Spectroscope Artist Residency at East Quay
South West Disabled Artist Gathering
Opportunity
We are inviting one deaf, disabled or neurodivergent artist living in South West England to take part in a self directed residency at East Quay.
Residency Format
Two one week stays in one of East Quay’s distinctive artist pods:
• Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2026
• Monday 9th to Sunday 15th November 2026
Fee & Support
• Artist fee: £1,500
• Travel: £250
• Subsistence: £250
During your residency, you will have time and space to focus on your practice, alongside opportunities to connect with the East Quay team. You will also receive mentoring from curators within the Spectroscope collective, offering practical support, feedback and connections.
Sharing The Work
There is an opportunity to share your process, test ideas or present work in progress through a light touch, reflective exhibition in Studio 10 Project Space:
• Monday 8 February to Sunday 7 March 2027 (including install and deinstall as required)
• Exhibition materials budget: £600
About the opportunity
We are launching the South West Disabled Artist Gathering, a new space for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists to reconnect with their creative practice and each other.
This is not a single event or location. It is a growing programme that will pop up in different places across the South West, creating moments for artists to come together, make work and share ideas.
“We want to create more space across the South West for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists to experiment, take risks and make ambitious new work. Residencies like this are not just about retreating from the world for a while, they are about artists being visible inside cultural spaces, shaping what those spaces can become.”
Cathy Mager, Founder of Spectroscope
This residency offers time and space to step away from day to day pressures. To breathe, experiment and make. A chance to return to the core of your practice and explore ideas that feel ambitious, playful or still forming.
It sits within a wider programme, including a one day symposium set in a historic house and landscape near Bristol. Together, these moments create space to connect, reflect and imagine new possibilities. This is a pilot moment. A chance to test, learn and build a future programme rooted in community, care and bold artistic ambition.
About East Quay
East Quay was built as an example of holistic community regeneration, showing how communities can come together to shape their own future. It is a social enterprise with connection, imagination and culture at its heart.
Located on the harbourside in Watchet, a picturesque coastal town in Somerset, East Quay looks out across the surrounding coastline and countryside, nestled between Exmoor National Park and the Quantock Hills.
A contemporary cultural venue, it has been described by Olly Wainwright in The Guardian as “a piratical beacon of culture”. Its distinctive architecture houses two galleries presenting national and international artists, exploring identity and belonging, community and place, and climate and change.
East Quay offers a unique setting to develop ideas in dialogue with landscape, community and context.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to artists who:
- Are aged 21 or over
- Are a practicing artist at any stage of their career
- Are deaf, disabled and neurodivergent, including those with long-term health conditions
- Are currently living in the South West of England
This includes:
- Bristol
- Bath & North East Somerset
- North Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Gloucestershire
- Wiltshire
- Somerset
- Dorset
- Devon
- Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
We welcome artists working in any medium.
Timeline
- Open call announced: Thursday 21st May 2026
- Application deadline: 5pm, Friday 26 June 2026
- Artists informed if they have made shortlist: Wednesday 9 July 2026
- Interviews (zoom) Friday 17th July
- Artist Name announced 7th September 2026
Approach to the residency
This residency is an opportunity to explore and develop new ideas, rather than deliver a finished outcome. We are particularly interested in proposals that respond to the time, space and setting of East Quay, and that use the residency as a space for experimentation.
The Studio 10 exhibition is intended as a place to share work in progress, test approaches and reflect on your process. It is not intended for presenting completed or previously established work.
How to apply
Applications should be submitted via CuratorSpace.
You can apply in written form or by submitting a BSL video (maximum 5 minutes).
If submitting in BSL, please include a YouTube link within your application.
All questions about the opportunity should be submitted through the CuratorSpace application link.
Access
As part of your application, you will be invited to share your access requirements or include your access rider. Applications will be assessed based on your work and your ideas for the residency. Access information will not be used in the selection process. It will be used to understand your needs and to plan appropriate support. If you require a PA to stay with you during the residency, please let us know as part of your application. BSL interpreters and other access support can be provided.
Further information about access at East Quay can be found here: