Apollo Painting School is a non-profit organisation founded in 2023 by artist Louise Giovanelli, gallerist & curator Alice Amati and artist & academic Dr. Ian Hartshorne with the aim to create an alternative and unique learning opportunity for emerging painters which holds at its core a wish to be accessible to anyone, regardless of economic background or circumstances.
WHAT IS IT
Apollo Painting School is an intensive 3-month summer programme designed for UK based emerging artists with a painting practice taking place online and in person in Manchester (UK) and Latina, (Italy)
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The programme will be accessible by open call and the applications will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of internationally acclaimed artists and educators.
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The programme is means tested and accessible to anyone regardless of economic background or circumstances with fully funded bursaries.
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The first cohort of students will be selected by the beginning of May to start the programme in June 2024.
WHAT DOES IT OFFER
​The programme is designed to offer a progressive alternative to the traditional schooling system by combining a unique educational experience focussed on building technical skills, introducing knowledge of professional practice and career pathways, with a cultural exchange between the UK and Italy in a post-Brexit era.
The course is delivered by experienced educators, artists, curators and writers with extensive experience both in arts education and the contemporary art market, who will encourage and support a diversity of approaches within painting and its related discourse.
Based around the development of an individual practice, the core ethos of this programme is to enable students to harness their personal growth and creative ambitions, by acquiring and embedding a deeper understanding of contemporary paintings scope, in relation to the broader cultural realm.
The programme will provide a series of connected learning experiences that critically develop student’s knowledge of painting by encouraging and supporting a variety of approaches. The main teaching strategies for this practice-based course are delivered through structured lectures, seminars and tutorials, workshops, group critiques and invited Artists talks. Through these mixed teaching strategies and a period of residency in Italy, experiences will accumulate, enabling students to develop the kind of skills, critical understanding and specialist knowledge required to pursue a rewarding career as an independent artist.
WHERE IS IT
MANCHESTER (UK)
ONLINE
LATINA (IT)
​Based on the principle that making should and does exist across the UK rather than just in the capital, the programme will bring artists to the city of Manchester, which is experiencing a Zeitgeist in painting and where demand for a particular and radical approach is demonstrable there.
Each week students will come together in Manchester. Teaching will take place in different locations there, allowing students to familiarise themselves with the city and embedding themself within its cultural landscape.
Each week students will take part in online lectures and Artists talks. Distant learning methods allows students to fit the programme around their life commitments and provides opportunities to invite international academics, art professionals and artists to teach.
Italy was selected as a second physical location for the programme as a place of artistic and cultural enrichment. It will also be a site for cultural exchange and for the students to learn about other artistic eco-systems. Students will be in residence at Liceo Artistico (Latina, IT) for one month and will be hosted by local families.
Latina, a young and rationalist city, situated between Rome and Naples along the coast of the Tirrenean see is well suited with its large spaces to welcome young artists ready for a new experience. Latina, born from a mixture of diverse cultures that over time have discovered balances and synergies, presents itself as an ideal place for new experiments and comparisons. There will be regular open studios were locals will be able to interact with students. Two young artists from the city of Latina will have the opportunity to participate in a two-weeks residency in Manchester as an important moment of artistic/cultural exchange.
PROGRAMME FEES
Cost of programme: £3,000 per student
This fee includes the following:
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All travel from student’s own residence to Manchester weekly during June/July 2024.
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All lectures, seminars, artist talks and site visits (both in Italy and UK).
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Return Flights to Italy.
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Accommodation and Studios for each artist in Italy.
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Materials for production during the residency in Italy.
Apollo Painting School invites applicants from any background and is committed to covering the cost of the programme for those applicants who require financial support. After the Jury has selected the candidates, a request to prove financial status in order to adjust the fee will follow, based on the tier system below. Each candidate will be required to submit evidence such as pay slips and/or tax returns.
3-tiered support system:
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Free - Income below £40,000
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50% reduction - Income between £41,000 - £60,000
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Full price - Income above £61,000
WHO IS IT FOR
The programme is open for applications from any self-identifying emerging artist with a painting practice based in the UK.
Students will gather every Wednesday online and Thursday in person in Manchester for an eight-week programme starting in June 2024, followed by a one month residency in Italy. All applicants must be prepared to attend the entirety of the programme if selected.
Applicants are welcome from different backgrounds and experience levels. Although there are no educational prerequisites to participate in the programme, applicants must demonstrate in the application that they have been developing a painting practice for at least 3 years.
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All participants must be 21 years of age by the start of the programme and have a valid passport.
Participants will meet for group and individual sessions between June-July in Manchester and August in Italy 2024. We ask that all participants be prepared to be engaged in conversation (the nature and content of those conversations will be self-determined). Because the programme focuses on process, experimentation, and an opening up of one’s practice, participants are encouraged be prepared to work without a preconceived agenda or schedule. We advise against using the time to prepare for an upcoming exhibition and instead come prepared to be open to discovery and develop new conversations.
APPLY NOW
Application are open until April 22, 2024
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APPLICATION MATERIAL
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A digital portfolio containing 5 to 7 images of recent work, made in the last 3 years.
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Curriculum Vitae including place of residence in UK.
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(up to) 1000-word statement consisting of 500-word artist statement and 500 words articulating reason for your application.
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SUBMISSION
Please submit your application material via email as an attachment or in an non-expirable download link to info@apollopaintingschool.com for the attention of the jury by 12pm BST on April 22, 2024.
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APPLICATION
OUTCOME
Selected candidate will be invited for an online interview with the jury panel on 2nd of May, 2024.
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Please note that due to the expected volume of application we are unable to give feedback to unsuccessful candidates.
THE TEAM
LOUISE GIOVANELLI
Louise Giovanelli is a British painter who lives and works in Manchester, UK. She studied at Städelschule, Frankfurt (2018–20) under the tutelage of Amy Sillman, having received her BA from the Manchester School of Art, UK.
Collections include; AkzoNobel Art Foundation (NL), Asymmetry Art Foundation (UK), Contemporary Art Foundation (JP), The Ekard Collection, Fundación Medianoche0 (ES), Grundy Gallery Collection (UK), Hall Art Foundation (DE, US), The Hepworth Wakefield (UK), Hill Art Foundation (US), Hort Family Collection (US), Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (US), Longlati Foundation (CN) Manchester Art Gallery Collection (UK), MOCA, Los Angeles (US), The National Museum (NO), Sarow Gallery Collection (DE), The UK Government Art Collection (UK), The University of Salford Collection (UK), Warrington Museum and Art Gallery (UK), Whitworth Art Gallery (UK), Yuz Museum Shanghai (CN) amongst others.
Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at White Cube, Hong Kong. HE Museum, China. The Hepworth Museum, UK (2024). Moon Grove, UK (2023). White Cube, London (2022). GRIMM, Amsterdam & NYC. Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2019). Workplace Foundation, UK (2019). Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, UK (2018).The Grundy Gallery, UK (2016). Group exhibitions include; FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2023). Hayward Gallery, London (2021). AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (2021) The Art House, Worcester, UK (2019) amongst others.
DR. IAN HARTSHORNE
Ian Hartshorne is an artist and teacher. He trained for his MA at Chelsea College of Art and was a Stanley Picker fellow at Kingston University and a subsequent Boise Scholar at The Slade School, London. He completed his PhD, which investigated the affect on our social memories in relation to digital production methods. He has exhibited extensively across U.S.A and Europe.
He is founder member of Teaching Painting organisation, a coalition of educators. He recently completed curating a six-part exhibition cycle called ‘Fully Awake’ which brought together 72 institutions and 242 artists in an intergenerational sequence of shows; visiting six U.K venues. He is also co-editor of the book ‘Teaching Painting: How can painting be taught in British art schools?’ Published by Black Dog press. He has taught painting at all levels for over 25 years.
ALICE AMATI
Alice Amati is an Italian gallerist and curator based in London. She obtained her BA in Arts and Culture from Maastricht University and her MA in Art Galleries and Museum Studies from Manchester University.
In 2023 she opened her eponymous gallery working with British and international emerging artists. Alice has extensive experience in the management of art galleries and curatorial practices within the commercial sector, previously holding positions at leading British and international galleries such as David Zwirner and Workplace.
She is an Associate Lecturer at Teesside University in the MA Curating. She has been serving on the Camden Arts Centre's Fundraising Gala Committee for the last two years and is a Trustee of Bloomberg New Contemporaries.