The Inspire Fellowship Programme is a positive action traineeship that aims to address the historical under-representation of Black and minority ethnic curators in the country's museums and galleries.

Inspire was launched in London in 2005 as a two-year work-based training programme. Eleven 'fellows' were placed within the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Barbican Art Gallery, British Council, Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Serpentine Gallery and the Whitechapel Gallery. Most of the participants delivered major exhibitions or booked projects as part of the scheme, including the exhibition of street art outside the Tate Modern in 2008, curated by Inspire fellow Cedar Lewisohn.

This year, Inspire is being rolled out nationally as an MA-accredited postgraduate professional development programme, administered and managed by the Royal College of Art. Inspire students will be placed within a host institution and will receive a bursary, national and international networking opportunities, field trips to key festivals and visual arts events in England and abroad, as well as a dedicated mentor.

The first cohort, with four London-based students and one from each of the remaining eight English regions, begin the programme in October 2009. A second cohort is planned to start in October 2010. The host institutions include BALTIC, British Museum, East Street Arts, FACT, IKON, Liverpool Biennial, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Natural History Museum, Nottingham Contemporary, Southbank Centre, Turner Contemporary, Tyne & Wear Museums and the Victoria and Albert Museum.