global impact

The Outset network has funded projects across the globe – from Los Angeles to the Philippines, Edinburgh to Stellenbosch, Medina to Sydney, Sao Paolo to Tallinn. A thriving cultural ecosystem needs room for risk, experimentation and new ideas.

Support extends across the arc of artistic production, from creation and display to institutional placement.

The approach is guided by the curators, directors and practitioners leading institutions from grassroots initiatives to the global stage. Their expertise and experience ensure that support is targeted, responsive and flexible and directed towards where it can have the greatest impact and create lasting cultural value.

Each Outset charity recognises the importance of risk-taking and experimentation in creative productive, and the value to institutional partners of being a responsive, fair, generous and engaged funder.

Explore archive

Anne Hardy, Field, 2015.

Exhibitions

Supported in over 400 international public art institutions they are the lifeblood of Outset’s funding of the arts ecosystem for over two decades.

JEREMY DELLER, Untitled, Façade design.

Commissions

These are new works or projects funded at the request of arts institutions for public display in exhibitions, biennials and other festivals. Outset supports the donation of commissions to public collections.

Mari-Leen Kiipli. Fish That Swallows the Earth/Particles That Dance in the Sunrays, 2018. Video still.

Enrichment of public collections

Donations of artworks to public institutions reflect Outset’s commitment to supporting the development of public collections that express and investigate the complexities, contradictions, and shared challenges of being human.

Kia La Beija, “The Black Act”, 2019. A Performa Commission for Performa 19. Photo Paula Court, courtesy of Performa.

Institutional transformation

A cornerstone of Outset’s work. We provide significant funding that creates space and time for creative practitioners to experiment, innovate and transform public art institutions and how they engage with their audiences in the context of life today.

Tiffany & Co. x Outset Studiomakers Prize, 2018. Photo: Lara Arnott.

Creative infrastructure

This is fundamental to artistic production and the creative economy: Outset is committed to ensuring that artists have physical and digital spaces to work, experiment, exhibit, and engage with audiences. This includes the creation and publishing of archives.

Live Sound Actions & Performances, techNotech, Michalis Moschoutis & Anna Pangalou, 2nd primary school Tavros, photo: Dimitris Parthimos.

Education and professional development

Fundamental to the growth of public audiences for contemporary art. Outset supports projects that provide access to art and the evolution of artistic and curatorial practice.

OUTSET BIALIK RESIDENCY: IBRAHIM MAHAMA, 'FRACTURE', TEL AVIV MUSEUM OF ART, DECEMBER 2016 - JUNE 2017. Photo: Elad Sarig.

Residency Support

We offer artists and curators vital safe spaces for creative freedom, experimentation, skills development, innovation and networking without the pressure of commercial outcomes.