About Us
Axle Education grew out of a very successful work experience programme director Bridget Sterling set up whilst director of fine art gallery, Bath Contemporary. Set up in collaboration with Bob Fearns at Bath Spa University in 2013, it ran until 2017. Bridget wrote an employability course when the programme closed aimed at supporting fine art graduates with both their business and creative practices. The course quickly grew to encompass all creative arts practitioners developing additional areas of interest, which address the importance of mental wellbeing in an often underfunded and inconsistent industry.
Our courses have been delivered through a number of organisations including Bath Spa University, Kingston University, NHS Recovery Centre Kirklees, Princes Trust Bristol and Somerset Art Works (SAW). Bridget also continues to deliver the course through charitable organisation, the Workers Educational Association (WEA).
We are setting the courses up to run online so that everyone can access them. We are also looking for our own premises in the south west of England from which to run them.
If you are interested in any of our courses please email us at education@axlearts.com.
Courses
All our courses are delivered with a less formal approach to learning, leaning towards facilitation with a blended approach of some teaching alongside tasks and activities, visualisations and sharing with others. We encourage inter-participant learning through self reflection and discussion.
Managing a Creative Arts Career
Designed to help facilitate artists to set up, organise and run their business practice, this course also looks at portfolio careers and suggests ways in which to facilitate artists into the workplace through helping to identify driving forces and key transferrable skills.
Mental Wellbeing in the Creative Arts
Creative practitioners are often at a significantly higher risk than most other professions of poor mental wellbeing. This is for a number of reasons including low pay levels, inconsistent earnings and funding and poor life/work balance. This course looks at recognising anxiety and discusses creative burnout and depression whilst suggesting healthy preventative measures.
Stress Awareness
This course looks more specifically at how stress is connected to our sense of personal identity, at managing our emotions and suggests healthy ways in which to manage stress through mindfulness amongst other suggestions.
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