Paul Bayley was appointed Head of Residencies & Awards at Acme in 2019. Supporting artists since 1972, Acme is a charity based in London which provides affordable housing, studio space, and a programme of residencies and awards. Acme is the single largest provider of affordable artist studios in England, and this year it will support over 700 individual artists across 16 buildings in Greater London.
Aiming to intervene at pivotal moments in artists’ careers, Acme’s Residencies & Awards programme of artist support is designed to have transformational impact. Working with a range of international and UK-based partners and donors, the programme supports professional development for artists at all stages of their careers through residencies, bursaries, mentoring and exhibition opportunities. Over 700 artists from all over the world have benefitted from the programme since 1987.

Paul is the former Director of The Florence Trust, which provides a bespoke one-year subsided studio residency and mentoring programme for a diverse group of international artists each year. He has worked closely with contemporary artists for over 25 years, and has held previous roles at Arts Council England, Tate, and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. His major freelance curatorial projects include: Manchester Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice (2001); Cinerama: Isaac Julien, Cornerhouse, Manchester (2001), Yoko Ono: Morning Beams for the City of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, London (2006); and The Film and Video Umbrella touring exhibition A Light Shines in the Darkness (2015). Selected writings include: The Dark Monarch, Tate (2010), Contemporary Art in British Churches, ACE Trust (2010); Panic Attack: Art in the Punk Years, Merrell (2007); Linder Sterling Artworks, JRP Ringier (2006); and 20: Twenty Cornerhouse Exhibitions 1985-2005, Cornerhouse (2005).