Shape Arts Emergent 2026: £3,000 Tate St Ives Residency and Mentoring for UK Disabled Artists
Shape Arts is accepting applications for Emergent 2026, an early-career artist development scheme run with Tate St Ives and the Borlase Smart John Wells Trust at Porthmeor Studios. Applications close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 1 November 2026. The selected main award recipient will undertake a one-week studio residency in Cornwall in January 2027 and receive a £3,000 bursary, with travel and accommodation support and remote mentoring. Other shortlisted applicants can receive mentoring and professional development. Film, sound, photography, mixed media and socially engaged artistic practices are among the supported forms.
Who can apply: UK-based early-career disabled artists
The scheme is for artists aged 18 or over who normally live or work in the United Kingdom, identify as disabled or face disabling barriers, are in the first five years of their artistic careers, and are not in full-time education. Applicants must not have been shortlisted for Emergent in an earlier year. Shape Arts explicitly recognises career breaks, people returning after time away and people changing professions, so being an emerging artist does not require being a young recent university graduate.
The organisation uses an inclusive, self-identification approach to disability; applicants do not need to supply a medical diagnosis to be recognised as disabled under the programme. Shape seeks practices that engage with people and society and prioritises artists who have not benefited from substantial prior funding or formal recognition. A history of previous awards is not automatically disqualifying, though the relevance of this opportunity to the applicant's current development matters.
Crucial regional rule: the £3,000 residency is South West-only
The main residence and bursary opportunity is restricted to artists living or working in Cornwall, Devon or Somerset. The organiser will ask for proof of address at selection rather than at initial application. This is not the same as a requirement to be born in Cornwall or to hold a particular regional citizenship; living or working in the specified counties is what matters under Shape's eligibility text.
Applicants from the rest of the UK, including London, Wales or Northern England, may still apply for the shortlisted Emergent mentoring cohort. However, they will not be eligible for the Cornwall studio residency or its £3,000 bursary simply because the form permits their application. Artists outside the UK cannot apply under the published general rule. Separating these two routes prevents disappointment and helps applicants decide whether a residency or mentoring-focused application is appropriate.
What the full award provides, 18–24 January 2027
The awarded artist will spend Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2027 in a full-time studio residency in St Ives, Cornwall, supported by Tate St Ives and Porthmeor Studios. The programme allows time to make and research work, connect with local artistic communities and develop links to Tate St Ives' learning team. It also includes the opportunity to host a creative event for young people at Tate St Ives. Additional travel days may be required depending on the applicant's location.
The £3,000 bursary supports the selected artist's practice. Shape Arts also states that reasonable travel and accommodation costs are covered, with details arranged after selection, and that access costs can be discussed individually. The published invitation does not guarantee specialist film-production facilities, unlimited technology budgets or a long-term studio beyond the residency week. Artists with specific access or technical needs should ask what support can realistically be provided.
Mentoring for shortlisted artists across the UK
Emergent supports a shortlisted cohort of four artists with remote mentoring and career guidance. Shape's FAQs describe roughly fortnightly online check-ins during the November 2026–March 2027 programme period. Shortlisted artists who do not receive the main residency can also arrange three funded sessions with an experienced professional mentor, such as an artist, curator or producer relevant to their development.
This form of support can be valuable to a moving-image maker, sound artist or interdisciplinary artist developing working methods or relationships with organisations. It remains distinct from the financial bursary and physical residency: not every shortlisted artist receives the £3,000 award, accommodation or studio space in Cornwall. It is important to describe the aspect of the scheme for which the applicant is actually eligible.
Accepted art forms include film, sound and mixed media
Shape Arts' detailed FAQs explicitly welcome film, audio, sound, photography, mixed media, text, sculpture, painting, drawing, performance and other contemporary practices. Media art involving projected images, sound, archives, participation or combinations of physical and digital work may fit if it is genuinely connected to the programme's focus on socially engaged art. The programme is not limited to one digital file type and is not presented as an AI-only, VR-only or game-development grant.
For artists using the stories, images, voices or data of communities, it may be helpful to explain the relationship between artistic aims and the people who will encounter the work. Consider consent and any access requirements for participants. These are professional suggestions rather than official additional eligibility criteria. The published FAQs emphasise how an applicant's artistic practice connects with issues affecting people and communities, not adherence to a specific political or artistic position.
Application options and accessibility support
Artists may apply through a Google Form linked on Shape's official invitation page or by downloading a Word application document and submitting it to the organiser's listed contact address. The FAQs also allow completing the questions through a video response. Information is available in accessible formats including audio, British Sign Language and Easy Read; applicants who need support filling out the application can contact Shape Arts early.
The official deadline is Sunday 1 November 2026 at 23:59. Shortlisted artists may be invited to a video interview with staff from Shape Arts and Tate St Ives, with accessibility requirements discussed in advance. Interview questions can be shared ahead of time where useful. A completed application alone does not guarantee an interview or mentoring place, and individual written feedback for all unsuccessful applicants is not promised.
Making the application relevant to an emerging artistic practice
A strong proposal should give a clear account of recent artistic work, why the practice is still in its first five years, the kinds of barriers encountered and how the specific support would advance the artist now. For film, sound and media-art applicants, a small number of representative works with concise context may be more useful than an extensive but unfocused list of technologies. Those eligible for the full residency should also explain how a week in Cornwall and a creative event for young people might relate to their interests.
Shape recognises that artists may have stopped working for periods, or entered the sector from another career, and encourages honest explanations of individual trajectories. Applicants do not have to make sensitive medical histories public to support their self-identification. Data, access needs and supporting documentation should be submitted only through the official application process or direct communication with Shape Arts.
Official sources and deadline check
Information reviewed 16 October 2026 using Shape Arts' official Emergent invitation and FAQs, both published in October. The closing time, geographic distinction between main residency and mentoring, self-identification eligibility and support terms should all be rechecked before submitting. This article is an independent opportunity summary, not an application receiver or statement that funding has been awarded.
Shape Arts: Emergent 2026 official programme and application routes: https://www.shapearts.org.uk/Blog/apply-to-our-emergent-residency-programme
Shape Arts: Emergent 2026 FAQs and accessible application guidance: https://www.shapearts.org.uk/News/emergent-2026-faqs