Sustaining Practice Programme
2026/27
The Sustaining Practice Programme is a 10-month online artist development programme (September 2026 – June 2027) for early-career and emerging artists working with photography.
The programme supports artists to establish a sustainable, self-directed practice, develop their photographic voice and approach, and prepare for life in the arts.
Led by TPS Director Gideon Vass - alongside a host of guest practitioners including leading photographic artists and industry professionals - the programme comprises group sessions (workshops, crits, artist talks, discussions), 1:1 tutorials, and practical briefs.
Positioned as an alternative to postgraduate study or as a bridge between formal art education and professional practice, the Sustaining Practice Programme supports emerging artists in building the foundations for a long-term photographic practice.
Programme Leader
Guest Practitioners
Who is the programme for?
Recent graduates, early-career, and emerging artists working with photography.
No formal qualifications are required.
Programme Structure
The programme runs over three terms, with full-day sessions held weekly on Tuesdays, alongside dedicated tutorial weeks every 3–4 weeks.
Group sessions: Full-day (10am - 4pm), once a week on Tuesdays
1:1 tutorials: Every 3–4 weeks, scheduled at a mutually convenient time between Monday and Wednesday
Programme Delivery
Online
Programme Overview & Outcomes
Across the 10-months, you will:
Develop a sustainable, self-directed photographic practice
Establish working methods and approaches that are aligned with your life and artistic intentions
Explore and define your visual language, voice, and conceptual approach
Develop a body of work
Clarify your artistic direction
Learn from the experience, knowledge, and guidance of leading photographic practitioners
Gain insight into a range of professional practices
Deepen your understanding of contemporary photography
Engage in critical dialogue, peer exchange, and feedback
Present work publicly and professionally
Better understand how to position yourself within the art world
Navigate the practical and psychological challenges of being an artist
Term 1: Process & Development (September 2026 – December 2026)
The first term focuses on building the foundations of a sustainable practice. You will examine your working methods, habits, and approaches, alongside the conditions that shape your ability to produce work — including limited time, energy, and resources. Through practical briefs, discussion, and research, you will establish ways of working that are aligned with your life and artistic intentions, while beginning to develop independent projects.
Term 2: Applied Practice (January 2027 – March 2027)
The second term provides an opportunity to apply the learning from Term 1. Production will become increasingly independent and midway through the term you will undertake a six-week Independent Practice Period (with a tutorial check-in at the midpoint). This will allow you the time to implement the strategies and structures you have developed, and test the sustainability of your practice in real time. You will then reflect on the experience through both group discussions and individual feedback.
Term 3: Professional Practice (April 2027 – June 2027)
While continuing practical development and project work, the final term focuses on positioning practices within a professional and public context. Sessions explore exhibiting and publishing, writing and talking about your work, websites and portfolios, and developing a professional presence. The emphasis is on supporting you to articulate, present, and situate your practice with clarity and confidence, preparing you to navigate the professional art world and share your work with wider audiences.
Online Showcases: Term 2 & 3
Midway through Term 2, you will present a Work-in-Progress showcase, sharing experiments, explorations, new works, ideas, and projects. This provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your development and receive feedback from a wider audience. At the end of Term 3, a final showcase will present the completed works and projects.
Guest Sessions
Each term has a core focus and reflects a shared journey across the programme as a cohort; however, guest practitioners are not confined to these themes, allowing the cohort to benefit fully from their specialist experience and practices. Each guest leads a full-day session, offering extended access and contact time with the cohort.
Mentorship & Support
Throughout the programme, the regular 1:1 tutorials with Gideon provide you with ongoing feedback, support, and accountability. This structure ensures continuity across the programme and helps you develop a coherent and sustained body of work, supporting both your artistic and professional growth.
The Emotional & Psychological
Throughout the programme there will be an ongoing exploration of the emotional and psychological experience of being an artist. Through both formal sessions and informal discussions, you will engage with topics such as rejection and criticism, confidence and self-belief, motivation, fulfilment and burnout, and questions of success, failure, and sustainability. This forms a core part of the programme, recognising that developing as an artist is not only a practical process but also a deeply personal one.
Programme Fee: £2000
Application Deadline: 24 June 2026
Programme Start Date: 22 September 2026
Email us or book a Video Call
If you have any questions about the programme, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can email us directly or arrange a video call with the Programme Leader, Gideon Vass.
Hear from the 2025/26 Cohort
Ela Skorska
My practice has definitely developed since starting the programme. The rhythm of meetings, prompts, check-ins, and talks really pushes you forward and keeps you on your toes!
We were introduced to a wide range of photographic practitioners, each bringing different insights and experiences. Having access to that variety of perspectives is incredibly important when trying to find your way as an artist.
The 1:1 tutorials are an absolutely invaluable part of the course — for me, alongside the lectures, they’ve been the most important element. Gideon is very knowledgeable, a great listener, and always gives thoughtful, considered feedback.
Lizzie Urquhart
The Photo School has been such a valuable experience. It has given me confidence in my artistic practice and pushed me to explore new avenues within my work. I feel much more confident speaking about my practice and sharing my projects.
Each session has been dense, packed with theory and thought-provoking content, expanding both my knowledge of photography and my understanding of what it means to sustain an artistic practice in everyday life.
It has been incredibly useful to have a space to talk about my work after an extended period of independent working post-art school. Each tutorial has been insightful and specific to me and my projects. I have felt very supported on the course both by Gideon and the my fellow cohort.
Each guest has provided a different space for learning and sharing thoughts on photography. It has been inspiring to learn about the ways artists sustain their practices in tandem with their personal lives.
Before joining, I was apprehensive about an online course, but I was genuinely surprised by how warm and supportive the community became. Connecting with photographers from different backgrounds and supporting each other’s practices has been a really valuable part of the experience.
Louise Grundy
My practice has now developed into something I can realistically sustain alongside limited time and finances. The programme has encouraged me to find ways of making work that actually work for me.
The guest sessions have been a great way to hear artists speak about their work, while also offering insight into the different approaches they take to making. Engaging with these varied perspectives has helped me better understand what works, and doesn’t, within my own practice.
The 1:1 tutorials are always beneficial; they are open and honest conversations that I find very valuable.
I find the structure great; one day a week is super manageable and allows for balance in life, while it is regular enough to keep momentum and motivation. I have also found the 6 week independent practice period really useful in seeing how I can implement my new approaches without the structure of the Tuesday sessions.
Moray McKie
Throughout the programme, my practice has developed through a deeper understanding of what it means to work as a lens-based artist. It has helped me develop a deeper appreciation of different photographic genres, which has shifted my approach to a more exploratory and conceptual engagement with image-making. This has, in turn, reshaped how I think about image-making, and also how I understand and position my own work.
The 1:1 tutorials and ongoing mentorship have encouraged me to articulate my practice more openly and truthfully. Through conversations, I’ve become more aware of where I need to grow. At times that’s been challenging, but it’s also been grounding – giving me direction and a supportive structure to develop my work with greater confidence.
The quality of the guest practitioners has been consistently high. Their sessions have been engaging, and their advice has balanced inspiration with practical insights that I can directly apply to my own work. They’ve also introduced me to a wide range of artists I might not have come across otherwise, which has had a real impact on how I think about my work.
The course has challenged me at times, as it should, but always in way that feels purposeful and inspiring. It’s changed how I see myself as a photographer, and helped me better understand where I want to take my practice.