Exhibition and Fundraiser Now Closed.
20 – 25 February 2024, Cromwell Place
A fundraising exhibition and prize draw for the Cultural Leaders Programme.
As it looks ahead to its 2nd year, the Cultural Leaders Programme continues its mission to diversify the future leadership of the art world through education.
With thanks to Cromwell Place for their support as Venue Partner.
Culture& and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, in collaboration with Gallery OCA, announce Together We Thrive, a fundraising exhibition for the Cultural Leaders Programme. The exhibition features 26 new works donated by leading and emerging artists, with 100% of funds going to scholars on the programme as part of London Living Wage Bursaries. Donations can be made online now through the link below.
Images of all works in the exhibition can be seen on Gallery OCA’s website. These works will be given away in a prize draw in exchange for donations of £25 or more to the Cultural Leaders Programme through 4 March, with winners announced in March*. 100% of all contributions will go directly to Cultural Leaders Scholars as part of a London Living Wage Bursary. Donors of £1,000 or more will also be credited as Supporters of the Cultural Leaders Programme
Together We Thrive features new works created especially for the fundraiser in response to its title by artists including: Adelaide Damoah; Anthony Daley; Boo Saville; Caitlin Flood-Molyneux; Charlotte Colbert; Errol Francis; David MacDiarmid; Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia; Gordon Cheung; Hassan Aliyu; Hester Finch; Hurvin Anderson; Jane Hayes Greenwood; Katasha Rose; Leo Crane; Lucia Pizzani; Lynn Parotti; Martin O’Brien; Miranda Forrester; Peter Liversidge; Philip Colbert; Sandy McInnes; Simon Bejer; Sola Olulode; Xavier Laurent Leopold; and Yvadney Davis.
Visitors and supporters are invited to enter a prize draw for a chance to win one of the new artworks by donating to the Cultural Leaders Programme. (Donations to the ‘together we thrive ‘ prize draw will open on 19th February.) Donations start at £25, and all contributions received will go towards the London Living Wage Bursary for the 2024/25 cohort of scholars, designed to alleviate the cost of living in London. By eliminating the burden of loans or employment, the bursary makes the Programme accessible to the widest possible range of bright and promising individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds and enables them to take full advantage of the opportunities that the MA and Programme provide.
Dr. Errol Francis, CEO and Artistic Director at Culture& comments: “We are delighted to collaborate with Sotheby’s Institute of Art and Gallery OCA on this exhibition to raise vital funds to support the 2nd year of the Cultural Leaders Programme. We are acutely aware of the talent that often lies untapped due to financial barriers, which we aim to address by providing a London Living Wage Bursary for our 2024 scholars. We are grateful to the exhibiting artists and invite the community to invest in this initiative as we seek to empower the next generation of diverse leaders in the art world.”
The Cultural Leaders Programme offers three fully funded scholarships per year from 2023/24 to 2025/26 to pursue one of the Institute’s prestigious one-year, full-time Masters programmes: the MA in Contemporary Art; the MA in Art Business; or the MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design. The programme allows promising young professionals from diverse backgrounds with leadership potential to study full-time and receive a London Living Wage bursary for their living expenses.
Dr. Jonathan Woolfson, Director at Sotheby’s Institute of Art comments: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Culture& in the 2nd year of the Cultural Leaders Programme. The continued success of this initiative depends on the participation of a community of like-minded, generous collaborators who believe in investing in the impact it will have, both on the individuals themselves and on the broader art world landscape. We extend our thanks to Gallery OCA and the participating artists for their support in this fundraiser.”
Sotheby’s Institute of Art has committed to waiving 100% of the tuition fees for the students selected for the Cultural Leaders Programme for the next three years, including the cost of the national and international Field Study trips programmed during the MA. Cultural Leaders Scholars have access to the full range of Sotheby’s Institute of Art services to support student learning and wellbeing, including high levels of teaching time, personal tutors, specialist library and research facilities, expert career service support and counselling. Additionally, students receive tailored mentoring and networking opportunities, drawing on both Culture&’s and Sotheby’s Institute’s networks of professional and social support.
Sherece Rainford, Founder at Gallery OCA comments: “As someone who believes deeply in the need to diversify the arts and culture sector, I find this to be a hugely important initiative – the first of its kind in the UK. I am delighted to support Culture& and Sotheby’s Institute of Art on Together We Thrive. Together, we aim to not only raise essential funds for the Living Wage Bursary for the Cultural Leaders Programme, but also foster a vibrant, diverse community in the art world.”
Further information about the Cultural Leaders Programme can be found at https://www.cultureand.org/scholarships/. The exhibition and formal fundraising campaign will launch on 19 February, and donations can be made at any time at https://www.cultureand.org/about-us/donate/.
Many thanks to the Together We Thrive Committee: Maya Bailey, Harry Dalmeny, Alain Defise, Vanessa Defise, Hannah O’Leary, Peju Oshin, Sherece Rainford, Sadie Sherman and Katy Wickremesinghe
About Sotheby’s Institute of Art
Sotheby’s Institute of Art traces its foundation to 1969 and the establishment of a training programme for young auctioneers at Sotheby’s auction house. Since then, the Institute has educated future leaders across all sectors of the art world and now has 8,000+ alumni in prestigious positions across the globe. Sotheby’s Institute alumni can be found in all sectors of the art world and beyond. Part of the BrandEd group of colleges, its London campus is a higher education provider fully recognised by the UK’s Office for Students (OfS); its degrees are awarded by the University of Manchester, a member of the Russell Group of leading UK universities, with whom it has been working for over 25 years. It also has a campus in New York, multiple online offerings, and a varied and growing number of international partnerships.
The Institute offers educational programmes for postgraduate students, pre-college audiences and professionals seeking expertise in art business, contemporary art, fine and decorative art and design, and luxury business and allied fields. Institute faculty are experts and leaders in these areas, bringing a wealth of practical knowledge from their professional experiences as well as an impressive academic grounding to all students. The MA programmes are unique in their combination of intensive, experiential learning, academic rigour and vocational and research-based emphases.
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About Gallery OCA
Founded in 2020 Gallery OCA focuses exclusively on showcasing art created by artists from and connected to the Caribbean. It aims to support the artists of Caribbean heritage, by preserving the historic legacy of the islands, and commercially empowering the sector. Its founder, Sherece Rainford’s love of her Caribbean heritage and connection to her roots weaves throughout the gallery. Acutely aware of the lack of presence of Caribbean art in the art world she felt called to form a consultancy that would both uplift the Caribbean art niche from a social and commercial standpoint and educate the wider industry and stakeholders.
Gallery OCA is delighted to be unearthing and sharing the artworks and untold stories of the rich Caribbean culture, past, present and future and in doing so, being a reminder that beyond the difference of our outward appearance we are not dissimilar at all. Such is the power of art.
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About Cromwell Place
Cromwell Place is the Venue Partner for Together We Thrive. A row of five townhouses in South Kensington, Cromwell place is home to a year-round programme of diverse, interdisciplinary exhibitions and events across beautiful gallery spaces and the delicious Cromwell Place Café. Free and open to all.
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Press contact
Culture&
Samuel Pontin, Programme Manager
Image: Yvadney Davis, One Finger Cyaa Catch Louse, 2024, Mixed Media. Courtesy the artist.