Our Strategic Priorities describe what we've chosen to focus on right now, in language that reflects how we actually think and work.
Strange Field's aims are the constitutional purpose - the aims written into our OSCR governing document that define us as a charity. They don't change unless we formally amend our constitution, and they're written in broad terms deliberately, to cover everything Strange Field might ever do. OSCR uses them to assess whether our activities qualify as charitable.
The aims are the structure, the priorities are what we're building inside it.
See → Aims, Vision and Purpose
Reviewed March 2026. Reviewed annually.
Lived experience is our methodology, not our subject matter. Those denied institutional access are the experts who determine what gets made, preserved, and governed.
This shapes everything we do.
Advance contemporary art by centring diverse artists in its production, development and experimentation
We resource and platform artists whose practices push at the boundaries of contemporary art-making, particularly those excluded from or underserved by mainstream arts infrastructure, whose perspectives are essential to where the art form goes next. Through residencies, open calls, and long-term creative development, we build the conditions for genuine experimentation rather than institutionally safe outcomes.
Build and operate community-owned infrastructure for cultural production, rooted in Glasgow's East End
We work toward permanent ownership through structures that embed democratic governance, developed with and accountable to our East End communities. We document legal, financial, and organisational models so other communities can reclaim cultural infrastructure from private ownership.
Refuse extractive models and practice reproducible alternatives
We practice sociocratic governance, flat pay, digital sovereignty, and anti-extractive curation, refusing hierarchy, corporate extraction, and institutional gatekeeping at every level. We share our methods through Strange Exchange publications, workshops, and open-source research so other organisations can adopt and adapt them. This extends to how we work with everyone - artists, communities and collaborators - building lasting relationships of mutual exchange where growth and development are embedded in the work rather than extracted from it. Within Strange Field, any role involving defined professional tasks or responsibilities is always paid. We distinguish this from community participation and voice, which is open, free and without obligation.
Centre arts education and creative learning as a radical and rigorous practice
We collect, share, and develop knowledge around arts education, pedagogy, and creative learning through Strange Exchange, our library and community learning space. We treat arts education not as a secondary concern but as a discipline with its own methods, ethics, and body of knowledge worth preserving and sharing freely.