Making It

What does it mean to “make it” as an artist in the 21st century? As traditions evolve and power shifts, artists with the skills to create their own work and forge their own paths become the trailblazers of our culture.

Making It is Guildhall's new artist development programme. Available from the first day of training until five years after graduation, it's a rolling programme of opportunities dedicated to supporting artists to create, collaborate, innovate and build sustainable careers in an ever-changing creative landscape. To "make it", whatever that means to them.

Students and company members from The PappyShow, facilitators of the undisciplined residency, 2022. Photo by Matthew Ferguson.

Our focus

Making It acknowledges that the transition from student to professional artist is often precarious, and aims to provide support to artists at this pivotal moment, helping them to build sustainable and fulfilling careers.

Our programme is driven by four key principals that are central to our offer and our decision making.

1. Collaboration: we'll encourage partnerships across and between disciplines, artforms, skillsets and sectors to foster community and challenge traditional hierarchies.

2. Creation: we'll support the development of new artistic work and the exploration of fresh ideas.

3. Innovation: we'll champion artistic experimentation and new approaches to problem-solving.

4. Enterprise: we'll empower artists to build sustainable and ethical creative businesses.

artists stand on a stage

Sign up to the Making It Mailing List

Be the first to discover the latest Making It updates! Stay in the loop on funding opportunities, creative development, and more - click here to learn more.

Cast and crew of No Particular Order

Making It Funding

Applications for the most recent round of Making It Funding are now closed.
We will be opening applications for the next round later this year.

Please check back here for updates and information on how to apply.

For updates about future opportunities, sign up to the Making It mailing list here

Have a query in the meantime? Email Iona McTaggart at iona.mctaggart@gsmd.ac.uk

A music studio

Making It Workshops and Courses

Making It offers paid bursary places, through a short application process, to a range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses led by Guildhall's Open Programmes team. These courses will focus on skills for the creative industries and cover essential topics like marketing and PR, evaluation techniques, and specialist software.

Our workshops and courses will be part of a flexible, ongoing programme that adapts based on interest and demand. We want to hear what you would like to see feature on these courses. You can tell us your thoughts by filling out a short expression of interest form here

Purple projection on ceiling

Making It Festival

An annual celebration of all things Making It, our festival is an eclectic showcase of new work made by our vibrant and diverse student community. Taking place at the end of the summer term each year, Making It Festival is a multi-disciplinary degree show and a landmark moment in the School's programme of events. For more information about Making It Festival, click here. 

Ms Midlife, five women stand on stage

Making It Coaching

Launching in January 2026, Making It Coaching is a new, free offer for Guildhall School of Music & Drama alumni who are feeling that shift from a highly structured, supported environment to the wide-open (and often overwhelming) reality of starting a creative career. 

Making It Coaching offers Guildhall alumni (up to five years post-graduation) the opportunity to access four free coaching sessions with Ignite trainee coaches, practitioners who are undertaking Ignite’s Core Skills in Coaching & Mentoring for Leaders and Managers programme
 
These sessions provide a supportive, confidential space to explore your goals, identify challenges, and find strategies to move forward in your creative and professional journey.
 
How it works
 
  • Coaching is free of charge to eligible alumni (within five years of graduation)
  • You’ll be matched with an Ignite trainee coach
  • You will be offered 4 × 1-hour coaching sessions between January 2026 – April 2026
  • The coaching is offered following a short application process
  • Priority will be given to applicants who stand to benefit most from the support
 
What others say about Ignite training
 
"I have never felt so equal, so heard and so seen. I learnt a lot about myself, which I didn’t expect."
 
“The intellectual, personal and professional rigour was fresh, inspiring and deliciously challenging, but always couched within an authentically open, supportive and safe learning space.”
 
To apply for the programme, click here
Video design students working at a computer at Waddesdon Manor