We are delighted to announce the recipients of five awards in Cycle VI of Outset’s major arts funding programme, Outset Partners.
Established in 2018, Outset Partners is a dynamic collective of international philanthropists who work together to meet the evolving needs of the global cultural sector. The group is facilitated by a Research and Strategy Lead for each cycle, who crafts a framework for Outset Partners’ decision-making, supporting their uniquely iterative and consensus-driven approach to funding transformation in the arts. Outset Partners are keen to learn what art institutions need, why they need it, and where they want to be tomorrow. Partners are willing to take risks on behalf of genuine innovation and the prospect of meaningful impact.
In its sixth cycle of funding, the programme has awarded a total of £180,000 across a range of agenda-setting museums, galleries and organisations to support challenging new art projects with a demonstrable transformative aspect for the creative sector.
TRANSFORMATIVE AWARDS £65,000
Two Transformative Awards of £65,000 were awarded to the Lassonde Art Trail Foundation and Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
Lassonde Art Trail Foundation
‘Deep Site’ will interrogate a complex site for future public art by exploring its ecosystems and microhabitats, biomimicry, and sustainable futures. Structured as a cross-disciplinary think tank and production laboratory, ‘Deep Site’ embeds artistic and scientific exchange at the heart of a new public art organisation. The ‘Deep Site’ program will be one of the inaugural projects of the Lassonde Art Trail (LAT), a free, open-air destination for outstanding contemporary art from around the world opening in 2026. Situated on the extraordinary site of a new island in the Toronto harbour archipelago, LAT believes public art enhances wellbeing, guides respectful dialogue, and opens our eyes to how we steward the environment.
Chloë Catán, Executive Director of LAT said:
‘We are thrilled to be a recipient of this year’s Outset Transformative Grant. As a new organization aiming to stimulate innovative thinking around site-responsive public art, this vital support will fund a program that focuses on deep site research and cross-disciplinary collaborations. At the core, this grant provides a unique opportunity to bring artists and scientists together at the very moment of a site’s emergence and in the early stages of its public art program, allowing us to bridge knowledge and ways of working that will catalyze transformative public art programming.‘
Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
‘At Eye Level: Rethinking the Albertinum‘ is a two-year research and exhibition project aimed at developing and enacting a new vision for the public responsibility of museums by reimagining the heart of the Albertinum: its collection display. The project is a response to the ongoing crisis of public discourse in Germany’s East. Considering the challenges exacerbated by right-wing populism, the Albertinum sees it as imperative to interrogate art’s role in society, exploring innovative approaches to learning from and responding to the public’s needs.
Hilke Wagner, Director of the Albertinum said:
‘Outset’s support offers a vital opportunity to address something often overlooked by traditional funding structures: the sustainable, long-term transformation of an institution’s foundation. Amid this lack, having Outset by our side provides the flexibility we urgently need — particularly as the Albertinum, with its expanded temporal definition of modernity, strives to be a responsive institution driven by dynamic curatorial thinking.‘
Dennis Brzek, Curator of Contemporary Art of the Albertinum said:
‘‘At Eye Level: Rethinking the Albertinum’ is our opportunity to cultivate the infrastructure needed to maintain and sustainably grow the agility our institution requires to thrive in today’s world. Receiving Outset’s Transformative Award is an exciting affirmation of our vision for reimagining what a museum can be, and we are thrilled to embark on this journey with their support and guidance.‘
IMPACT AWARDS £20,000, £20,000, £10,000
Three additional Impact Awards of £20,000, £20,000 and £10,000 each are awarded to public institutions for a range of projects that respond to crucial issues for the public, artists and curators. In line with the Outset ethos these can be through enabling innovative exhibitions and artistic productions with an international reach; empowering educational initiatives or providing professional development opportunities; institutions enriching public collections; or projects that enhance the creative infrastructure through providing workspaces and strengthening communities.
AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions £20,000
AMIS: AWARE Museum Initiative and Support brings together museums from around the world with the aim of collecting and sharing research on women and non-binary artists produced as part of exhibitions, acquisitions and around collections. AMIS is a unique international network that allows art world professionals to build solidarity and share tools on how to advance gender parity in museums.
Camille Morineau, AWARE’s Executive Director, said:
‘I am happy that the AMIS project, one of the cornerstones of AWARE, will be supported in its development by Outset Partners.‘
Kunsthaus Bregenz £10,000
In support of the exhibition of Polish artist Malgorzata Mirga-Tas.
Malgorzata Mirga-Tas portrayals adopt the perspective of "minority feminism," consciously advocating for women’s strength while also acknowledging the artist’s own cultural roots. Her colourful pictures are fascinating in form, brilliant in their condensation of narrative, and haunting in their depiction. Mirga-Tas came to the attention of a broad public through her contribution to the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2022. She was the first Roma artist representing any country. Kunsthaus Bregenz, with its atmospheric open spaces, offers ideal conditions for a new way of presenting art. Here, art is not only viewed; it is also experienced, vividly and physically.
Thomas D. Trummer, Director of Kunsthaus Bregenz said:
‘We are very pleased to announce the collaboration with Outset and the opportunity to present Malgorzata Mirga-Tas and her extraordinary work at Kunsthaus Bregenz. Mirga-Tas, who attracted international attention with her textile images in the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, focuses her art to central social issues. For her exhibition in Bregenz, she has developed a new body of work in which she is also showing sculptural pieces for the first time. This expansion of her artistic expression opens up exciting perspectives and provides important impulses in the discourse on identity, community and cultural heritage.‘
