with a different integrity/ value system to mine. In doing so I hope to become more relaxed around ideas regarding networking and finding opportunities. Thank you for the chance to take part in this course, it has been amazing opportunity and I feel like I engaged with it wholeheartedly and as best I could which I’m really proud of!

The course taught me to write a pitch about my artistic work in small steps that are very well coordinated and build on one another. The great thing is that through the methods I learned I can adapt it to the specific occasion when ever I need it. The methods are flexible and I learnt a variety of approaches I can play around with, so my pitch can be tailored to the situation. All the tutors have longstanding experience in their respective fields. They were very honest and with that I got a very good insight into what they identify as weak points in artist's communication (press, cold emails, applications).

The course taught me to write a pitch about my artistic work in small steps that are very well coordinated and build on one another. The great thing is that through the methods I learned I can adapt it to the specific occasion when ever I need it. The methods are flexible and I learnt a variety of approaches I can play around with, so my pitch can be tailored to the situation. All the tutors have longstanding experience in their respective fields. They were very honest and with that I got a very good insight into what they identify as weak points in artist's communication (press, cold emails, applications).

I found the clean structure of the modules very helpful. The breakdown of each exercise in a clean formula , makes it easier to give a structure to your thoughts. I particularly enjoyed the mentors' insistence on using straightforward and unadorned language for writing statements. The programme demystified and pointed out clearly what is expected out of a pitch, an application for a residency or a press release.

The accuracy of the exercises, the clarity of the requirements and the feedback. I also particularly enjoyed getting all those tips from the other side of the spectrum, which we normally never get. It helped me understand how to verbalise my actual proposition and practice. Also It was really interesting understanding how we -as artists- all, in our way, go through the same.

It is great to watch the videos, they have been great so far and really help me to look at how I write about my work with fresh eyes. Also the work sheets are super encouraging. And to share what we write and comment on each other's writings, is a way of learning I enjoy. It took me far more time than 4 hours per week, which felt great, dedicated. But I didn't manage to read the additional texts. I hope to be able to catch up with them in the next two weeks. In general I struggle a bit with the layout of the blog, and to understand how and when to plan how much time for what in my week, but found my way now, I hope.

The programme has already positively transformed my understanding of artist writing/statements. Going forwards I hope to be able to use the valuable insights and knowledge to improve my writing, networking and overall approach. I kind of didn’t know what I was walking into before the programme actually started, which is exciting but quite difficult the allocate time if you have a busy schedule. Even though I sadly missed the deadline for the first assignment the great thing is I was still able to access the knowledge and do the work. The platform/site is straightforward, good and intuitive. However there is something of a steep learning curve — for me at least — to become comfortable with it. This learning curve needs to be factored into the time one needs to engage with this programme in a meaningful way and again I think this needs to be flagged to participants well ahead of the start date. A short introductory video on the platform i.e. how to navigate it etc. would be super helpful (unless it’s there and I missed it). I LOVE the bite-sized videos and feel like I want to go back and re-watch them. Francesca is warm an open and really wants to take us on a journey which one feels confident enough to do around her. That she posted one of her own texts for us to comment on is really good and generous / sets a good tone/spirit. Gilda was great too, very engaging and warm and open. There were some funny bits too. I liked the images in the presentation. Having real examples of good and not-so-good statements really helps and that comparative way of teaching is impactful.

In our education system we never have been thought like this. It's a new learning process. It helps me a lot understand about networking and writing. Gives me confidence. I wish I get this opportunity to learn before! And I wish the duration of this programme at least 45 days long!