Inside Visual Arts

Being a freelance illustrator

Mark always wanted to pursue a career in art. Stephen Fry illustration by Mark Boardman.

Mark Boardman is a successful artist and illustrator, whose painterly style is distinctive and captivating. He creates book covers, posters and other illustration for editorial.

Running a nomadic art gallery

Jack Gibbon is founder and director of the Antlers Gallery, a 'nomadic' gallery with no permanent residence and produces temporary exhibitions within different spaces across Bristol.

Nick Hornby, sculptor

Cast in pristinely white synthetic marble, artist Nick Hornby's multifaceted, abstract structures blend familiar fragments from a variety of art historical references.

A career in figure sculpture

Nikki Taylor is a sculptor, creating beautiful and expressive sculptures of the human form. She works mostly with woven wire mesh, and also in bronze, from her Surrey-based studio.

Senior curator at the Barbican

Jane Alison is Senior Curator at the Barbican, where she has worked for 25 years. Her work includes organising exhibitions and events, editing catalogues and managing a core exhibitions team of 12.

News & views

Mohammed Ali, also known as AerosolArabic, is an urban graffiti artist. Photo: RJ Ramsay Photography

The power of art and community

Visual arts can widen participation amongst young people and hard to reach groups. Mohammed Ali on the power of visual arts and how working with communities had energised him.

John Kieffer has worked in UK and international cultural policy, arts management and programming.

Challenges for the arts

John Kieffer has worked in cultural policy, arts management and programming for over 20 years. He spoke about what he feels are the biggest challenges facing the cultural sector.

Career article

Take every opportunity to learn or try something new.

Get the most from volunteering

A volunteer placement in an arts or heritage venue gives you the opportunity to build contacts and gain experience. But what should you do to make the most of the experience?

There is a huge untapped market for utilising arts venue spaces.

Get income from arts venues

Lucy Povey is an experienced events manager and venue consultant. She works with venues to help them reach their potential by maximising income from the hire of their event spaces.