Margaret Tait Residency 2022 | Open for Applications

Part of Margaret Tait Residency

A black and white photograph depicts two people attending to a 16mm camera outdoors on a street with stone buildings.
Image courtesy of Alex Pirie

The deadline for the Margaret Tait Residency 2022 has closed. Please see call for applications for the Margaret Tait Residency 2023 here.

LUX Scotland is delighted to announce that applications are now open for the Margaret Tait Residency. This new opportunity for emerging artists working with film and moving image to develop their practice, delivered in partnership with the Pier Arts Centre, Orkney, with support from Screen Scotland. The selected artist will be provided with time, space, freedom and support to concentrate upon the development of their work without the demand for public presentation.

The new Margaret Tait Residency delivered in partnership with Pier Arts Centre, Orkney, with support from Screen Scotland, builds upon the legacy of the residency delivered by Glasgow Film in 2012 – 2014. Aimed at emerging artists working in film and moving image with up to 5 years professional experience, the residency provides time and support for developing work and practice without the demands of deadlines or public presentation. The residency will take place at the Pier Arts Centre’s newly renovated facilities Linkshouse Residency Centre for up to 6 weeks with an artists’ fee of up to £7,130 and accompanying travel and access support funds.

The residency supports artists wishing to focus upon specific projects as well as those keen to develop new ideas without the demands of deadlines or public presentation. The selected artist will have a tailored package of support from LUX Scotland and the Pier Arts Centre, with the option of presenting outcomes of the residency with Glasgow Film.

Eligible artists are invited to apply through an open call process. Shortlisted artists are then asked to present a proposal for the residency.

The selection panel for the Margaret Tait Residency is comprised of Florrie James, Glasgow based artist and recipient of the Margaret Tait Residency 2014; Andrew Parkinson, Curator of the Pier Arts Centre, Orkney; Rachel Thibbotumunuwe, Learning Manager for Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum; David Upton, LUX Scotland Programme Manager; and Katharine Simpson, Screen Scotland.

Previous residents include Florrie James and Sarah Forrest, who undertook the previous iteration of the Margaret Tait Residency in 2012 – 2014.

Who can apply

Artists who are based in Scotland.Artists who have been developing film and moving image work as part of their practice over the past 0 – 5 years and who would benefit from this dedicated period of time and support. 0 – 5 years does not have to be consecutive years of practice and can begin from a point in an artist’s career that is deemed to be the beginning of their working practice.There is no age restriction.Artists do not have to have been in formal education, attended art school or university. Collectives, groups and collaborations are eligible as long as there is demonstration of working collectively over a sustained amount of time. Please note, the artists’ fee would remain the same in this instance.We regret that we cannot accept nominations of artists who are currently students.Artists can be nominated for the Margaret Tait Award and apply for the Margaret Tait Residency. If this occurs, we will ask artists which opportunity they would prefer to pursue.

How to apply

Please send up to 200 words on your work and how the residency would impact your practice. Please include a link to one online example of your work.

Applications are assessed by a panel of artists and professionals from across the fields of the visual arts and film. Shortlisted artists are then asked to present proposals for the residency, with an accompanying artists’ fee.

Applications should be sent by email only to email hidden; JavaScript is required. Please include the information required in the body of the email.

Deadline for applications is Monday 29 November, 5pm. The shortlist will be announced in December 2021. The recipient of the Margaret Tait Award will be announced at Glasgow Film Festival in 2022.

Access & Support

Support in making an application:

If you would prefer to submit a video or voice recording in place of a written application, please send up to 2 minutes of video/​voice recording to email hidden; JavaScript is required. Please include a link to one online example of your work in the body of the email.

Shortlisted artists have the following support available:

The presentations for shortlisted artists will take place on Zoom individually.BSL interpretation and live captioning is available. Mobile data and /​or support for internet connection is available. Questions from the panel will be provided in advance of the meeting. Artists will be contacted individually to submit their presentations and the LUX Scotland team will work with you to devise the best way for you to present your proposal. This can include, but is not limited to, presenting a pre-recorded video, a slide show presentation, or providing links to example works. Shortlisted artists will be paid a fee for their time in making and presenting their proposal for the residency.

The residency comes with tailored access support and travel funds for the recipient, which will be discussed individually with the selected artist. The 6 week residency can be divided into separate smaller stays or a 6 week consecutive residency to suit the needs and requirements of the artist.

Facilities

Linkshouse contains two double and three twin rooms. One of the double rooms is on the ground floor with accessible en-suite facilities. There are also two accessible studios. All of the communal rooms – living room/​kitchen/​dining/​wc – are on the ground floor. There are two studios which are accessed from outside the building and one​‘clean studio’ located on the ground floor in the main building. There is also a large garden and outside grounds, which can also be used by visiting artists. All of the bedrooms have room for visiting family and space for a crib/child’s bed.

If you have any questions or require support, please contact Annie Crabtree, Project Manager, on email hidden; JavaScript is required or by telephone /​text on 07394 042450.

Margaret Tait Residency selection panel

Florrie James is a filmmaker, cinematographer and producer graduating from Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola in the San Sebastián, Spain in 2019 where she developed several artist films which have been widely screened at festivals including London Short Film Festival, Alchemy Film Festival, Glasgow Short Film Festival; Mimosa Documentary Festival and broadcast on BBC 4 and on Iplayer. Recent films were shown at group exhibitions including at Viborg Kunsthal, Denmark; Вокзал для двоих. Bahnhof Für Zwei, PIK Deutz. Cologne; and Visions in the Nunnery at Bow Arts, London. James recently set up the production company Handsome Stranger and is writing a feature film as well as producing a documentary in Cuba.

Andrew Parkinson has worked at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness since 1995, for the last 20 years as Curator. Over this time he has helped develop the Pier collection with acquisitions of contemporary works by Katy Dove, Olafur Eliasson and Eva Rothschild, among others, alongside films by Margaret Tait and paintings by Orcadian artist Sylvia Wishart. Andrew co-curated the British Museum touring exhibition Pushing Paper – Contemporary Drawing from 1970 to now and has been working in collaboration with the National Gallery, the Contemporary Art Society and the artist/​filmmaker Rosalind Nashashibi as part of the NG artist residency programme.

Rachel Thibbotumunuwe is Learning Manager at Aberdeen Archives, Art Gallery and Museums. She leads a team who develop events, performance and learning programmes in venues across the city of Aberdeen. Over the last 20 years, Rachel has worked to develop learning, equalities and participation in the arts in a range of cultural organisations throughout Scotland. The common threads running throughout her work are supporting inclusive participation in the arts, nurturing creativity within communities, families and schools and promoting the work of artists. Her recent projects have included Aberdeen Art Gallery’s Museum of the Year Micro Commissions and British Art Show 9 in which she worked with local artists, communities, Ambassadors and BAS9 exhibiting artists.



British Sign Language (BSL) Version

BSL video by Julia CK

Part of Margaret Tait Residency

The Margaret Tait Residency provides an opportunity for artists working with film and moving image to develop their practice, in partnership with the Pier Arts Centre, Orkney.

Learn more