We’re offering 20 Bradford artists Premium Membership to the Visual Artists Association

Bradford Producing Hub has partnered with the Visual Artists Association to offer 20 Bradford artists one year’s Premium Membership worth £125. 

If you're a visual artist living in or making work in the Bradford district and want to develop your commercial visual arts practice, then this is the opportunity for you!

This ballot closes on Thursday 27 June 2024 at 11 PM

This brilliant opportunity will provide you with a whole range of benefits from the Visual Artists Association, including:

• exclusive artist opportunities
• access to networking and events
• free access to micro-classes
• access to their full suite of resources
• a strategy session with an artist mentor
• public and products liability insurance
• dedicated helpdesk and marketing advice
• legal helpline
• artist profiling opportunities
• discounts on premium events, courses, portfolio reviews and mentoring programmes
• access to the VAA community of artists
• entry to the VAA International Exhibition & Scholarship Prize

For more information about the Visual Artists Association and their memberships, head to visual-artists.org.

To help you prepare your entry into the ballot, you can find the entry questions in our FAQs section at the bottom of this page.

"Great art does not sell itself. The VAA champion artists at all stages of their careers to succeed in the business of art. We don’t believe that the cultural myth of the “impoverished artist” needs to exist. Instead, you will find VAA assisting Artists in building their businesses by generating sales via marketing and distribution channels (self-representation, galleries, publishers) as well as advising on personal brand creation, alongside the practicalities of managing your arts business.

The VAA offers members the right tools to succeed including; access to a range of training, business advice services, online resources and events, as well as access to a supportive and progressive community. The Association is open to new and emerging artists as well as established artists."

Read more about the Visual Artists Association at visual-artists.org

Membership is open to all visual artists, at any stage of their career and working in any medium.

To apply for this free membership opportunity you must meet the following criteria.

You must:

• Be living in, or making work in the Bradford District
• Be 18 years old or over
• Have an existing body of work that can be evidenced either through your website, a portfolio, or a professional social media account
• Be ready to develop a commercial visual arts practice
• Be able to articulate how you want to develop professionally in a commercial space, which could include galleries, online sales, art fairs, publishing, or securing commissions
• Be proactive in making the most of the opportunities available through the Membership

Some examples of your current situation might mean that you are:

• Selling work through a commercial setting, but you might want to expand into new settings, such as online or through galleries.
• Creating work but don't yet have any commercial outlets.
• Selling work at local arts or craft fairs and would like to expand this to national trade fairs or other sales environments.
• Selling work on sites such as Etsy, Folksy or Instagram and want to learn how to sell your work in other online or physical spaces.
• Exhibiting your work but looking for new opportunities in established galleries, gallery representation, or showing work at art fairs. 
• Have a body of work but are unsure where to go next in terms of exhibiting or selling your work.

If you are unsure whether the commercial space you're interested in working in would be supported by the VAA, please contact our Visual Arts Instigator, Alison McIntyre at alison@bdproducinghub.co.uk.