Axisweb awarded £100k by Government business scheme

A Government scheme that helps businesses become more competitive has provided arts charity Axisweb with just under £100k in funding to undertake new research and increase its sustainability.

The award will allow Axisweb, which works to develop understanding and appreciation of artists, to build on its research with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) into the experiences of artists working outside of galleries.

University collaboration

Axisweb and MMU will “explore and test models of validation for socially engaged practice that will champion the role of the artist and their value in society”.

Axisweb also hopes it will enhance engagement and underpin its transformation “into a sustainable, self-financing charity”, by allowing it to explore the possibility of brokering relationships between artists and their secondary income sources, such as work in healthcare settings.

New direction

The funding has come through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme (KTP), a cross-government initiative led by Innovate UK, an agency supported by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The 40-year-old KTP scheme supports three-way partnerships between an organisation, an academic institution and a graduate. Its aim is to help businesses improve productivity and sales through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills.

An Innovate UK spokesperson said: “Since 2007, 67 KTPs have been supported with charities and the third sector. Innovate UK will fund a KTP with a charity where a clear wealth creation case can be made for the charitable business.”

Dr Amanda Ravetz, Senior Research Fellow at Manchester School of Art and one of the academics guiding the project, said: “Manchester School of Art at MMU is excited to be working with Axisweb on finding ways to validate artists ‘beyond the gallery’.

“We want to make a positive contribution to this field of practice – to the communities who get involved, to the artists whose value is sometimes misunderstood and to the commissioners and funders who support this work. Everyone needs to have a voice.”

Mark Smith, Axisweb’s Executive Director, said: “This project is bigger than the transformational impact on Axisweb. It’s about artists and the people they work with and how through collaboration we enable and build sustainable long term progressive relationships.”

A detailed final report about the partnership’s work will be included in Innovate UK’s annual report.