Post-Study: Supporting the Next Generation of Live Art Practitioners in London
A new collaboration between LADA and Queen Mary University of London
Post-Study is a new research project exploring how early-career practitioners working in Live Art and Interdisciplinary Performance can build sustainable careers and engage in lifelong learning after finishing their studies.
Led by the Live Art Development Agency and Queen Mary University of London with funding from Arts Council England, the project will listen to current final year undergraduate and postgraduate students, and recent graduates to understand what support is most needed – and where the gaps are.
We’re asking a simple but urgent question:
How do Live Art practitioners transition from study into sustainable careers in the creative industries?
Why Now
Across the UK, Live Art and Performance Arts courses are being reduced or closed. At the same time, new graduates are facing a rapidly changing world – from the effects of Brexit and Covid-19 to the rise of freelance and hybrid creative work.
Now more than ever, we need to make sure that early-career practitioners have clear, supportive routes into professional practice and can engage in life-long learning.
This project aims to shed a light on the challenges and opportunities ahead – and help shape a future where Live Art practitioners can continue to grow and evolve.
What We’re Doing
In 2026 Post-Study will:
- Survey current final-year students and recent graduates (1–5 years post-study) from Live Art and Performance courses in London.
- Host roundtables and interviews with artists, educators, and organisations to gather experiences and insights.
- Create a partner network of higher education institutions and arts organisations to share learning and develop responses.
- Publish a final report with recommendations for better support, professional development and career pathways for emerging practitioners.
Who’s Involved
We’re building this work in collaboration with a growing network of partners to ensure the findings lead to real, shared action across the sector.
- Higher Education partners: Central School of Speech and Drama, Queen Mary University of London, Rose Bruford College, University of East London, University of the Arts, London, Rose Choreographic School, London Contemporary Dance School
- Arts organisations: Artsadmin, AutoItalia, Battersea Arts Centre, Chisenhale Art Place & Chisenhale Dance, Future Ritual, London Performance Studios, Mimosa House, Somerset House Studios, Whitechapel Gallery
- Networks, Unions, Local Authorities & Creative Enterprise Zones: Tower Hamlets, Hackney, BECTU, The London Arts & Humanities Partnership
If you’re interested in joining the Post-Study Research Network, please be in touch (info below).
What We’re Doing
In 2026 Post-Study will:
- Survey current final-year students and recent graduates (1–5 years post-study) from Live Art and Performance courses in London.
- Host roundtables and interviews with artists, educators, and organisations to gather experiences and insights.
- Create a partner network of higher education institutions and arts organisations to share learning and develop responses.
- Publish a final report with recommendations for better support, professional development and career pathways for emerging practitioners.
Our Aims
Through this work, we hope to:
- Understand what early-career Live Art and Performance practitioners need to establish themselves.
- Help universities and cultural organisations design better training, development and mentoring programmes.
- Strengthen pathways into the creative careers, helping more practitioners transition from study into the sector.
Charlotte Young │ Post-Study Researcher
Charlotte (she/her) is an artist and researcher whose work centres on power structures, institutions, and the social construction of myths. She holds a BA Fine Art from London Metropolitan University, and an MA in Theatre and Performance and a PhD in Drama from Queen Mary University of London
Prior to LADA, she has worked in arts education, fundraising, research, lecturing, and creative producing across galleries and museums, schools, arts charities, academia, and local government.
Charlotte is currently a trustee at SLiDE Dance.
Arts, Further and Higher Education institutions
Contact us to join the Post-Study Research Network and learn more about how you can engage with this research. Be sure to put POST-STUDY in the subject line.
Banner image credit:
Samra Mayanja, ‘please believe me…’ gathering at LADA, November 2025. Image Mary Osborn
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