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EMERGE – Bath Spa University

A studio residency programme for our graduates across art, design, performance, music and creative media.

EMERGE launched in the Autumn of 2020 in partnership with Santander Universities. It's a unique multidisciplinary creative practice studio for Bath Spa University alumni who have graduated within the last two years. EMERGE is a creative incubator, designed to help emerging talent through giving vital space, training, and meaningful support at a pivotal time within an individual's career pathway, bridging the gap between University and the professional world. Unlike conventional incubation spaces, EMERGE focuses on value beyond the economic to empower graduates to find sustainable and fulfilling creative practice careers.

The EMERGE studio is a collective made up of 30 Bath Spa University graduate residents, creative mentors (who are established creatives within BANES and work alongside our residents) and three dedicated members of the University's Careers and Employability team, who work together to simultaneously celebrate and challenge each other's creative thinking, develop skills and learn from one another.

Over the residency, we'll be running a range of events, exhibitions and workshops, led by our residents, creative mentors and partners. We aim for EMERGE to become a space to support creativity within the wider community and welcome ideas and opportunities to collaborate.

Find us on Twitter and Instagram, or get in touch via emerge@bathspa.ac.uk.

Our values and what we offer

EMERGE is a free space for collaboration, collisions and opportunity, bringing together creative practice across four disciplines - art, design, music and performance and creative media - to work alongside each other. We're here to support and celebrate new, brave ways of working and thinking across creative practices, especially for emerging creatives.

Through a combined offer of free workspace, skills development, workshops, small bursaries and creative business and mentor support, EMERGE will enable creative practitioners to develop sustainable, impactful careers and thrive within their industries. 

EMERGE offers 17 artist studios (shared and individual) and 8 design stations, along with fixed office desks and spaces for co-working, projects, meetings and rehearsals, to support our emerging creative practitioners as they transition from graduates to professionals within their chosen pathway.

Our Creative Mentors also have access to free space, suitable for their own creative practice in exchange for their professional input and mentorship.

As we grow, EMERGE aims to:

  • Utilise creative expertise from the community and find ways for the EMERGE space to benefit the wider creative ecosystem within the city.
  • Link the outputs from our residents to the industry through events such as Bath FestivalFaB and beyond.
  • Support residents into wider co-working spaces following their six month residency.
  • Link to wider community initiatives and bids such as the FWD project and The Studio.
  • Place inclusivity and diversity at the heart of our creative collective and to maximise opportunities for all. 
  • Show the value and impact of the University investing in creative practice space for graduate professional development, away from the traditional models of Enterprise and Innovation spaces.
  • Develop through partnerships both within the University and other education providers, governing bodies and industry into a key residency space for Bath and the South West region.
Our residents

Our residents work across a range of creative practices, from art, design, performance and music and creative media.

Meet our residents.

Our creative mentors

We have a select number of creative mentors with experience across our specific areas of expertise, who support and work alongside our residents whilst developing their own practices. 

Meet our creative mentors.

Our collective members

Our Collective Membership benefits those who have been part of our EMERGE story, as well as other creatives and individuals who are helping to build a strong creative community in the Bath area.

Meet our collective members.

Our partners

Santander Universities logo

EMERGE has been made possible through a partnership between Bath Spa University Careers Team and Santander Universities.

We are actively looking to expand our partnerships within the city and beyond as our EMERGE collective grows.

To find out more around our partnerships and to explore ways EMERGE could work with your organisation email: emerge@bathspa.ac.uk

How to find us

EMERGE is based on the ground floor at the Sion Hill campus, in what was the old library space. We are fully accessible and are happy to discuss any access requirements before your visit.

There is a small car park and we may be able to book a parking space for you, subject to availability.

Visits are currently by appointment only, but we would love to show you around! Email: emerge@bathspa.ac.uk

Masthead image: photo by Theo Box

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