How To Set Up An Art School

Emma Edmondson and Ames Pennington take How to Set Up an Art School back on the road with a series of events celebrating the second edition of the publication.

This 2026 tour opens up the alternative art school model through conversation, reflection and collective imagining. These events offer space to explore what an art school is, and what it could become.

Together, we will examine contemporary art education and its future with hope and curiosity: building on good experiences, learning from the bad, dismantling what doesn’t work and strengthening what does.

“The dictionary defines failure as a lack of success. But failure is more of a social concept: of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. Through failure comes learning and a way of doing things… ‘Being wrong’ can be a tool to shape the art school material.”

These gatherings are open, collaborative and welcoming; whether you are interested in art education, DIY practice, artist-run spaces, playful making or collective learning.

How to Set Up an Art School (second edition) arrives following a sold-out first print run and growing interest in alternative education models across the arts.

Compiled by Emma Edmondson and a collective of artists and educators, the book blends essays, illustrations, activities, reflections and dialogue. It acts as both a practical guide and a manifesto for those seeking to establish or participate in alternative art schools and peer-learning spaces.

The publication charts the evolution of The Other MA (TOMA) from a process-based studio experiment into a thriving artist-led educational platform based in Southend-on-Sea.

“This book is not just about setting up a school,” says Emma Edmondson. “It’s about rethinking power, access and possibility in art education.”

• A conversation with Emma Edmondson and Ames Pennington
• Insight into the alternative art education model
• Space for reflection and discussion
• An opportunity to imagine your own art school

All are welcome. Free to attend.

The Other MA (TOMA) is an 18-month artist-run learning programme supporting artists who have faced barriers accessing traditional art education and the ‘art world’. Founded in 2016, it offers affordable, accessible and responsive postgraduate-level learning and is currently the only postgraduate art programme in Essex after others were closed by their host universities.

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