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Visual and Media Arts Grants in the UK

Currently 9 active visual and media arts grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the UK. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.

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Open calls

  1. Artists' Futures Fund: Breakthrough Artist Fellowship 2026-27

    Artists' Futures Fund · England and Wales, UK (in-kind studio space at a partner institution) · Deadline: 12 Jun 2026 · Award: GBP 10,000 unrestricted bursary over the 10-month fellowship, plus in-kind studio space, mentorship from a partner institution, professional development, and a co-curated end-of-fellowship group showcase. No application fee.

    Needs-based fellowship from the Artists' Futures Fund bridging the gap from graduation to professional visual-arts practice. ELIGIBILITY: recent BA or MA visual-arts graduates (within two years of October 2026) from an AFF partner institution (Cardiff School of Art & Design, Chichester College Group, Liverpool Hope, Loughborough, Manchester Metropolitan, City of Portsmouth College, Sunderland, Swansea College of Art UWTSD), or a relevant Level 3 UAL Diploma/A Levels from City of Portsmouth College; must be eligible to live and work in England or Wales, facing socio-economic, mental and/or physical health barriers, and able to commit fully to the 10 months without additional formal study. Applications open 15 May 2026. Apply via the Artists' Futures Fund support page.

  2. Visual Arts Scotland x Bothy Project: Sweeney's Bothy Residency 2026 (Isle of Eigg)

    Visual Arts Scotland (VAS), in partnership with Bothy Project · Sweeney's Bothy, Isle of Eigg, Scottish Inner Hebrides, UK (off-grid) · Deadline: 14 Jun 2026 · Award: GBP 720 artist fee, plus reasonable travel up to GBP 250 and accommodation costs included. No application fee.

    Sixth year of Visual Arts Scotland's residency in partnership with Bothy Project, offering a week at Sweeney's Bothy, an off-grid, purpose-built artist residency space on the Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. As the residency is only a week long, there is no expectation to produce a body of work; the purpose is time to reflect on practice, develop ideas and engage with the island's environment and culture. ELIGIBILITY: open to any creative discipline (visual arts, craft and design, music, literature, performance, and researchers/thinkers), but applicants must be a VAS member at both the time of application and the time of residency. Applicants are asked to be mindful of the island community's ethos of environmental sustainability and to travel sustainably (cars are not permitted for non-residents). The successful applicant undertakes a VAS Instagram takeover and documents their experience. Apply by email to admin@visualartsscotland.org plus the online form, with six images of recent work on a single PDF.

  3. Peckham Digital: Programme Open Call 2026

    Peckham Digital · Peckham, London, United Kingdom (in-person festival 22 to 25 October 2026) · Deadline: 14 Jun 2026 · Award: Paid: facilitators and speakers compensated at Artist Union England pay rates (contingent on Peckham Digital's own funding application; if funding is not received the festival will not go ahead)

    Open call for the 5th edition of Peckham Digital, a festival celebrating creative computing. This call is for the PROGRAMME track: artists, creative technologists and creative coders to facilitate workshops, present talks, provide demos, or deliver performances (the separate Artwork Open Call covers exhibition pieces). Emerging applicants explicitly welcomed; over half of past Peckham Digital artists had this as their first paid professional exhibition. Selected facilitators/speakers paid at Artist Union England rates. Workshop facilitators are asked whether their software will be open-source. Application requires: type of contribution (demo/workshop/talk/performance/other), 200-word description (text or video), 250-word facilitator statement on experience, 200 words on professional development impact, sample images or video, technical requirements, and any access needs. Equal Opportunities form also requested. Important caveat: festival is contingent on Peckham Digital's own funding being confirmed; if their funding application is not successful the festival will not go ahead.

  4. Peckham Digital: Artwork Open Call 2026

    Peckham Digital · Peckham, London, United Kingdom (in-person festival 22 to 25 October 2026) · Deadline: 14 Jun 2026 · Award: Paid: each selected artist receives a fee (contingent on Peckham Digital's own funding application; outcome expected early July 2026; if funding is not received the festival will not go ahead). Submission to the open call is free.

    Open call for the 5th edition of Peckham Digital, a festival celebrating creative computing in all its shapes and forms. This call is for the ARTWORK EXHIBITION track only (the separate Programme Open Call covers talks, workshops, demos, performances and films). Looking for artists, creative technologists, creative coders and performers to exhibit artworks. Emerging applicants and early-career creative technologists explicitly welcomed; over half of past Peckham Digital artists had this as their first paid professional exhibition. Submission to the open call is free; selected artists receive a fee. Important caveat: festival is contingent on Peckham Digital's own funding being confirmed (decision expected early July 2026); if funding is not received the festival will not go ahead. Read the Application Guidelines before submitting.

  5. Summerhall Arts Studio: Live Performance Development Residency 2026

    Summerhall Arts · Edinburgh, Scotland, UK · Deadline: 21 Jun 2026 · Award: Up to GBP 3,100 project budget (agreed between the Lead Artist and Summerhall Arts), plus five days in a dedicated space, technical support and access to simple lighting/sound/AV, creative/producing/technical guidance, and an informal end-of-week sharing. No application fee.

    Summerhall Arts Studios are dedicated residencies for the early development of new theatre and cross-disciplinary live performance work, giving artists and collaborators time and space to test ideas, explore approaches, and begin shaping work intended for live audiences. They are about experimentation, exploration and play rather than finished scripts or fully realised productions, and are especially suited to projects that benefit from working in real space: testing form, staging, sound, movement, liveness, audience relationship or collaborative process. Applications are welcome from artists working across theatre, movement, performance, interdisciplinary practice and other hybrid live-performance forms. INCLUDES: up to GBP 3,100 project budget; five days in a dedicated space (Tech Cube Zero, or the Anatomy Lecture Theatre if more suitable); technical support and access to simple lighting, sound and AV; advice from the Summerhall Arts creative, producing and technical team; and an informal end-of-week sharing with peers and/or invited industry colleagues. WHAT THEY SEEK: early-stage work that benefits from practical, collaborative or technical exploration, intended for live audiences, with clear and achievable plans for the five days; they are less likely to support purely desk-based script development or projects already substantially resourced by other major development funding. Apply via the online form by Sunday 21 June 2026 (11pm); outcomes notified by 3 July; studio dates 12-16 October 2026. Access requirements or alternative application formats: imogen@summerhallarts.co.uk.

  6. Gasworks Residency 2027: Artists Based in the Caribbean

    Gasworks (London), supported by Suzanne McFayden + The Nelumbo Collection · Gasworks, London, United Kingdom · Deadline: 29 Jun 2026 · Award: Fully funded 11-week residency: 24/7 private studio at Gasworks, single-room accommodation in Gasworks Residency House, economy return flights + taxi transfers from home country (1 cabin + 1 hold bag), all visa costs and visa-application support, weekly stipend of GBP 175, materials budget up to GBP 800, prepaid TFL Zones 1+2 travel card, studio visits, Open Studio event on Saturday 13 March 2027, dedicated residency page on the Gasworks website with short video interview, networking + at least two individual studio visits, plus admin/pastoral/curatorial support. No application fee.

    Gasworks residency open call for an early-career contemporary visual artist based in the Caribbean. The 11-week, fully funded residency takes place at Gasworks in London 6 January - 24 March 2027. Self-led, non-prescriptive and process-based programme supporting professional development, cultural exchange and experimentation. Selection by panel of Gasworks reps + external advisors with specialist knowledge of the Caribbean and UK contemporary-art scenes; priority for artists who have not previously worked in London; shortlist of four invited to a short online interview before the final decision. ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES/TERRITORIES (per the UN Geoscheme for the Caribbean): Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire/Sint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands. Applicants must have at least moderate spoken English; no duos/collectives, partners or children supported on-site. APPLY: one PDF (max 15MB) with cover sheet, 250-word practice statement, 250-word residency-plan statement, up to 15 images/video/sound clips of recent work (captions, up to 100 words per work), CV (max 3 pages), and any relevant documentation; spoken responses via embedded video/audio links accepted. Deadline 29 June 2026, 1pm UK time. Supported by Suzanne McFayden + The Nelumbo Collection.

  7. ESRC Digital Good Network: Artwork Commission (Expressions of Interest)

    ESRC Digital Good Network · UK (artists based outside the UK welcome; work can be done remotely) · Deadline: 01 Jul 2026 · Award: Up to GBP 40,000 for the final commission, inclusive of VAT (capped at GBP 33,333 for artists based outside the UK due to reverse-charge VAT). Up to five shortlisted teams each receive GBP 1,000 to develop a proposal. No application fee.

    The ESRC Digital Good Network is commissioning an artwork or visualisation that represents its research on the question 'what does a good digital society look like, and how do we get there?' The final piece must be simple, visually engaging and effective for multiple audiences, and will be shown in physical exhibitions (first in June 2027), online (interactive elements possible), and on a Z-fold leaflet. Two-stage process: submit an Expression of Interest (a portfolio link plus an optional one-page PDF on your approach) by 1 July 2026, 4pm UK time, to applications@digitalgood.net; up to five teams are shortlisted and paid GBP 1,000 each to develop full proposals (Aug-Sep 2026); one is commissioned in October 2026 to make the final work iteratively with two Network team members (Nov 2026-Feb 2027). Artists may visualise the Network's funded projects, its 'building blocks' of a good digital society, the values behind the Digital Good Index, or any aspect of the work. Reference points include Kate Crawford's Anatomy of AI and Calculating Empires, Dear Data by Stefanie Posavec and Giorgia Lupi, and the OECD Better Life Index. ELIGIBILITY: artists or visualisers worldwide, working alone or in teams; an optional online Q&A is held 10 June 2026. NOTE: the final output is expected NOT to use AI; if AI is used in the process, applicants must disclose how. 2D artworks have panel production and transport covered; 3D artworks must cover their own production, transport and installation.

  8. Arts Council England: Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Round 24

    Arts Council England · England, UK · Deadline: 02 Jul 2026 · Award: GBP 1,000 to GBP 12,000 per individual for creative-practice development (research, training, time to think, travel, mentoring, etc.). No application fee.

    Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) supports individual creative and cultural practitioners in England to take time to develop their practice, across all disciplines including digital and media arts. The funding is for practice development (research, training, mentoring, travel, experimentation) rather than producing or presenting finished work. ELIGIBILITY: England-based independent creative practitioners with a track record who work outside the major-funded organisations. Round 24 opens 4 June 2026 (12:00) and closes 2 July 2026. Apply via the Arts Council England DYCP page.

  9. Hugo Burge Foundation: Grants for Creative Individuals 2026

    Hugo Burge Foundation · United Kingdom · Deadline: 31 Jul 2026 · Award: Up to GBP 5,000 per individual (can fund up to 100% of a project under GBP 10,000). No application fee.

    Project grants from the Hugo Burge Foundation supporting individual creatives across all disciplines based in the UK, with a focus on craftsmanship, creative communities and education. The Creative Individuals stream awards up to GBP 5,000 and can cover up to 100% of a project budget under GBP 10,000. ELIGIBILITY: practitioners in all creative disciplines based across the UK. Applications open 1 June 2026 via Submittable and close 31 July 2026.