About TOMA
ABOUT TOMA
The Other MA (TOMA) is an 18-month artist-run education model and nomadic exhibition space based in Southend-on- Sea which supports artists who have faced barriers accessing art education and the ‘art world’.
Find out about our 2024 Open Call here, or if you have any general enquires you can email emma@toma-art.com
* TOMA was set up in partnership with Metal in Southend-on-Sea in 2016, working with them for an incubation period before becoming an independent not for profit, a CIC.
TOMA PROJECT SPACE
TOMA had a project space in a shopping centre in Southend. This was our hub for group meetings + the TOMA education programme sessions alongside public exhibitions + events. There were five exhibitions throughout 2019/2020; these were overseen + curated by the small TOMA team. The last in the series of shows was the TOMA cohort’s end of year exhibition. See our exhibition archive here.
TOMA artist Richard Baxter during a performance workshop at TOMA Project Space 2018.
TOMA Project Space front during Precarious Straits in 2021
TOMA artist Gabrielle Milanese’s installation at TOMA Project Space 2017
Collaborative installation as part of Alternative Art School Weekender hosted by TOMA at Ugly Duck 2019.
Accessibility
*TOMA’s Access Statement
The Other MA (TOMA) is an independent, not for profit art organisation, providing a free or low cost means for anyone to engage with contemporary art. We endeavour to make all our activities as friendly and inclusive as possible for everyone.
TOMA’s education programme, exhibitions and public events are open to anyone who would like to participate, learn, and engage with art in Southend-on-Sea.
At TOMA we believe it is our responsibility as an organisation to stop our output and spaces from being disabling to the public. This is largely known as the Social Model of disability. We understand that making TOMA truly accessible to all is a process of continual learning and adapting. We are committed to undertaking every effort possible to ensure TOMA is accessible to everyone.
Please visit our Visit Us page to find out more about how we have implemented this for visiting the TOMA Project Space.
*Website Accessibility Statement for TOMA (The Other MA)
This accessibility statement applies to https://www.toma-art.com/
This website is run by TOMA (The Other MA). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website but we acknowledge that our site has a way to go.
Ability Net has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We have recently updated the whole navigation of the website to ensure all content can be accessed with more ease. Most text upon our website is written in plain English and we have avoided unnecessary jargon wherever possible. Documents that are available to download are accessed through a shared google document rather than a PDF, making these documents much more accessible to users with screen-readers.
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, and we strive to make a more accessible site when financially possible to do so. In the meantime, we ask that if there is anything from the site that you cannot access, to please contact us and we will respond to your enquiry as quickly as possible.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille: please contact Emma via email emma@toma-art.com.
We’ll review your request and get back to you within 5 days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: emma@toma-art.com
Compliance status
This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1AA standard because:
Colours used may not be compliant with contrast regulations.
Linked videos do not have subtitles or closed captions.
Some images, including decorative ones, may not have alternative text descriptions yet.
We do not currently have any information explained in British Sign Language.
We acknowledge that this list may not be fully comprehensive, and TOMA would like to reassure you that making our site more accessible is one of our long-term goals.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 03 January 2022. This website was last tested on 15 November 2022 for accessibility by the TOMA team to begin our online access journey.
Transparency
How much does it cost to run an art school?
TOMA is transparent to our participants about how we work + where money goes. We are now aiming to make these processes + ways of working transparent to the rest of the world. To start with we will share our successful Arts Council England funding applications on our Resources page.
TOMA x TOW collaborative payment policy
Rates of pay in the arts is often opaque with rates from institutions, organisations and freelance opportunities varying widely. Often artists and cultural workers are paid depending upon experience, the value they might place on their own work, how much they are willing to ask for or simply how much the employer can afford. Artist Union England and a-n have done amazing work setting out recommended rates of pay for artists throughout the sector. We respect and welcome making positive changes in attitudes towards paying artists and cultural workers fairly. The fact still remains, however, that artists, curators and other arts workers have to supplement their earnings from their respective practices with other sources of income. From a report in 2015 only 7% of artists earned £20,000 or more per annum from their practices whilst 36% earned less than £1,000.*
As a modest attempt to redress this in some way, and to be clear that we value everyone who decides to give their labour to The Old Waterworks (TOW) and TOMA, we have introduced a flat rate fee. This is £150 for an 8 hour day, £75 for half a day, and £18.75 per hour -- for directors, artists, technicians, cleaners, project managers, assistants. We acknowledge and appreciate that this falls short of Artist Union England artists rates of pay, however, we hope this introduction of a flat fee fosters a positive working relationship, environment and culture with everyone who works with TOMA and TOW. We see this as a starting point and baseline, we do not wish this fee structure to undercut those who already have their own established rates of pay. However, we refuse to pay anyone less than our flat rate fee.
We also acknowledge that these are complex and nuanced issues, where gaps in pay in various respects are only widening. Many that work with TOW and TOMA do so precariously, often having to take on work elsewhere where pay varies from job to job. Granted many arts organisations may pay the artists they commission union rates, however they may do so whilst their directors are on very high salaries, their cleaning staff on minimum wage and other administrative workers on unsustainable salaries and/or contracts.
Our intention is to continue working towards ensuring at the very least our pay is fair, and at best generous, for everyone who works with us. And that it does not matter whether you support us by cleaning or by project managing the delivery of one of our commissions, your work is valued.
We are aiming for our rates of pay to increase in the future, and we will let you know when they do. But, for now, we are making a change with this collaborative rates of pay statement. In solidarity.
TOMA Board
TOMA operates with a board composed of the following great humans: Lolly Adams, Yves Blais, Andrea Cunningham, Warren Harper, Peter Haugh, Amy Pennington, and Elle Reynolds. Laura Trevail also acts as a Context Strategist for TOMA. Find out more about each member below.
Lolly Adams
Lolly Adams is an artist currently studying at The Royal Academy Schools, she attended Byam Shaw School of Art in 2008-11 and was a TOMA artist from 2017-18. Lolly curated or co-curated; Pets, The Waiting Room, The Only Guatemalan Adoptee In Essex and Precarious Straits at the TOMA Project Space. Other projects and exhibitions include Pure Class (2021), This Is Not A Show (2020), The Alternative Art School Weekender at The Ugly Duck (2019), Art Schooled at V&A Lates (2019). She is part of the Working Class Creatives Database. Lolly’s artwork is often about excess, value, emotional baggage and holding on, she has an alter ego called Miss HerNia who creates multimedia performances to original phlegm-pop songs.
Yves Blais
Image: Christa Holka
Yves Blais works at the Creative Land Trust, which secures and protects affordable studio space for artists in perpetuity in London. He previously worked as a workspace consultant for social enterprise WorkWild, and at Outset Contemporary Art Fund initiating Studiomakers, an initiative that brokers artist studio space on new and existing property developments. In addition, he curated fig-futures, an innovative collecting scheme for public galleries and a series of 16 week-long exhibitions at 4 venues around the UK. He has 12 years' experience as a producer and curator across both public and commercial galleries. Yves is also a Trustee at Forma Arts and Media.
Andrea Cunningham
Andrea Cunningham is Director at Metal in Southend. Metal is an arts organisation which supports and encourages artists across disciplines from all walks of life. She is a trained art historian with a background in learning and interpretation in museums and galleries including as Head of Learning & Skills at V&A Museum of Childhood and Head of Informal Learning & Access at the National Maritime Museum. Andrea’s practice is characterised by audience-centred, socially engaged and participatory approaches to creativity. Originally from East London she now lives and works in Southend and values the importance of people and place in the creative landscape.
Emma Edmondson
Emma Edmondson (b. 1984) lives and works in Southend on Sea. Studying and graduating during the 2008 financial crash alternative economies and utopian community are at the centre of her research and practice. She uses sculpture, print, sound, text and is interested in the power of people coming together through creative projects to change systems and rules. She has shown her work in spaces around the UK including Victoria & Albert Museum and Barbican, most recently with a solo show at Arcade/Campfa in Cardiff. She has been awarded commissions from Focal Point Gallery, AHRC and Artquest. She teaches art in community spaces, schools, college, arts organisations and universities to support her practice, often on precarious contracts. In 2016 Edmondson founded TOMA (The Other MA), a postgraduate level art programme outside of the traditional institutional model. Emma sees TOMA and her teaching work as part of her creative practice. Emma also runs Dog Ear with Lu Williams, producing dog toy sculptures and texts for humans and hounds.
Warren Harper
Warren Harper is a curator and researcher from and based in Essex, where he is Co-director at The Old Waterworks (TOW), an artist-led charity in Southend-on-Sea that provides studios, facilities, and research and development opportunities for artists. Alongside this Warren is currently working with Kent-based arts organisation Cement Fields as Senior Project Manager for Whitstable Biennale 2022. Warren is also a PhD Candidate in the Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is working on a curatorial research project exploring Essex’s role in Britain’s nuclear story. Before his posts at TOW and Cement Fields Warren worked with South London Gallery where he managed the delivery of the gallery’s Fire Station into a new contemporary arts space and annexe. He is also a supporter and member of the Working Class Creatives Database, which is a platform to share and highlight the work of working class creatives.
Amy Pennington
Amy Pennington is a northern Artist who lives in London they make work that uses humour to connect human experiences and socio-political issues often working collaboratively with people making drawings, films, and improvised performance. Amy was educated at the alternative art school Islington Mill Art Academy.
Elle Reynolds
Scholar/researcher/quiet disrupter, Elle Reynolds has over 35 years’ experience of teaching and management in Art and Design Higher Education yet continues to challenge and usurp institutional time and appropriates institutional space. Working within and against the institutional frameworks by attending to strategies of instituting as subversive space, in which to consider alternative models of education. Collaborative events, performative lectures and publications that explore spatiality, form part of the practice. Recent residencies have included the Nida Art Colony, Summer Lodge and No Telos, Venice 2019. Work has been exhibited at locations, art-spaces and galleries, in Estonia, Italy, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom. Previously employed as Course Director for the FdA Fine Art Skills & Practices course at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (CSM), located within the Byam Shaw School of Art. Head of School at Istituto Maragnoni and currently PhD researcher at Nottingham Trent University. Elle currently lives and works in London.
Laura Trevail
My work is to listen to the context of a place, a problem, a need or an idea, and to craft that information into experiences and opportunities that are both enjoyable and useful. I am an artist weaving actions in connected technology, innovation and transport, with traditional theatre, writing, and visual art practice.
The world is made of love and fear, and not always in the right place. I'm interested in that. I'm interested in cause and effect. I'm interested in what we think we see.
I seek to play an active part in building a brave, exciting, kind, practical and exceptionally well functioning future for all of us. My training and background is in theatre, writing, sculpture, data relationships, human behaviour, horror, connected devices and value exchange. They play together well.
I aim to make glancing work with long-term resonance; like the memory of a kind word, or the lasting shiveriness of a ghost story. Sometimes it's head stuff, sometimes heart, sometimes both. Always gut.
