• Back to East projects
•  

About us

Escalator

Escalator is the pioneering talent plan from Arts Council England, East that finds, supports and invests in the best artistic talent across all artforms throughout the East of England. Escalator is establishing the East of England as the leading UK region for talent development.

Since it launched in 2003, Escalator has helped over 250 artists to develop their work, forge new partnerships and reach new audiences.

How does Escalator work?
The key to Escalator is its flexibility, a variety of initiatives have been created across different artforms to provide bespoke professional development programmes for artists and arts organisations.

In large part, Escalator’s success is due to the professional arts organisations, industry partners, producers, curators, artists and promoters who coordinate the programmes. Their expertise ensures that the support offered to artists is timely relevant and that Escalator is making a tangible impact on the careers of our region’s artists.

We are working with national organisations to ensure that culturally diverse artists and artforms are encouraged and represented in the region. Escalator is also opening up opportunities for our region’s artists to work nationally and internationally as well as attracting talented artists into the region from around the world.

Although it is constantly evolving and growing, there are currently seven main strands of Escalator: Visual Arts; Music; Literature; Performing Arts; East to Edinburgh; Futures; International.

In addition, there are individual short-term projects that provide further opportunities for artists to develop and promote their work as part of Escalator. For example, in 2008 artists will have the opportunity to create a short film as part of Escalator Shorts, a project that we are developing in collaboration with the BBC.

What has Escalator achieved?

Since 2003, Escalator artists have:

• Performed and exhibited their art to audiences all over the world, from Krakow to San Jose, from Brussels to New York, from London to Edinburgh.
• Won a battery of awards including the Sovereign European Art Prize, the Stage Awards for Acting Excellence, Herald Angels and numerous Fringe Firsts.
• Secured literary agents and book deals
• Gone on tour with their bands and orchestras and produced CDs
• Raised their profiles and reached new audiences via extensive media coverage including television, radio, press and online.


“Being part of Escalator Visual Arts has opened so many doors for me. The support of Arts Council England, East has meant that my work as an artist has been given more authority, enabling me to find or create new platforms for my work.”
Mark Dixon, Artist – Escalator Visual Arts

“Escalator East To Edinburgh is now an established part of the Fringe and I’m delighted it has become so successful. The companies supported by this initiative make a big collective impact on the Festival”
Paul Gudgin - Edinburgh Fringe Director

“Escalator has helped me understand the workings of the music industry from an insider’s point of view. I’ve worked closely with my mentor on everything from management contracts, to budgeting, to artistic issues – it has been invaluable”
Greg McDonald, Musician - Escalator Music

Escalator logos and brand guidelines

The main Escalator logotypes are listed below. The relevant logotype must always be used when referring to Escalator and its work.

If you require a different format or a logotype for one of the Escalator strands, please contact the Communications team in the East office on 01223 454413. Please also ask the Communications team for a copy of the branding guidelines for assistance with using these logotypes.

Escalator strands

Performing Arts
Music
Visual Arts
Literature
East to Edinburgh
International
Futures

Related documents

• Escalator logo_jpg format [59.06 KB]
• Escalator logo_ai format [117.08 KB]
• Escalator logo_pdf format [66.38 KB]