Tate
Young Tate

Maurice Carlin
- Co-founder of the Art Academy

What is the Art Academy and how did it start?

The Academy is a project I set up in 2007 with a group of people I took a Foundation course with. Having spoken with students and recent graduates we picked up on some of the problems facing degree students who didn't feel prepared for the reality of life as an artist.

We started the project as a summer school and now have a core group of people who attend three days a week. Some members are straight from school, others have done a degree and some have no traditional art education.

Where do you work?

We are based within a complex where there's a gallery, club, recording studio and artists' studios. This is great because we can actually see how creative people are making a living - this is often a bit of a mystery to young people.

What do you do?

We have a large space in which we make work. Two artists act as mentors who lend advice and offer us opportunities when they come up. We invite artists to speak to us on a regular basis and go on research trips to different cities, forging links with studio groups and independent cinemas etc. We're also setting up a floating critique where we take our work to Newcastle and Bristol for instance, to exchange ideas with other artists.

Did you set up the Academy as an alternative to a degree?

We started the project as an experiment but it seems there is a need for it. We are by no means in opposition to University education. Some of the Graduates in our group do say they didn't make use their degree in the way that they could have and weren't aware of how difficult it would be to become an artist.

What does this style of learning offer?

We encourage members to take responsibility for their own careers and share leadership roles through organising trips, writing proposals for residencies and through always having to ask or take action to make things happen. We also set tasks regularly where we each apply to something in a-n magazine - even if we don't get anywhere this is good practice.

Is a degree necessary to get into Art and Design?

I know lots of successful artists who had no art educational background. There are so many arts courses out there now that the idea of a degree is being devalued. People often finish then search for more and more education!


Louie Lister
- Age: 19, Member of the Islington Mill Art Academy, Hometown: Manchester

What did you do when you left school?

On my Foundation Year I started to look at Universities and talk to students. A lot of the people I spoke to hadn't enjoyed University and I wasn't that enthused by any that I saw. I didn't want to go for the sake of it and I didn't think it was worth paying just for some studio space.

Are you glad you made the decision to join the Academy?

Yeah I'm really glad - I'm pretty sure I'd have lost interest at University. Here everyone's enthusiastic and people are always happy to talk to us because the idea of the Academy is unusual.

How has your work developed?

I'm a musician and I used to think this was separate from my art but not anymore. I'm going to do a performance through collaging music. I've also learnt to be resourceful with my materials - to find stuff and re-work found objects. It is good working alongside people who've done degrees who have experience of making canvases though!