Applications are open for our hybrid residency and £5k bursary!

About the Open Call

Emergent is a three-month hybrid residency programme delivered in partnership with Baltic, Centre for Contemporary Arts. It invites disabled artists and creative practitioners in the first five years of their career to participate. The selected artist will receive an award of £5,000 and take part in a residency that combines digital and physical elements. During the residency, artists will receive expert support, mentoring, access to facilities, and curatorial input to develop new or existing artwork. A showcasing or broadcast opportunity will be provided as part of the programme. A package of support will also be offered to a small number of shortlisted artists. The residency is structured as follows: Mid-October to mid-November (remote residency), Mid-November to mid-December (in-person residency at Baltic), and January (remote residency).

What is Offered

An award of £5,000, a three-month hybrid residency programme including expert support, mentoring, access to facilities, curatorial input, and a showcasing or broadcast opportunity. Support is also offered to shortlisted artists.

Requirements

Applicants must self-identify as disabled and have experienced barriers to progression in their career. They must be within the first five years of their artistic career (even if paused and resumed). Applicants must not be in full-time education, have a socially-engaged arts practice, be UK-based and usually live in the UK, and be over 18. They must be available from October 2025 to mid-January 2026 inclusive. Applicants who were shortlisted or selected in 2022, 2023, or 2024's programmes are not eligible.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted via Submittable. The application requires a covering statement explaining the artist's work and how the residency will benefit them, a description of barriers faced in their artistic career, a recent CV or biography, and examples of work (up to six images or a video/audio extract no longer than two minutes, or an online portfolio/website). Applicants must self-identify as disabled. Submittable accepts text, audio, and visual media for accessibility. Applicants are strongly recommended to read the Emergent FAQs document before applying. Support for applications is available by contacting exhibitions@shapearts.org.uk.