Artist-led: Day School
An ongoing series profiling artist-led groups in the South West. This month we are celebrating Day School.
Can you tell us about Day School, who you are and what you're about/what you do.
Day School is a year-long alternative arts education programme, established in 2021 by artists Jack Lewdjaw and Karanjit Panesar, coordinated by Natasha MacVoy. The programme offers participants a shared studio space, monthly education days led by invited artists and practitioners, mentorship, peer critique, professional development opportunities, community projects and social events. Together these elements create a supportive and collaborative environment where artists can develop their practices while building meaningful relationships with others working in the arts.Day School is committed to the idea of alternative education as a meaningful response to the current climate of UK arts education provision, and the opportunity to contribute to maintaining a thriving artistic community in the amazing city of Bristol.
The group itself, and our invited guest artists/professionals reflect the many different artistic practices represented in the UK. Day School is an inclusive and welcoming environment, and the artists we work with are selected with these values in mind.
Can you tell us why you set up and why an artist-led approach, how Day School is important in the context that you are working in.
Day School is artist-led to so that those leading are engaged with the same processes as the cohort, namely applying themselves to a practice, participating in exhibitions / research / conversations, juggling their time between working, making and the development of ideas.
Day School is open to artists with or without any arts education or training, offering a year to explore their practice with a diverse group of practitioners. The programme is intentionally unaccredited and non-assessed. Participants leave without a formal qualification, but with something we believe to be equally valuable: a network of peers, new perspectives on their practice and the confidence to sustain their work as artists.
A central element of the programme is our monthly education days. These sessions bring together the cohort with invited artists, curators and cultural workers who share their knowledge and experience through talks, workshops, group critiques and collaborative exercises. The content of these sessions is deliberately varied and often experimental, encouraging participants to encounter unfamiliar approaches to making and thinking about art. Previous guest contributors have included artists and educators such as Alice Channer, Harriet Cooper, Michael Dean, Harold Offeh, Steph Huang and Saelia Aparicio.
The invited guest contributors bring a wide range of perspectives from across contemporary art practice, whilst the intimacy of the programme allows participants to engage closely with these guests, ask questions and learn from their experiences in a supportive setting.
Day Schoolers are encouraged to create peer-led activities and exhibitions so that they finish with the experience and tools to continue supporting one another. Artist-led spaces are fundamental to artist landscape, so we encourage and support each cohort to find ways of making things happen, using spaces that may have been overlooked and building opportunities for themselves and their wider communities.
Can you describe what sort of space you run out of and the context of Day School, how you do you operate and how are you funded?
Day School runs from August-July each year, with the cohort selected via Open Call – details of this are on our website and announced via our Instagram account.
Each cohort consists of fourteen participants (75 participants to date) who have access to a studio space at St Anne’s House in Bristol, a creative hub that houses artist studios, creative tenants, a community pottery, sauna and café, alongside hosting various cultural and social activities. Being embedded within this environment allows participants to become part of the wider artistic ecology of the city.
Alongside the education programme, participants can have regular one-to-one mentoring sessions with Day School Coordinator Natasha MacVoy offering guidance on artistic development, funding applications, exhibition proposals and navigating the realities of sustaining a creative career. Each artist also receives a subscription to Art Monthly for the year giving them access to reviews of exhibitions and interviews with artists.
The cost for 2026/27 artists will be £120 per month, with a commitment to attending for the full year. We have two bursaries available; The Jerram Foundation Bursary available to anyone not in full time education and The Bath Spa Bursary for a 2026 Graduate (BA).
Accessibility is a continuing priority. We work closely with participants to discuss access needs and create an environment where people feel comfortable contributing. The monthly structure of the education days is also designed to accommodate participants who may be balancing work, caring responsibilities or other commitments. St Anne’s House is accessible via ramps external to the building, with an internal lift and accessible toilets. It is close to Bristol Temple Meads train station (making it accessible to the wider South West area).
Can you tell us about what you are currently working on and if you have any projects coming up you’d like to share with our network?
The 2025/26 Day School artists have an upcoming group show, ‘Core Sample’ at Centrespace, opening on the 8th May – keep an eye on socials for updates and further info.
Look out for the Open Call for Day School 2026/27!! All information will be available on our website and Instagram.
In July the current cohort will have an exhibition at St Annes House, to celebrate the end of their year, to connect with visitors and previous Day School artists and to welcome the new cohort. More details on this closer to the time.
