For this open call of Art Worlds we are seeking expressions of interest from artists that did not attend higher education.

90.4% of artists surveyed by Artquest attended higher education (HE). While attending HE is considered to be an excellent point of access to the art sector for visual artists, compared to other labour sectors it’s something of an anomaly. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) found that 26.4% of the UK labour work-force had attended bachelors of equivalent education. With artists being vastly over qualified for the work they do (the arts sector has 64% higher than the UK average of workers with a HE qualification), how are artists that didn’t attend higher education affected?

Artists might choose to go to education for many reasons from learning a specific skill such as printmaking, to using the opportunity to network or to access the art world through the degree show. Artists that don’t attend HE may face barriers that don’t allow them to study such as financial, care-giving/receiving, amongst others or wanting to avoid a traditional education.

For our current call for proposals, we are inviting people to pitch a proposal to write an article or create a video or audio piece that depicts your experiences of working as an artist who didn’t attend higher education.

To find out more or submit please go to the direct link.