Alison Branagan
Entrepreneurship and business start-up for the visual arts and creative industries
Alison Branagan is an author, visual arts and creative industries consultant. She is also an associate lecturer at Central Saint Martins.
She has recently worked at the University for the Creative Arts as the Creative Enterprise Coordinator for UCA Epsom, UCA Farnham and The Royal School of Needlework.
Over the last decade she has written several business start-up and enterprise books and has studied different approaches to teaching business theory and enterprise skills. Her key text is The Essential Guide to Business for Artists & Designers published by Bloomsbury. She has also devised and facilitated upon many enterprise projects for universities and business support organisations. Entrepreneurship for Creatives Business Start-up for Creatives and Presentation Skills for Creatives are current courses at Central Saint Martins.
Alison is the the lead tutor on a professional development module for first year BA students called Creatives Vocations at the Art Academy. She has also devised and piloted the first jewellery and silversmithing mentoring programme with The Goldsmiths’ Centre and The Institute of Professional Goldsmiths.
She is currently a consultant to The Association of Illustrators (The AOI) and has created a new business plan guide, materials and canvases especially for illustrations and is a regular mentor to their members.
She has a Masters degree in Applied Art and Visual Culture, is an Associate of the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education, an associate of Institute of Consulting, a Member of the the Creative Industries Federation, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also an associate of The Design Trust and is a Talent Development Associate for the Crafts Council.
Short Courses and Workshops
| The Crafts Council | Central Saint Martins |
| New Ashgate Gallery | Creative England |
| The Art Academy | The Goldsmiths’ Centre |
| The Design Trust | Wandsworth Enterprise Week |
Consultancy and Enterprise
| Arts Thread | The Freelancer Club |
| RCA Fuel | Artquest |
| Sotheby’s Institute of Art | The Future Foundry |
| The AOI | The Artists Information Company |
What do her students say?
Testimonials from some of the many students Alison has coached in Entrepreneurship & Business start-up.
Alison’s course is very eye opening and informative, I feel confident I can start my own business adventure. I feel motivated and excited for things to come.
This course has transformed my way of thinking about negotiation. The intellectual Property lessons have given me much enthusiasm and also confidence to trade and earn a living.
I really liked how the course was geared towards the commercial world. It had a very good real life application.
Very inspiring course, excellent for getting to know the harsh realities of being self-employed. This course covers everything you didn’t know.
Alison’s workshops were a wealth of information and presented in an interesting way. I’ve had my own business for 5 years and have still learned so much.
Alison’s courses will inspire any creative who dreams of starting their own business. You learn to think like entrepreneurs do, and all of a sudden even the most ambitious aspirations seem within arms reach.