TOSH

Open School Creative (OSC) is a collaboration between TOSH and BEAF Arts Co to support our community of artists and their development, at all stages.

Based in Boscombe and online, OSC programmes workshops, share nights, artist talks, courses, funding support, events and more. Our programme exists for artists interested in skill building, collaboration, and community.

2025

Book: OSC Events

Apply: Lucky Draw £500 Artist Fund

Apply: Creative Start Up Programme

Why do we need OSC?

To provide a case of support for artistic development in Dorset
To empower artists through sharing resources and skill building
To create welcoming spaces where people come together
To build up connections between isolated and marginalised communities
To establish Boscombe as a leading space for arts and culture in the South West

Creative Skill Share Workshops

Led by local creatives, each offering a unique skill share based on their specialist area. Past events: 'Additional Incomes for Creatives' with Becca of To Be Adorned, 'Video Content & Social Media' with Milly of Blink Lettering, 'Let's Talk Creative Portfolios' with community artist Corrianna Clarke, and 'Pricing & Profits' with Joanne of Creative Flow Collective.

Show & Tell Nights

For artists who are looking for feedback, offered by fellow creatives! Show & Tell Nights are hosted by local artist specialists. Share your work, ideas and concepts, or just come along to discover new work, offering your thoughts in a safe, supportive space.

Artist Talks

With UK based creative specialists, we have so far covered the likes of: producing community art initiatives, overcoming imposter syndrome, developing a sustainable arts career, and DYCP funding application support. Speakers have included Ceri Hand, The Uncultured, Sadie Edginton, Harold Offeh, Laura Eldret, Julia Jennings and more.

Creative Start Up Programme

Our 7-session evening course at TOSH is designed to help creative businesses to build strong foundations, with the support of experienced mentors from our local arts and culture scene. With interactive classes, 1-1 mentoring and free extra workshops, we guide our cohorts through planning, branding, pricing, marketing and more. Learn more.

Lucky Draw £500 fund

Our no strings attached support fund is for artists and creatives based in the BH postcode area to develop their professional arts practice. Every 3 months, a randomly drawn winner receives £500 for their arts practice, as well as free access to OSC programming for 12 months, and mentoring from TOSH and BEAF teams. Apply here.

‍Inspired by Southampton based ‘A Space’ Arts’ Lucky Dip, the Lucky Draw fund has been established to challenge the barriers of inaccessibility, complexity and discrimination that artists often face during funding application and selection processes. It seeks to invest directly into our diverse local creative community, making space for experimentation, development and innovation.

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Who are TOSH and BEAF Arts Co?

TOSH is a creative community and coworking space, based in a Grade II listed building in the centre of Boscombe. Through our community programmes of workshops and gathering, we build groups that bring diverse people together in a supportive, safe space. In our coworking space, we offer a range of workspace packages including our subsidised Start Up Desk, designed for creative businesses and projects in the early stages of development. Our weekly Cowork Club offers a free space to work in creative company, 9am-12pm every Thursday.

BEAF Arts Co is an open-access, multi-art form festival and year round arts programme based on the south coast in Boscombe, Bournemouth. We are an innovative and independent organisation of freelancers and volunteers, who feel passionately that culture changes communities for the better.

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Open School Creative: Supporting artists & creative practitioners in the South West.

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