Axis

AXIS IS TURNING 35 🎈 As we mark 35 years, we’re putting more directly into artists’ hands! Because it’s not easy being an artist. Time is limited, income is uncertain, and support is uneven. Too often, support is shaped by systems that don’t start with what you need. We do something different. We’re independent, led by artists, and funded by our members, not the Arts Council. That means we put resources directly into artists and their work. So this year, we’re taking action. In 2026, we’ll put more than £70,000 directly into artists’ hands, not as a one off, but as part of how we work. Head to the link in our bio or visit here to learn more about what we’re doing for our birthday: /blog/axis-is-35 #Axis35 🖼️: Matt Gale @matthew.r.gale , Coventry Biennial, The Row, 2019 (photographed by Jules Lister)

🗣️ Public liability insurance, now up to £15 million Protection for your work. Support for your practice. As part of your Axis membership, you’re covered with public liability insurance - helping safeguard you if someone is injured or property is damaged through your art activities. Whether you’re exhibiting, running workshops, working from a studio, or inviting people into your home, it’s there to support you when the unexpected happens. While not a legal requirement, having this level of cover strengthens your professional standing and gives reassurance to collaborators, venues, and clients alike. It also means you can focus on your work, knowing potential legal and compensation costs are handled. Comparable cover can start from around £65 a year - but with Axis, it’s included in your Associate Membership, as part of a wider commitment to supporting artists. Join Axis here: https://buff.ly/t6O6ASE Find out more about Axis turning 35 here: https://buff.ly/dnOagSH #Axis35 🖼️: Matt Gale @matthew.r.gale , Coventry Biennial, The Row, 2019 (photographed by Jules Lister)

🗣️ We’re launching £35,000 for 35 artists Our biggest ever awards scheme, offering £1,000 each to support your practice, whether that’s time, research, materials or equipment. Alongside this, three Fellowships offer £4,000 each with tailored development support, and bursaries continue across the year through a simple, accessible process. Our member-only monthly mentoring brings artists, curators and the Axis team together for honest advice and support. There are also more opportunities to share your work through features, curated projects and publications. This sits within a bigger year. You’ll see key programmes return, including Back to School and Mental Health for Artists, alongside new work, a new publication, new ways of sharing and supporting artists’ work, and moments to come together in person. We’re building something collective, where artists support artists, and where membership turns into real, visible support. Applications open in June. Open to Axis members. Head to the link in our bio or visit here to learn more about what we’re doing for our birthday: /blog/axis-is-35 #Axis35 🖼️: Matt Gale @matthew.r.gale , Coventry Biennial, The Row, 2019 (photographed by Jules Lister)

Highlights 1. ANGE(L) Icon version, 2025 by Pascal-Michel Dubois This piece is inspired by the collaborative work of Karl Herzog & Erich Von Holst on the aerodynamic motion of birds’ wings. It consists in the superposition of a pair of diagrams drawn by Herzog on the subject. The head & tail of the bird have been omitted, and the modified superposition reveals a new diagram representing a very peculiar set of wings where the information from the original diagrams has been “mashed up”. 2. On Substance, 2025 by n:u (melissandre varin) @nu.melissandre.varin The stool of a chief, a statue used for worship, an ancestor’s image, a pipe with tobacco still in it, a comb, a vessel to contain food. YOU HIDE ME by Nii Kwate Owoo (1970) At the border of the land flowing with milk and honey* discourses around acquisition, conservation, patrimony and their definitions that are torn in a personal and global tracing of lineages of substance (ab)use. Staple food elements such as butter and flour - echoing extractivism - are juxtaposed with some of their ancestral, ceremonial, and ritualistic usage. Consumption of culture, gender, spirituality, race, religion, and food is questioned in this offering. With vulnerability and complicity, n:u (melissandre varin) interrogates healing as destruction and destruction as healing. *Here referring to spiritual justifications of expansionist and genocidal governments. Duration 1 hour. 3. I Remember (You) Changing, 2025 - 2026 by Sarah White @sarah_white16 This performance incorporates dance, speech and song, and is performed by Sarah White, with live singing from Kate Ryan, Donna Matthews and Jack Noutch. It is a prayerful exhortation directed to multiple people at once. It is an attempt to communicate at the edges of language. The work draws from multiple sources, including a strange story of a talking donkey in the Bible. In this story, the she-donkey is more spiritually awake than the human prophet. The work will be performed in June 2026 at All Saints Church, Tudeley. 4. The cosmos she dared to be, 2025 by Morgan Sinton-Hewitt @morgansintonhewitt Oil on canvas.

How we help artists ➡️ 🎾 We have provided 76 temporary spaces for artists to realise their projects through our Vacant Space scheme. 🎾 Since our Graduates Programme started we have helped 32 recent graduates make the transition from university to professional practice through mentoring, support and exhibitions. 🎾 We've made 109 films about artists and their practice, showcasing their ideas, processes, influences, and their spaces.

How we help artists ➡️ 🎾 We’ll be giving our members a total of £70K this year through our Fellowship, Bursaries and ‘£35K to 35 artists’ initiatives. 🎾 Since 1991 we have awarded a total of £2.3 million pounds to our members in the form of awards, bursaries and in-kind support. 🎾 With over 12K active members, we are one of the largest visual arts membership organisations in the UK. As a charity we receive no public funding to support our members.

✨Welcome new Axis Professional Members!✨ A warm welcome to the new artists and familiar faces joining our growing community of Professional Members. Whether you're new to Axis or have been part of the network for a while, we're excited to have you with us, and we're here to champion your creative journey. Welcoming (in image from left to right): Dan Auluk @danaulukart Charlotte Grayland @cgraylandart Justine Hounam @justinehounam Kuch Bhogal @kuchbhogal Fionn Wilson @fionn.wilson Saud Baloch @saudbaloch_077 Tina Kutter @tinakutter Veronica Vickery @veronica.vickery Mez Kerr Jones Tomilola Olumide @tomilolaolumideart Helen Hamilton @helenrhamilton 📣 Promote Your Practice New to the Axis Professional community? Updating your portfolio is a great first step. We regularly spotlight members' work across our social channels - so be sure to keep your profile current and include your latest links. 🤝 Connect & Contribute Make the most of your membership by visiting the Community Hub, joining conversations, and connecting with fellow artists. Axis is built around collaboration, exchange, and visibility. We're so glad you're here - and we're looking forward to sharing your journey.

Upcoming Community Events for May 2026 Whether you're here to ask questions, find collaborators, or simply get to know other artists, there’s something for everyone: 🗓️ 14th MAY 6-7 PM DRAWING CLUB: Flowers Drop-in and draw with us for an hour! Follow along, or do your own thing. 🗓️ 21st MAY 6-7 PM MEET & GREET: Performance Artists - Led by Holly Slingsby Open to members working with performance and live art - and those who are interested in learning more about this. 🗓️ 26th MAY 12-1 PM AXIS MEMBERSHIP 101 A review for existing members and a guide for where to begin for new members! 👉 Head to the Axis Community to read more & RSVP All events are free and online, follow the link in our bio!

Highlights 1. Semana Santa, Malaga, 2007 - 2021 by Robert Greetham Digital photograph made in Malaga, Spain, during Semana Santa or Holy Week 2. Black Poplar, 2026 by Lisa Temple-Cox @lisa_temple_cox Three of last year's Black Poplar leaves from Flatford. Once a common native tree, the Black Poplar is increasingly rare in the UK. Famously painted by John Constable in works such as The Hay Wain, it is still found in Flatford and is being replanted there. These leaves came from a tree at the back of Willy Lott's cottage. Painted with natural inks: oak gall from Flatford, and walnut, rue, weld and bedstraw from my studio at Cuckoo Farm. And a little gouache and pencil. 3. Equivocator, 2026 by Rich White @_counterwork Installation built for Spike Island Open Studios Weekend. 4. Pentagram, 1985 - 2026 by Patrick Shanahan From the project Face In Time. Archival pigment print on A2 Canson Fibre Rag paper. Edition of 25, signed, dated, editioned & titled en verso. Price on application.

This March, artist Emma Gregory presented a curated selection titled ‘Play-grounding'. Included in this selection is 'Physis', 2026 by Andrew Revell @andrewprojects The art breaks out when the thinking stops and my being becomes doing. When I’m on a roll every piece is a surprise, I like to be lost - I binned ‘narratives’ and ‘concepts’ years ago. If I catch myself second guessing in the studio - alarms sound - STOP! - do something functional or tidy up and go home. Cutting, chopping, sticking with unsentimental freedom, giving priority to joy, play and letting the artwork reveal itself. Master material so it doesn’t get in your way, paying attention to the phenomena and being in the moment. Nurture the forms, exploit frictions, animate space. See more of Andrew's work here: /artist/andrewrevell 👉 We will take a closer look at the featured works throughout the week, or explore the selection in the Community here: /c/members-highlights/members-preview-play-grounding-essay-and-curated-selection-by-emma-gregory

This March, artist Emma Gregory presented a curated selection titled ‘Play-grounding'. Included in this selection is exploring Whitby jet as a drawing material, 2026 by Hondartza Fraga @hondartza.fraga My current work explores Whitby jet as a drawing material. Instead of carving or polishing it as in traditional usage, I approach the material through small acts of testing and play. Fragments of jet are sometimes ground into dust and washed across paper. The first image shows a detail from the work Tide, a series of drawings made by letting jet powder settle into wet surfaces. I have also been drawing directly with the raw fragments themselves. The second image shows a small piece of jet held in my hand while I work on a large drawing in the background. Rather than using a conventional drawing tool, jet itself becomes the instrument. Working in this way means allowing the material to lead. Each fragment behaves slightly differently, leaving darker or lighter traces. Play becomes a way of learning how jet can move between object, dust, and drawing. See more of Hondartza's work here: /artist/hondartzafraga 👉 We will take a closer look at the featured works throughout the week, or explore the selection in the Community here: /c/members-highlights/members-preview-play-grounding-essay-and-curated-selection-by-emma-gregory

This March, artist Emma Gregory presented a curated selection titled ‘Play-grounding'. Included in this selection is the movement of stepping on, stepping up, stepping between, 2026 by Sharon Haward @sharon__haward23 Stepping on, stepping up, stepping between …these actions lead us from an unconscious and everyday moment that gets lost amongst many others, towards a conscious sense of playful engagement with the environment; in larking around, an everyday moment and an inconspicuous person is suddenly catapulted into an imaginary game. See more of Sharon's work here: /artist/sharonhaward 👉 We will take a closer look at the featured works throughout the week, or explore the selection in the Community here: /c/members-highlights/members-preview-play-grounding-essay-and-curated-selection-by-emma-gregory