The Syllabus

conor-baird-fain-video-still-2016.jpg

Conor Baird, Fain, video still, 2016

New Contemporaries no longer participates in The Syllabus, as since 2018 we have invited applications from eligible artists from a number of alternative study programmes across the UK.

Syllabus I, II & III

Ten artists have been selected for Syllabus III, a national, alternative peer led learning programme, jointly delivered by Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge; Eastside Projects, Birmingham; New Contemporaries, national; S1 Artspace, Sheffield; Spike Island, Bristol; Studio Voltaire, London and new partner Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), London.

The selected artists for Syllabus III are: Frederica Agbah, Chris Alton, Conor Baird, Ilker Cinarel, Phoebe Davies, Freya Dooley, Rose Gibbs, Jill McKnight, Ben Sanderson and Karis Upton.

Now in its third year, Syllabus III provides a programme for artists over a nine-month period and is supported using public funding from Arts Council England, with additional support from The Fenton Arts Trust. It is developed collaboratively with the participating artists, partner institutions and lead artists, who this year are Jesse Darling and Harold Offeh.

The Syllabus III artists are from many areas of practice including photography, painting, sculpture, installation, writing, performance, poetry, and interdisciplinary and collaborative work that defies a genre. They live and work across the UK, including Cardiff, Folkestone, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Norwich and St. Ives.


Ten artists have been selected for Syllabus II, a national programme delivered by Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge; Eastside Projects, Birmingham; New Contemporaries; S1 Artspace, Sheffield; Spike Island, Bristol, and Studio Voltaire, London, working in partnership. It provides an alternative learning programme for artists over a one-year period which is peer led and developed collaboratively with the artists and partners. This year, we are pleased to announce additional support from The Fenton Arts Trust in the form of bursaries for the artists.

The selected artists are: Mira Calix, Faye Claridge, Mike Harvey, E. Jackson, Tyler Mallison, Nika Neelova, Tom Smith, Dylan Spencer-Davidson, Thomas Whittle and Laura Wilson.


The artists are based across the UK – Sussex, Essex, Edinburgh, Warwickshire and London - and represent a wide range of ages and experience, coming from across the globe. Their work includes painting, sculpture, music, publishing, installation and performance, alongside cross-disciplinary and curatorial practices.

Starting at Wysing in September 2016, the artists will come together to share their work, and co-develop the year’s syllabus alongside the partners. Meeting every two months, the cohort will invite guest artists, curators, writers and other practitioners to deliver intensive seminars at each of the partner venues. Artist Milly Thompson and curator George Vasey will lead on the delivery of the programme across the ten months. The first year of The Syllabus in 2015 saw guest artists including Barby Asante, Céline Condorelli, Andy Holden, James Langdon, Richard Long, Pil and Galia Kollectiv, Richard Wentworth and Rehana Zaman.

After the pilot year of The Syllabus I in 2015, which has already seen ten artists develop a strong peer support network and create new opportunities, the partners invited applications for year two through an open call. Following an interview process that sought to select artists from a wide range of backgrounds and whose work reflects a range of interests and practices, the partners are delighted to announce the second cohort of the programme. The cohort of artists for Syllabus I were Simon Bayliss, Noel Clueit, Susie Green, Mathew Parkin, Rory Pilgrim, Jessica Sarah Rinland, Tom Salt, Lucy Steggals, Tom Varley and Rafal Zajko.