CALL OUT FOR ARTISTS
Commissioning opportunity inviting socially engaged artists to work closely with coastal communities, helping turn local conversations about future challenges into meaningful artworks that inform research, policy, and public understanding.
This is a call-out for artists to take part in the ARISE Engagement Intervention, a research programme linked to Estuary Festival and funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).
The project uses art and community engagement to help coastal communities better understand and respond to long-term challenges such as climate change, coastal erosion, inequality, and changing local economies.
Who is it for?
• 5 artists or artist collectives
• Artists should have experience in socially engaged, participatory, or community-based practice
• Open to artists able to work in the selected coastal communities in South East and East England
What are the 5 commissions?
There are five separate commissions:
1. St Osyth, Essex
2. Eastchurch, Kent
3. Heacham, Norfolk
4. Bawdsey, Suffolk
5. One overarching artwork that connects ideas from all four locations
Each of the four location-based artist will work closely with the community in that location.
The fifth artist creates a unifying artwork that brings everything together.
What will the artists do?
The four artists appointed to work in each location will:
• Spend 6 paid days on the project (3 days on community engagement, 3 days on making the artwork)
• Take part in informal “coffee chats” with local residents
• Attend and provide creative prompts for a World Café event (a structured group discussion)
• Use creative prompts to encourage conversation and idea-sharing
• Keep an artistic journal or log of the engagement process
• Create a final artwork shaped directly by the community’s ideas
The overarching artist will:
• Spend 7 paid days on the project (4 days attending World Café events, 3 days on making the artwork)
• Keep an artistic journal or log of the engagement process
• Create a final artwork shaped directly by the community’s ideas
What kind of artworks are expected?
• Artworks must be community-driven and site-specific
• Can be physical or digital, and needs to last the duration of the project (until October 2028) and provide some legacy e.g. some lasting footprint.
• Format is open (e.g. installation, audio, storytelling, mixed media)
• Must fit within the set budget
The artwork and approach should:
• Respect participants’ contributions
• Reflect local issues and place
• Leave a lasting legacy that can be shared more widely
• Sustainability and material impact are strongly encouraged.
How much is the pay and budget?
For each commission:
• £2112 (6 days work) for each commission in Essex, Kent, Norfolk & Suffolk
• £2,464 (7 days work) for the commission reflecting 4 locations
• Production budget: £2,000 for each artwork
• Workshop materials: £200
• Plus a modest travel/subsistence budget It is expected that the artists commissioned for each location will be able to travel to the location without requiring overnight accommodation.
• Production and curatorial support provided by Estuary Festival
Timeline (key dates)
• Application deadline: Sunday 8 March 2026, 11pm
• Shortlisted candidates interviewed w/b 16 March 2026
• Decisions announced: Tuesday 24 March 2026
• Project period: April 2026 – March 2027
• Community engagement: 12 April – 21 July 2026
• Artwork production: August 2026 – February 2027
• Artworks launched: March 2027
How to apply
Please read the full artist brief here before applying. Artists apply via an online form here and must include:
A short bio and description of their practice
Why they’re interested and suitable for this project
Up to 5 examples of previous work
Contact details
For further information please email [email protected] with the subject line ARISE artist call out
Image credit: Cockles of my Heart II sound walk by Breakwater commissioned by Estuary Festival for Estuary 2025. Photo: Tessa Hallmann
© 2024 Estuary Festival CIC
