OPEN CALL FOR: BLANK CANVAS ARTIST RESIDENCY PROJECT

 

Blank Canvas- Artist in Residence Programme | Ayr, Scotland (June–Nov 2026)

Blank Canvas is a place-based, month-long residency with Narture in the heart of Ayr, inviting creatives to explore the intersections of food, art, sustainability and regeneration. The residency provides paid time, public-facing studio space and meaningful support to develop new work while engaging directly with the community. Open to creatives  across all disciplines, for example — visual arts, performance, music, writing, illustration, dance, zine-making, theatre and food practice — residents are embedded within Narture’s creative ecosystem, with the freedom to experiment, make and connect while working in open dialogue with the public.

We will select:

- 2 Local artists (Ayrshire-based) June & July 2026
- 2 National artists (Scotland-based) August & September 2026
- 2 International artists (UK and worldwide, visa permitting)  October & November 2026 (will be provided with accommodation)

This is an Open Call. The deadline for submissions is: Sunday 12th April at 5pm.

Shortlisted people will be notified by Monday 20th April and invited to take part in a short interview the following week as the next stage of the selection process.

Programme Overview

Blank Canvas is a place-based, community-rooted residency embedded within a working food and arts social enterprise.

Artists are invited to explore Ayr’s food culture, coastal identity, regeneration story and community voices — translating lived experience, conversations and encounters into new creative work.

This is a public-facing residency. The studio is street-level, visible and accessible. The process unfolds in real time — from blank canvas to final exhibition.

Each residency lasts one month:

- Weeks 1–3: Making in public, experimentation and community engagement
- Week 4: Exhibition and public sharing

Each resident receives:

- Artist fee: £2,639.25

- Materials/production budget: up to £400

- Travel support: up to £200 for local artists, up to £600 for national and international artists

- Public-facing studio: free access to MAKE,  a fully accessible, ground-floor space

- Facilities & equipment: Riso printer, darkroom, AV equipment, woodworking tools, kitchen space, 3D food printer, laptop with Adobe Suite, camera for documentation

- Workshops & materials: access to basic materials- eg paints, pencils, pens  for community workshops (where available)

- Mentorship & guidance: curatorial support, technical induction, and safe use of equipment

- Exhibition & sharing: final exhibition and public event

- Creative community: opportunities to connect, collaborate and share ideas

- Local travel: access to an e-cargo bike for sustainable travel and materials transport

- Accommodation: provided for international artists (self-contained apartment, 2-minute walk from MAKE)

- Promotion: featured across Narture’s website and social platforms

This package is designed to support artists in developing new work while engaging meaningfully with the community and our creative spaces.

 

ABOUT Narture

Founded in 2020 by father-and-daughter artist team Robert and Saskia Singer, Narture CIC is a community food and arts social enterprise revitalising vacant town centre properties in Ayr on Scotland’s west coast.

We bake real bread to earn the dough to fund arts projects.

Profits from our award-winning sourdough bakery are reinvested into apprenticeships, creative programmes, affordable studios and public workshops. What began as one small bakery has grown into five once-derelict buildings, now a regenerative creative ecosystem:

KNEAD – Our Sourdough Bakery
SHAPE – Café/Bar and cultural venue
MAKE – The Residency Studio (where you’ll be based)
CREATE – Riso Print Studio and Darkroom
STUDIOS – Artist and Wellbeing studios for co-working/workshops & events

Everything we do is shaped by our belief that everyone is an artist — and that food and creativity can drive meaningful social and economic change.

Ayr is rich in heritage yet underserved in contemporary arts provision. Blank Canvas exists to bridge that gap — making art visible, accessible and rooted in place.

Learn more about who we are and what we do: https://www.narture.co.uk/

Residency Components

Each month-long residency follows a simple rhythm:

Weeks 1–3: Making in Public

Artists will develop new work in a visible, public-facing studio space. Residents are based there for three weeks (minimum four days per week), sharing their practice as it unfolds and delivering three free workshops for the community. The residency culminates in a final presentation exhibition in week four.

We place as much value on process as outcome and are especially keen to work with artists who are open to meaningful community engagement. We encourage an open, transparent approach — welcoming conversation, curiosity and exchange throughout the residency.

 

During this time, each resident will:

Deliver three free public workshops (ideally one per week)
Host up to three open studio sessions

Week 4: Exhibition & Sharing

The studio transforms into an exhibition or presentation space. This may take the form of a showcase, installation, performance, feast, screening, talk or hybrid event.

We place equal value on process and outcome. The relationships, dialogue and shared confidence built throughout the month are as important as the final artwork.

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Community Engagement

As part of the residency, the creative will design and facilitate three free participatory workshops (one per week).

These could include:

- Storytelling and shared memory exercises
- Collective making or print sessions
- Food-based creative explorations
- Participatory writing or drawing
- Movement, sound or performance experiments
- Community meals or creative conversations

Workshops should feel welcoming, accessible and rooted in dialogue rather than instruction.

Our team will support facilitation planning, outreach and safeguarding. We collaborate with diverse local groups, including neurodivergent artists and marginalised communities, ensuring access is central. A PVG check is required for public-facing work; support is available if you don’t have one.

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Sustainability

Sustainability is embedded in both theme and practice.

Local Travel:

Residents will have access to an e-cargo bike for sustainable local travel and transporting materials.

Materials:

We actively encourage sourcing through the Circular Arts Network to access reclaimed and free materials:
https://www.canarts.org.uk/

We prioritise reuse, low-waste production and environmentally conscious methods wherever possible.

Artists exploring food systems, climate justice, regeneration and alternative futures are especially welcome.

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Final Exhibition / Presentation

Artists will have three weeks to research, experiment, make and engage before presenting a final artwork or body of work in Week 4.

The work will be exhibited or presented in MAKE at 30 Newmarket St, Ayr, culminating in a public celebration event hosted by Narture.

 

Formats may include:

- Exhibition
- Installation
- Performance
- Artist talk
- Community meal
- Screening or sound event

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Key Themes

We particularly welcome artists interested in:

Food and food systems
Community engagement
Social or environmental themes
Regeneration and place-based practice
Participatory or collaborative methods

Open to creatives across disciplines including visual arts, performance, music, writing, illustration, zine-making, theatre and food practice.

 

Applicants must be aged 18 or over.

OPEN CALL – Expression of Interest

Applicants are invited to submit an Expression of Interest via the Google Form below:

Deadline: Sunday 12th April, 5pm

Shortlisted applicants will be notified by Monday 20th April, with interviews to follow. Final selections will be announced by early May.

This project has been a long time in the works and we’re incredibly grateful to Creative Scotland for their support in helping us MAKE it happen.