Picasso's Women is the production of three monologues featuring three influential women in Picasso's life – model and lover Fernande Olivier, his first wife, Ukrainian Olga Khokhlova and the young blonde mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter.

The project will bring performances of Brian McAvera's 'Picasso's Women' to art galleries across the UK.

In March 2017, they successfully raised £6,030 from 37 supporters over 49 days - including a £1,500 matched grant from Arts Council England. We spoke to the project owner Colette Redgrave to find out more:

Why did you decide to try crowdfunding?

We decided to try and raise our first investment stage via crowdfunding for Picasso's Women not only to find financial support but to gain a real 'family' of supporters willing to see this production right the way through from design conception to performance.

How is crowdfunding different from how you normally finance or fundraise for projects?

Crowdfunding means that projects can start with some financial flexibility. Often with performance projects the financials are reliant upon ticket sales, which make the development stages very difficult. Up front support and funding secures this freedom and automatically nurtures an audience from the onset who are genuinely invested in the project’s success.

What will you use the money for and what has happened since you hit your crowdfunding target?

We are about to launch a second stage of corporate sponsorship, but the funding so far has meant we can now approach venues and make arrangements that are achievable. We have since confirmed a venue in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival 2018 and the singer and actress Toyah Willcox has agreed to be one of our 'Patrons of the Arts'.

What would be your top tips for others considering crowdfunding for arts projects?

The fund was a simple and much less scary process than it seemed, even in comparison to direct applications to ACE. Really work your social networks, give yourself plenty of preparation time and lead into the funding campaign to drum up an exciting vibe that people are following already, before you even launch.

You can read more about the Picasso’s Women project on their website.

This blog was originally published on Crowdfunder

Images taken from Picasso's Women crowdfunding campaign video, Artwork - Una Walker, Photography - Jess Chappenden, Videography - Conal O'Brine