Outset is there from the very outset – supporting ambitious, risk-taking contemporary art projects at their earliest stages to help bring bold ideas to life.
As an independent and collectively funded philanthropic vehicle, Outset is uniquely positioned to work flexibly and with agility to meet the needs of the arts sector. Since the founding of the first chapter in the UK in 2003, Outset has pioneered an innovative model of public-private partnership informed by institutional ambition.
From grassroots initiatives to the global stage, Outset funds artists, curators, and institutions through grants, to realise extraordinary contemporary art projects that interrogate the issues of the day.
Outset is a responsive partner and is driven by the needs of the organisations we fund. We champion open dialogue between artists, institutions, and their funders.
There are currently five international Outset chapters. Each run independently responding to local arts ecosystems, but all embody and apply the Outset philosophy into their work.
For African Artists’ Foundation to receive this Transformative Award for the innovative project ‘Dig Where You Stand’ at this time is opportune and humbling. We are extremely grateful to Outset for thinking with us throughout the process and for this generous award. It will allow us to create an energised way of connecting contemporary artists and art institutions across the continent with its various diasporas through meaningful exhibition making metabolised through intellectual rigour and in-depth research.
Azu Nwagbogu, Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation
Receiving the Transformative Award from Outset Partners allows the Stellenbosch Triennale to continue showcasing the best contemporary art from Africa, by some of its most exciting established and emerging artists, in a non-commercial space at the southern tip of the continent. The Stellenbosch Triennale celebrates and encourages exploration, innovation and curiosity. It is a platform for artists to expand their imaginations without worrying about sales and commissions. At the same time, it encourages and invites audiences to engage in critical dialogue and reflection, resulting in conversations and debates which, while sometimes uncomfortable, pave the way for new ways of thinking and exciting paradigm shifts.
Andi Norton, Founding Trustee and Project Director of Stellenbosch Triennale
The Outset Partners Impact Award allowed Oliver Frank Chanarin and Forma to realise the UK production and complete a very busy period of printing in the photography darkroom. It also ensured we could work with a variety of partners including many charities and small businesses which don’t have access to regular funding. But beyond the financial impact, Outset’s support will open Forma to a network of national and international institutions and art enthusiasts, bringing further attention to Oliver’s work and hopefully creating further opportunities to collaborate, tour the exhibition and generate further institutional acquisitions.
Chris Rawcliffe, Artistic Director of Forma
We are overwhelmed to have been awarded this extraordinarily generous award by Outset. We are currently working with nearly 300 children and young people every week, and this additional support will enable us to train more committed facilitators in The Beattie Method and so extend our reach to more students who need our support in many more schools. Just like our work, the grant will make a huge difference and transform many lives for the better.
Julie Beattie OBE and Maggie Scott, joint CEOs of AT The Bus
In the face of increasing intolerance, it is the ‘long journey of generosity’ of organisations such as Outset that enable us to deliver ambitious and engaged programmes, deeply committed to the fundamental messages of the arts, which are experimentation, multiplicity, love and inclusiveness.
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, The Serpentine Galleries
Outset has brought new energy and imagination to contemporary art by supporting artists that explore new ideas and institutions that seek new paths… The Outset Frieze Tate Fund has brought many important works by emerging artists into the national collection, making it possible for Tate to share some of the exciting developments in contemporary art with a broad public
Sir Nicholas Serota, former Director, Tate
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