Open call to create on a Thames sailing barge

Artist Ben Judd is offering a rare opportunity to create a new artwork, performance, talk or workshop using a camera obscura projection on an historic Thames Sailing Barge in June and July 2026.

Audience members will encounter a projected image of the barge and sea while they are below deck on Thames Sailing Barge Raybel. How will you use the unique combination of the camera obscura and the boat to tell a story, project real-life images, entertain the audience, or reflect on coastal locations in Essex and Kent?

Artist Ben Judd is looking for people in or near these coastal regions to stage a short one-off event (performance, workshop, talk, etc) with a small audience. The event must use the barge and camera obscura as a central experience and could explore, through the viewing process, themes such as closeness and distance, belonging and not belonging, inclusion and exclusion. 

The boat will be travelling to:
24-25 June: Queenborough
27-28 June: Canvey
30 June - 1 July: Thorpe Bay
3-6 July: Burnham
8-11 July: Whitstable
13-14 July: Oare Creek

Apply via the form here 

Deadline for applications: 30 April 2026

If you have any questions: [email protected]

This project is in partnership with Raybel Charters, Estuary Festival, Ideas Test and Metal. 

Image description: a photograph taken from below the deck of a sailing vessel, the background is dark and woman's face is visible above deck, her eyes are closed and there is a blue sky and part of the rigging shown behind her. photograph by Sophia Nasif