a
      
      
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        the
      
      
        
      
      
        artists
      
      
        
      
      
        information
      
      
        
      
      
        company
      
      
        
      
      
        v
      
      
        
      
      
        55
      
      
        signpost
      
      
        
          redeye Photography network 
        
      
      
        Not-for-profit organisation that 
      
      
        supports photographers at every 
      
      
        level through events, opportunities, 
      
      
        advice and information. Redeye works 
      
      
        to bring photographic and other 
      
      
        organisations together, to encourage 
      
      
        ethical and best practice, and to build 
      
      
        a voice for photography. 
      
      
      
        
      
      
        See page 22 for more info.
      
      
        
          royal Society of British Sculptors
        
      
      
        Membership society for professional 
      
      
        sculptors, with advice and 
      
      
        information service, a resource centre 
      
      
        and educational programme.
      
      
      
        
      
      
        
          Scottish Artists union
        
      
      
        Lobbies on behalf of visual artists 
      
      
        working in Scotland, defending rights, 
      
      
        expanding benefits and fighting to 
      
      
        make their professional practice a 
      
      
        means to support a better quality of 
      
      
        life.
      
      
      
        
      
      
        
          Shape
        
      
      
        Develops opportunities for disabled 
      
      
        artists, training cultural institutions 
      
      
        to be more open to disabled people 
      
      
        and running participatory arts and 
      
      
        development programmes.
      
      
      
        
          Spike Associates
        
      
      
        Membership network of artists, 
      
      
        writers, curators, designers and 
      
      
        creative practitioners. offers a 
      
      
        dynamic context for the development 
      
      
        of individual practices by facilitating 
      
      
        new connections, hosting critical 
      
      
        discussions and supporting ambitious 
      
      
        projects. Programme of activities 
      
      
        shaped by members and includes 
      
      
        regular trips, critiques, projects and 
      
      
        events.
      
      
      
        
          The Design Trust
        
      
      
        Helps professional designers and 
      
      
        craftspeople to create and run better 
      
      
        businesses. The Design Trust creates, 
      
      
        recommends and promotes a wide 
      
      
        range of practical and expert business 
      
      
        development information, as well as  
      
      
        training, books, products and tools for 
      
      
        those starting out as well as for more 
      
      
        established designers and craftspeople 
      
      
        across the world.
      
      
      
        See page 21 for more info.
      
      
        
          visual Artists ireland
        
      
      
        All Ireland organisation representing 
      
      
        professional visual artists. Provides 
      
      
        advocacy and advice, professional 
      
      
        development, and online and print 
      
      
        information services to professional 
      
      
        visual artists, arts organisations and 
      
      
        independent art workers. 
      
      
      
        
          Zeitgeist Arts Projects
        
      
      
        Artist-led, supports ambitious artists 
      
      
        with practical ways to sustain their 
      
      
        practice. Includes artists’ professional 
      
      
        practice programme Show & Tell and 
      
      
        The A-Z of Surviving as an Artist, 
      
      
        designed to encourage artists to learn 
      
      
        from other artists, network, engage, 
      
      
        thrive and raise their profiles.
      
      
      
        
      
      
        professional development: 
      
      
        a-n is a key resource to find out about 
      
      
        what professional development’s on 
      
      
        offer around the UK, as is
      
      
      
        
      
      
        Look out too for any local graduate 
      
      
        support schemes being run across 
      
      
        the country by artist-led spaces. In 
      
      
        England, some of the
      
      
      
        regional 
      
      
        groups offer specific schemes. In 
      
      
        Scotland,
      
      
      
         provides 
      
      
        advice and support for artists through 
      
      
        various channels, including the 
      
      
      
         while 
      
      
        in Wales there’s
      
      
      
        specialist 
      
      
        programmes. You should also 
      
      
        get in touch with your local arts 
      
      
        development organisations and 
      
      
        galleries to see what they offer. 
      
      
        This a-n article on
      
      
      
        
      
      
        is a useful source of information and 
      
      
        contacts. 
      
      
        
          creative Scotland
        
      
      
        Scotland’s national agency for the 
      
      
        arts, screen and creative industries 
      
      
        provides a wide range of support for 
      
      
        visual artists at all stages of their 
      
      
        careers. 
      
      
      
        See page 56 for more info.
      
      
        
          cvAn
        
      
      
        The Contemporary Visual Arts Network 
      
      
        is a consortium of 11 coordinated 
      
      
        regional groups of contemporary 
      
      
        visual arts professionals across the 
      
      
        nine English regions. CVAN’s Vision 
      
      
        is of a strong, sustainable and 
      
      
        supportive contemporary visual arts 
      
      
        network, working collectively in order 
      
      
        to safeguard the future of artists and 
      
      
        our sector as a whole.
      
      
      
        See page 57 for more info.