Cryptic Nights 2027/28 Open Call: Scotland-Based Sound and Digital Artists — Apply by 19 November
Glasgow-based arts producer Cryptic has opened its Cryptic Nights 2027/28 call for emerging artists who live and work in Scotland and are developing work that combines original sound or music with technology, screen-based art, installation or performance. The deadline is Thursday 19 November 2026 at 12 noon, UK local time. Selected solo artists receive an £800 fee, while groups may receive up to £2,000; development support includes mentoring, a residency of up to two days and a public presentation. Crucially, this is not a commission for a wholly new concept: the organiser asks artists to develop an existing work.
Who may apply: Scotland-based, emerging and outside full-time education
The organiser expressly asks for emerging artists based in Scotland. An artist may be emerging because they are beginning a professional career, changing direction or discovering a new way of working; it is not simply an age category. No completed formal arts qualification is required.
Artists in full-time education are not eligible. Having a compelling work from elsewhere in the world does not substitute for being based in Scotland. Artists considering a move to Glasgow should not treat the future intention to relocate as proof of current Scottish eligibility.
What the work needs to include
A successful idea must involve original sound or music as part of a cross-disciplinary project that uses performance, installation, screen-based art or technology in new and creative ways. Moving-image installation, interactive audiovisual systems, audio-reactive visuals, spatial sound or a performative digital artwork may be appropriate routes where they genuinely belong to the artist's existing practice.
These are examples of possible formats, not separate official technical categories. Cryptic explicitly excludes applications for traditional theatre, literature, music-only performance, comedy, circus or dance as stand-alone disciplines. Its core interest is hybrid artistic work, not any conventional concert merely renamed 'digital art'.
An existing project must be developed, not newly invented
The current call states that entirely new work is not sought. Applicants should show a project already in progress or previously created and explain how Cryptic Nights support would make a meaningful next step possible. A short prototype, performance documentation, interactive proof of concept or previous presentation may help demonstrate that the work already exists.
Do not overclaim that every installation must have been finished or publicly exhibited; the organiser's requirement is to develop existing work, and the application form should be consulted for how much documentation is expected.
Fees: £800 for solo work, up to £2,000 for a group
Cryptic advertises an £800 artist fee for an individual. For group applications, the stated maximum is £2,000, not £2,000 automatically to each participating member. The fees relate to selected work and should not be confused with an application bursary for every entrant.
Alongside the fee, the programme includes one mentoring session with the Cryptic team, up to two days of development residency, a performance or presentation, professional photographic and video documentation, marketing and press support, and feedback from audiences. The 2027/28 terms should be used rather than outdated amounts from the 2026/27 round.
Travel, accommodation and access support
The organiser specifies travel and accommodation support for artists based outside Scotland's Central Belt. Applicants in Glasgow and Edinburgh should not assume the same reimbursement as people travelling from more distant Scottish regions without clarification.
Accessibility is an explicit part of this opportunity. Cryptic provides an access budget for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists or people with caring responsibilities. It also offers alternative ways to apply, including video, audio or a Word document. Those with access requirements may ask for a deadline extension and an agreed contribution of up to £150 towards help with making an application. Such arrangements should be agreed with the organiser in advance.
Who the organisers particularly encourage
Cryptic invites applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, including Black and ethnically diverse artists, D/deaf or disabled artists, women and gender-expansive artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with caring responsibilities and those from working-class or low-income backgrounds.
The encouragement does not replace the formal Scotland-based, outside-full-time-education, cross-disciplinary and existing-work requirements. Applicants should be truthful about their own career stage and identity without treating the list of groups as an exclusive eligibility barrier.
The application involves two different forms
The official notice directs applicants to complete both the artistic application form and an inclusion form. Applicants may submit their responses in writing, video or audio as described by Cryptic. The artist form is linked directly from the current open-call page.
A clear application can document what has already been made, describe the role of original sound and technology, specify what the development period will achieve and explain what audiences would experience at the final presentation. These are editorial preparation suggestions rather than an invented mandatory checklist of equipment or file formats.
Advice sessions in October and November
Cryptic offers advice sessions before the deadline: Wednesday 21 October, noon to 1pm at 5 Florence Street, Glasgow, and Tuesday 3 November, 6–7pm by Zoom. Interested applicants are invited to contact project assistant Lizzie Urquhart to reserve a 20-minute slot, using crypticprojects@gmail.com or the published telephone details.
An advice session is a way to clarify conditions, discuss accessibility and better understand the programme. Attendance does not guarantee selection or replace submission of the formal two-part application.
Selection timetable and why timing matters
The application deadline is precisely 12 noon on Thursday 19 November 2026, not 11:59pm. Cryptic expects to shortlist artists in late November or early December, hold informal meetings with shortlisted applicants in January 2027 and confirm the programme in February 2027.
Late entries will not be accepted unless an extension for access reasons has been arranged. The organisation says feedback will normally be available only to shortlisted artists because its team is small; an unsuccessful application should not be assumed to generate a detailed individual assessment.
Rights, documentation and subsequent use
Cryptic's offer includes professional documentation and marketing of the public presentation. Artists should therefore confirm permissions for any collaborators, music, video footage, images, software tools and performing participants included in the work. The public call does not declare that artists must assign their entire copyright to Cryptic.
Details of any agreement about filming, recorded performances, online excerpts, intellectual-property licences and exhibition conditions should be confirmed from the contract before acceptance. Applicants need not invent a rights-transfer rule that is not present in the current announcement.
Official organiser and application
Information verified against the organiser's 2027/28 notice on 16 October 2026. This is an open call for Scotland-based emerging makers developing existing hybrid audiovisual work. Submit the requested forms by 19 November at 12 noon, unless an access-related extension has been agreed.