Visual Arts South West (VASW) is a sector support organisation. Their role is to advocate for people in the visual arts, connect artistic communities, raise visibility, campaign for diversity and build resilience to enable the South West visual arts sector to thrive.
VASW has three core aims that guide their work:
Increased recognition of the value of the visual arts
Through promotion of organisations and artists in the South West through online What’s On, Directory and Opportunities; a newsletter which reaches thousands in the region and beyond; and work with national partners to campaign for support and recognition of visual arts.
Development of a sustainable, supportive, resilient, and inter-connected sector
By bringing together Associate Programmes and running events and initiatives to understand local issues and connect people; analysing the needs of art workers and organisations to drive continued and considered investment; and supporting the visual arts community to manage financial risk and precarious work conditions.
To tackle structural and systemic issues in the sector
VASW created Together We Will and are working to ensure the visual arts sector commits to upholding intersectional practice.
VASW is based at Spike Island as part of their National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funded by Arts Council England. They are an independent organisation connected to the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN), a national consortium of artists, arts professionals and arts organisations.
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