About The Genesis Foundation

What is the Genesis Foundation?

"We are about nurturing talent and providing a safe place for people to discover how to fulfil that talent after they have had the opportunity to learn their basic craft. We are about the process of development.

If, in ten years' time, one artist has produced one successful work with the help of knowledge they gained while being supported by the Genesis Foundation - then Genesis would have accomplished its objective."
John Studzinski, Chairman

The focus of the Genesis Foundation is on helping inspirational young individuals in the fields of music, theatre, dance and the visual arts through specially created programmes with its established partners: the Royal Court, The Sixteen, Welsh National Opera, the Young Vic, LAMDA and the Royal College of Art.

In 2010, the Foundation celebrated its 10th Anniversary. A digital version of the 10th Anniversary book is now available which includes an overview of the projects the Foundation has supported over the past 10 years alongside some videos.

In 2012 alone the Genesis Foundation:

• Launched the Genesis Prize, a £25,000 arts award which recognises an outstanding mentor of young artistic talent. The inaugural prize was awarded to Hamish Dunbar of Café Oto and will be presented every two years;

• Founded a major new partnership with Welsh National Opera. The Genesis Assistant Director role offers an up and coming young director a two-year contract and the opportunity to work on the company’s newest work while being mentored by WNO’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director David Pountney;

• Sponsored the International Playwrights programme at London's Royal Court Theatre for the eleventh consecutive year. Workshops were held in Ukraine and Georgia, and emerging playwrights from India showcased work in Mumbai and at the Royal Court in London;

• Appointed Carrie Cracknell as the second Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic and launched the new Genesis Future Directors Award to give emerging young directors an opportunity to create their first fully resourced production in the Clare Studio;

• Presented the first UK solo exhibition of Greta Alfaro, the first beneficiary of the Genesis Foundation Scholarship programme at the Royal College of Art, following her graduation in 2011;

• Funded Genesis Sixteen, Harry Christopher’s choral training programme for young singers, for the second consecutive year;

• Provided scholarships for exceptional students at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Royal College of Art;

• Continued to support Natalie Carter and Hayley Stobo through their studies at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy;

• Funded a CD release of music by Will Todd, The Call of Wisdom, commissioned for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee that also included works commissioned by the Genesis Foundation.

The Genesis Prize

In 2012 the Genesis Foundation launched the Genesis Prize, recognising an outstanding mentor of young artistic talent. It was founded as part of the celebrations to mark the Genesis Foundation’s first ten years of nurturing and developing emerging talent in the UK and is unique in being the first and only such prize to recognise individuals who give others the confidence and inspiration to achieve artistic excellence in their chosen arts field.  The £25,000 cash prize will assist the winners to further their work. The prize will be awarded every two years.

Hamish Dunbar, Founder and Director of Café Oto, is the inaugural winner of the Genesis Prize. He is using the award to further the activities of Café Oto – which presents experimental music and sound art in a Hackney warehouse – through an Associated Artists Programme which will see him work closely with five of the UK’s most exciting emerging musicians, providing a platform for them to present new work, develop ideas and initiate collaborations. Read more about the Genesis Prize here.

The Genesis Foundation, which donates up to £1 million a year, is not considering any further applications for funding. Any unsolicited proposals it receives will therefore go unacknowledged.