Now in its third year, Future Makers is Grand Matter's yearly professional development programme for artists at the beginning of their careers looking to take the next step. Born in response to the desperate lack of diversity in the creative industries, Future Makers is solely open to those belonging to typically underrepresented groups, and offers up to three-illustration based artists the opportunity to join our roster for one year, along with our professional support and guidance.

Throughout the year successful applicants work with our team to identify where they want to take their work and how we can achieve that together. In addition to a curated portfolio of work on the GM website, Future Maker artists receive personal development sessions with our team and on-going advice and support over the year, as well as the opportunity for an advice session with one of the artists on our main roster. We also hope to work together on some exciting live assignments.

Find out more below about this year's cohort, as well as the fantastic creatives we have worked with previously.

With so many brilliant and wide ranging applications this year, we had the mightily
difficult task of choosing just three artists; Chloé, David and Martha.

Chloé Biocca is an illustrator and designer creating striking and surreal compositions with meandering shapes, soft gradients and texture to craft a subtle and ethereal finish. With roots in art direction and design, Chloé has an exquisite eye for layout and a playful use of typography. Mixed with their abstract conceptual ideas, their work lends itself to a wide range of outputs from posters and EP covers, to packaging, branding, editorial and much more.

David Huang creates observational illustrations that explore the world around him, featuring figures, places and objects with use of bold colour and type. Having grown up in Taipei and San Francisco, David is particularly interested in exploring his identity as an immigrant through his illustration. Clients include The New York Times, Chobani, Quartz, Culture Trip and many more. 

Martha Walmsley is a pattern designer and illustrator, whose work features dense florals, luscious greenery and tranquil scenes, taking inspiration from nature, folk art and textile archives. Using both hand and digital techniques, she creates layers of foliage, shading and detail to create eye-catching and bold designs full of intrigue. Martha is a versatile artist with experience in designing for homeware, packaging, books, textiles and fashion.  

We’re very excited to be on the lookout for a new set of creatives to join the Grand Matter family as part of this year’s Future Makers programme, starting in June 2024.

Future Makers was set up out of a strong desire to see a more diverse illustration industry, and for this reason the programme is open exclusively to illustration-based artists belonging to typically underrepresented groups and communities of all ages (18+), ready to take the leap into the commercial illustration world with the support of our team and artists.

You might be a college leaver, a recent graduate, or a newbie to the industry. What matters is a strong sense of who you are as an artist and what you’d like to achieve, along with a healthy dose of creative curiosity.

As one of our Future Makers you’ll get a place on the programme for one year, with exclusive representation from Grand Matter, and all the guidance and support you’ll need to develop your portfolio with the aim of securing some exciting commissions. We have up to three places available on this year’s programme.

● A place on the Future Makers roster for one year
● A curated portfolio of your work on the Grand Matter website
● Exclusive representation, with the aim to take on illustration commissions together with our production support
● Regular personal development sessions and on-going guidance and support throughout the year
● An advice session with one of the artists from our roster

● You must be aged 18+
● You must have an existing collection of illustration-based work that reflects your voice or style as an artist
● You must belong to one of the following groups:

Deadline for entries is Midnight (GMT) 31st March 2024.

To apply to become a Future Maker please fill in the form below; including your name, email and up to 8 portfolio examples, plus a short introduction about yourself, your work and what you’d hope to get out of joining Grand Matter.