Over the past few years, during our extensive programme of fundraising and planning, we’ve enjoyed a golden opportunity to consider our core purposes and passions, and to think about how these will translate to future activity at Islington Mill.
We’ve devised a structure to enable us to devote equal energy and focus in two key areas:
1. Running and supporting our busy and growing network of artist studios, events and creative endeavours under the existing Islington Mill Arts Club organisation.
and:
2. Advancing arts education for the public by providing development and support programmes.
To carry out this second crucial mission, we formed a charitable wing of Islington Mill called the Islington Mill Foundation (IMF).
We are fully registered and approved by the Charity Commission (Charity No. 1185577) with a dedicated Board and a Mission that we are excited to share.
Our Mission
Our core mission is arts education and we want to bring artists and the public together. Our development and support programmes will be devised and run by artists, giving opportunities for employment, upskilling, and sharing their work. Communities outside the Mill will be invited to experience work made by artists so that more people benefit from the experience of contemporary art.
Our programme will be shaped by those who lead it. Our three key areas of focus will be:
- Access and Community
Free social events for artists at all levels of their career where they can meet, engage, and form new connections. Coaching, skills and knowledge sharing will all play a crucial part. Artists will explore programming themes with related events including talks, exhibitions and screenings.
- Bedrock Learning
Building on the success and learning of the long-standing Islington Mill Arts Academy, we will continue to develop a freely accessible art school, providing development and access to a professional arts community for people often overlooked by existing programmes. Students will take an active role in defining their own programme and short residential learning programmes will also be available.
- Artist-led leadership programme
We will offer personal and professional development opportunities in areas of the sector that fall behind in public awareness, engagement, showcases and platforms. Tailored learning and development programmes will focus on lived experience, developing support for future generations of similarly identified people.
IMF Board
Allan Melzack
Niladri
Miqx Kannemeyer
Statement from IMF Board:
“Islington Mill Foundation is extremely proud to help carry the Mill’s innovative ethos and vision into the future. We are dedicated to working internally, with external partners, and with the communities we serve to develop fundraising initiatives and activities that ensure the continued engagement and success of the Mill’s dynamic community-focused, artist-led programmes and work. We are further dedicated to opening our Board to other members with a wide range of skills, knowledge, and networks, and who share our love for Islington Mill – its past, its present, and its future.”
