Open Call
This year, we seek proposals for two funded artist residencies, responding to our site, our philosophy of An Art Centre As A Garden and the theme of Ecologies of Migration.
Our awarded residencies offer time, space, and support to artists* working with communities in meaningful and imaginative ways.
There are two residency opportunities available, each taking place flexibly over 35 days across a season. One residency will span Summer (May 2026 – September 2026) and one will span Winter (October 2026 – March 2027).
Each residency offers:
- Accommodation and studio on site in The Gardener’s Cottage
- £12,600 fee (minimum 35 days)
- £7,000 project budget
- Separate access budget
- Access to our garden, classrooms, library, tools, staff and tutor support
- Opportunity to contribute an artwork to The Gardener’s Cottage and/or Garden
We seek artists with:
- A collaborative and socially engaged practice
- Experience working creatively with communities
- Interest in environmental and ecological themes
For this opportunity, we explicitly invite proposals from artists, duos or collaborators who have lived experience of migration, who are from a refugee background or who have experienced forcible displacement.
Our intention is to ground discussions of migration in the communities who are the most affected, and to amplify perspectives which are often overlooked, misrepresented or ignored.
Artists do not have to explore their own personal history – we invite you to respond to the theme in ways that develop your own creativity, thinking and practice.
*Open to individual artists, as well as duos and collaborative groups of up to four
Ecologies of Migration
Our communities are changing. As the climate crisis deepens and global instability continues, more people are crossing borders and building new lives — some settling here in Fife. According to the UN Refugee Agency, by mid-2025, 117.3 million people worldwide had been forced to flee their homes because of persecution, conflict and violence. Today, 1 in every 70 people on Earth has been displaced.
At the same time, the natural world around us is shifting too. All over Scotland, some animals and plants struggle to adapt to climate disruption, while others move, settle, and flourish in new environments. Some are even returning, like beavers. In doing so, they create new worlds where life can continue to grow and thrive, in different ways.
What if we began to see movement not as an exception, but as a natural part of life on a changing planet? As writer Sonia Shah reflects: “We’ve constructed a story about our past, our bodies, and the natural world in which migration is the anomaly. It’s an illusion. And once it falls, the entire world shifts.”
At Forgan Arts Centre, we’re exploring what this perspective could mean for us. Healthy ecosystems are often the most diverse: when one part is under pressure, another can step in, helping to repair and rebuild. We believe communities work in much the same way. By exploring and embracing Fife’s migration stories – past and present, human and more-than human – we can build more resilient, creative and just communities.
How to apply
For full information and how to apply, please download the Ecologies of Migration Residency Pack (1.5mb).
If you’re interested in this residency but feel there are barriers limiting your ability to do so, please get in touch with Rowan Lear at curator@forganartscentre.co.uk. Conversations about your application will not impact how it is assessed and will be confidential.
Deadline: Monday 6 April, 12noon
