Acme Studios — Acme Alternative Pathway Awards

Supporting Artists since 1972


Acme’s Alternative Pathway Awards intend to widen access for artists from all backgrounds and experiences by increasing the diversity and representation of voices in contemporary art.

This is a Genesis Kickstart Fund project, supported by the Genesis Foundation.

Awardees

The 2022/23 Acme Alternative Pathway Awardees are Elora Kadir, Dita Hashi and Natasha Muluswela.

About

Acme’s Alternative Pathway Awards is a Genesis Kickstart Fund project, supported by the Genesis Foundation. These awards have been created to support artists within their first five years of practice from groups currently underrepresented in the arts. The three selected artists share a studio for six months, receive mentoring and support, an individual £3,500 bursary, and the opportunity to work towards a public outcome of their work.

Purpose

Acme is a charity that supports artists in necessitous circumstances who face additional barriers to sustaining their professional practice.

Acme’s Alternative Pathway Awards are intended to widen access to the arts for artists from all backgrounds and lived experiences. We particularly encouraged applications for these awards from artists facing financial precarity who also identify as: D/deaf/disabled or neurodiverse; artists from global majority and LGBTQI+ communities; and artists facing social and economic disparity, particularly those who have been unable to access formal university education.

The Genesis Foundation was founded by John Studzinski CBE in 2001. Over the past 20 years the Foundation has donated more than £20million to the arts. Through its funding and partnership model, it has enabled opportunities for thousands of young artists in theatre and music, building both their experience and their resilience. Its main focus is on partnerships with leading arts organisations such as the Young Vic, National Theatre, Almeida Theatre and The Sixteen, and on training programmes that equip emerging artists for life as a creative professional. In 2021/22, through the Genesis Kickstart Fund, the Foundation allocated £1m in grants for future-facing projects that provide paid work for freelance creative professionals.