QSS Studios and Gallery
A BIT OF BACKGROUND
QSS is an artistic hub that retains, nurtures and promotes visual artists based in Belfast. Our affordable studios remove financial barriers to practice, whilst our diverse membership allows creativity and collaboration to flourish. Year-round public facing activities are hosted within our galley space, providing key artistic infrastructure for the city and a welcoming public gateway to the arts.
SPONSORSHIP DETAILS
Between September and December 2024 QSS will celebrate its 40th birthday! We will mark this milestone with a multifaceted public-facing programme, designed to showcase the resilience and transformative power of affordable studio provision in Belfast. A grand exhibition and accompanying publication will showcase the works of past and present members including award-winning artists such as Amanda Coogan, Joy Gerrard, Sharon Kelly, Mark McGreevy and Jennifer Trouton. Artist talks, guided tours, workshops, open studios and inspiration visits for GCSE and A-level pupils will encourage public participation. We will also use our birthday celebration as an opportunity for professional development, hosting invited curator days and peer critiques for both QSS members and external artists. Lastly, five QSS artists will be commissioned to produce two-hundred items especially for our patron scheme.
Partnership will allow us to:
· Raise the profile of QSS and demonstrate the cultural value of (affordable) artist studios at a time of insecure tenure.
· Support artistic development, innovation and networking.
Impacts:
· Value of affordable studio provision highlighted as a career lifeline for emerging local talent;
· Professional development activities kickstart creative ideas, provide exposure, opportunities and improve mental wellbeing.
· Opportunities for members of the public to meet and discuss the importance of art at a community level.
Benefits:
· Appropriate credits/branding at all events and across promotional material (digital & print);
· Linked to NI’s oldest studio group and some of its most high profile artists.
· Private preview of ‘We are QSS at 40’ exhibition for staff and clients with opportunities to meet the artists and visit their studios;
· A copy of the exhibition publication and celebration items with 10% discount on artwork purchases and patron scheme subscriptions;
· Fostering a connection between the community and the arts and nurturing the next generation of artists.
TIMINGS
· Online promotion to commence in June 2024
· Private preview – 25 September 2024
· Main exhibition opening – 26 September 2024
· Dates for talks, tours workshops etc. tbc
· Exhibition closes – 12 December 2024