{"id":16742,"date":"2017-12-13T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/about.35.197.208.187.nip.io\/?p=16742"},"modified":"2025-07-15T07:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T07:44:36","slug":"2017-zealous-year-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/news\/2017-zealous-year-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"2017: A Year in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our community got bigger<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Artwork by Rory Midhani<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been an exciting year for Zealous. We reached an amazing 14,000 users! From photography to fashion, graphic design to woodworking, Zealous is now home to even more incredibly talented people. Not to mention a whole heap of new organisations launching open calls on our platform. There\u2019s never been a better time to join, update your portfolio or create an open call<\/a>: you never know who you might discover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the fun doesn\u2019t stop with the website. We also hit 50,000 followers on Facebook! Keep up-to-date with creative opportunities, competitions, inspiration and news. Give us a like<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We secured funding<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Artwork by Filipa Guimar\u00e3es<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is with great excitement to say\u2026 we\u2019ve secured funding for Zealous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s taken time for us to establish where to get our funding from. It needed to be in line with our values and allow us to grow our community organically. It also needed to protect the creative talents\u2019 access to opportunities without the need to pay monthly fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This round of funding will allow us to scale our team and ambition, take us through far into next year and most importantly, allow us to become self-sustainable and grow our revenues. We\u2019ll be able to serve more of you, better, and push further to make our world that little bit more creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform is evolving<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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We\u2019ve spent 2017 listening to your challenges and adapting our platform so it works better for you. Whether you\u2019re an organisation ready to run your latest open call or an artist looking for your next creative opportunity, Zealous is jam-packed with loads of exciting new features and functions to help you succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From draft opportunities to multiple rounds, discover what\u2019s new on Zealous<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspiring new clients<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been fortunate to work with some incredible organisations this year, sourcing creative talent for jobs, projects, competitions, exhibitions and more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Cult House, Ugly Duck, Mall Galleries, Canary Wharf Group, Shape Arts, ArtsThread, London Contemporary, DP World, The Social Innovation Partnership, Batsford, British Library, Lambeth Council, IJAD, Sweat and Sound\u2026 the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New or returning, we\u2019d love to see you on Zealous next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Met you in person<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What happens when you put 60+ creatives and organisations in one room?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 meetups. 2 venues. 17 panellists. 300 attendees. Thank you to everyone who attended and made such inspiring evenings possible. Covering such topics as the importance of creative collaboration to the future of exhibiting art, lessons were learned, people were met, collaborations were forged. View our past events<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published you in magasines<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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You guys make fantastic work, and it deserves to be seen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we launched the \u2018Meet Series\u2019, a campaign to empower emerging artists by publishing their work in print. In total, Zealous partnered with 7 major publications, seeing 1800 submissions whittled down to 10 finalists by industry expert judges across 7 separate open calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We championed creativity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Our CEO, Guy Armitage, has given some really exciting talks this year. From the power of creativity, to the future of technology, to the importance of diversity, he\u2019s an ambassador for the values of Zealous and we can\u2019t stop him shouting about it from the rooftops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, Guy spoke at Computer Weekly\u2019s Diversity in Technology event on the importance of diversity. See Talk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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