How to Set Up an Art School
Thursday 7 August, 6pm-8pm
Book a free ticket.

Join us for an evening exploring the power and politics of alternative art education as part of the mini book launch tour of How to set up an art school. Emma Edmondson and Ames Pennington will host a workshop come conversation, looking at the themes of the book and asking what makes a bad art school, what makes a good one and how shared experiences can build a utopian space for creative learning together.

How to Set Up an Art School serves as a guide for artists looking to establish alternative art schools and those interested in the current state of contemporary art education. This event will act as a launch for the publication through some conversation, making and games to invite people in to imagine their own art schools.

The Book

How to Set Up an Art School is a collection of essays, activities, illustrations
and reflections, providing invaluable insights for artists seeking to establish
alternative art schools and learning spaces, blending practical guidance with critical inquiry into the politics of creative education.
Emerging from a climate of austerity, the book cites the founding of TOMA as an act of resistance against the dismantling of public creative education in the UK. It examines how the personal is inherently political, shedding light on the shared yet isolating experiences of artists navigating neoliberal
structures.

Tracing TOMA’s evolution from an experimental, process-driven studio
initiative to a thriving artist-led educational platform, the book underscores
the role of education as both an artistic medium and a form of activism. It
encourages artists to envision themselves beyond the constraints of the
traditional art market, embracing alternative modes of art-making as
strategies for creative survival within capitalism.
Key features include a detailed map of alternative art schools across the UK
and documentation of collaborative dialogues where these schools reflect on their structures, successes, failures, and the potential for a collective support network. The book critically interrogates TOMA’s mission to support artists who face barriers to formal art education, questioning how these values translate into practice.

Rooted in nearly a decade of activity, this publication has been put together
by Emma Edmondson, founder of The Other MA (TOMA) and has grown
from conversations within, around, and beyond TOMA. It brings together
contributions from and conversations with Lolly Adams, Marsha Bradfield,
Emma Edmondson, Gülşen Güler, Sophie Hope, Edi McGurk, Ames
Pennington, and Elle Reynolds alongside alternative learning models Alt
MFA, Black Blossoms, Conditions, Day School, Feral Art School, Hastings
Art School (now Nimble Art School), not/nowhere, School of the Damned
and Syllabus.

The book also reimagines how alternative art schools can be evaluated,
exploring a methodology that captures the lived, embodied experiences of
participants beyond conventional assessment frameworks. Ultimately, How
to Set Up an Art School serves as both a practical resource and a critical
reflection on the political, social, and creative stakes of independent art
education.

Title: How to set up an art school
Author/Editor: The Other MA (TOMA) & Emma Edmondson
Publisher: The Other MA (TOMA)
Pages: 250, plus printed inserts
Dimensions: A5 portrait
Format: Foil blocked hard cover, inner pages black and white with colour
platesYear: 2025 (edition of 300)
ISBN: 978-1-0682168-0-0

Tiered pricing, pay what you can:
£45: Perhaps you are a regularly funded institution or have a stable salaried
job. You feel financially secure and don’t really have to think about money on a monthly basis. Perhaps you can afford overseas holidays and manage to put money aside each month into savings.
£20: Perhaps you are an artist run organisation with regular funding or have
regular freelance work. This wage covers your day to day financial needs and you don’t have to worry about costs on a night out and can save up for a holiday.
£10: Perhaps you are a small DIY organisation with ad hoc funding or
perhaps you have low, precarious income and are living on a tight budget.
Day to day life would be more comfortable if you could pay this amount.
We also have 10 FREE copies for those who feel they would not be able to
access the publication otherwise. Perhaps you have no reliable source of
income and struggle to cover day to day financial needs.