This seven-week online course supports visual artists in developing, presenting, revisiting or rethinking their professional practice. Whether you're starting out, returning to your practice, or figuring out what's next, Making a Buck Without Selling Out offers a critical and supportive space to build momentum, clarify direction, and develop strategies rooted in your values.
Together we'll explore how to define success for yourself-beyond visibility metrics or institutional recognition. We'll look at ways to communicate your practice, apply for funding, identify or create opportunities, and sustain your work without reshaping it to fit the market. We'll also consider how to care for your practice, and yourself, in a system that demands constant productivity.
This is not a webinar or lecture series. It is a participatory course shaped by collective, co-operative principles and alternative approaches to professional development. You'll work in a small group of 8, with active discussion, shared learning, peer review and weekly activities. Each session is practical and designed to produce tangible outcomes.

Across seven sessions we'll focus on key areas including artistic identity, voice and visibility, funding, opportunities, self-care, and writing. The course includes written feedback, a workbook to help you reflect and plan, practical guides and resources, and a one-to-one tutorial to review your action plan, proposals, or questions.
The course is facilitated by Cristiana Bottigella and Sophia Kosmaoglou. It is delivered online via Canvas, Zoom and other applications, and is designed with the visual arts sector in England in mind while welcoming a wide range of experiences, including neurodivergent artists and those facing systemic or structural barriers.

20 January - 10 March 2027
Wednesdays, 18:15-20:30
Half-term break: 17 Feb 2027

Course fee: £280 / £240 / £200