Friday New Pathways
This week's new development opportunities for artists and theatre professionals
For this week’s Friday New Pathways, applications are open for eight artist residencies at artsdepot, and Lincoln Arts Centre are Open to Ideas for submissions for their Autumn 2026 season. The British Council have grants on offer are part of their Festival Connect Fund, and Arts Council England have opened the latest round of Develop Your Creative Practice applications. Finally, there are also a lot of exciting events coming up; for those who work in Youth Theatre, Contact Manchester are running a Youth Theatre Together event on 18-19 June, and In Good Company have events on Creative Audio Description at Derby Theatre(Fri 23 May), How to tell your Nan you’re an Artist, (Fri 30 May) and Going Green for Freelancers, Fri 6 Jun, as online events.
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Applications are open at artsdepot for eight artists or companies to join their 25/26 Artist Residency programme. Artists and companies at any stage in their career are welcome to apply. Successful applicants will be given up to four weeks rehearsal space, time and £1000 seed funding to develop a project.
One spot is dedicated to an emerging artist or company aged between 18 – 25, three are dedicated to develop new works that reflect contemporary and historic Jewish identities and cultures (sponsored by Tsitsit) and one is designated to an artist who is based or works in the Borough of Barnet.
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Lincoln Arts Centre have put out a Call for Submissions for Autumn 2026: Open to Ideas.
The team will be platforming queer stories as part of a season celebrating pride and joy curating contemporary visual and performing arts that shine a spotlight on the stories, creativity, and resilience of LGBTQ+ communities.
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The British Council have announced another round of grants available as part of their Festival Connect Fund, supporting festival collaboration between Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the United Kingdom.
With up to £100,000 in funding available, the Fund aims to strengthen cross-regional partnerships, foster artistic exchange, and encourage innovation in festival-making and cultural engagement.
Applications are invited from festivals based in SSA and the UK with collaborative proposals that promote cultural exchange, mobility, and community impact.
Application deadline: 27 June 2025
Information session: 26 May 2025 (details to follow)
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Arts Council England (ACE) have opened the next round of Develop Your Creative Practice grants.
This fund supports individual creative and cultural practitioners to focus on their development and take them to the next stage of their practice from £2,000-£12,000. You can apply for development activities related to ACE supported disciplines. For example:
building new networks
experimenting with new collaborators or partners
international travel to explore your practice
professional development activities, such as
training
working with mentors
research and development time to explore your practice and take risks
Applications close on: 22 May 2025 at midday
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For people working in Youth Theatre, Contact Manchester are hosting an event on 18-19 June, Youth Theatre Together.
Youth Theatre Together is space for youth theatres across England to imagine a new future for our sector together.
It will be a purposeful, joyful, accessible event, with free entry, accommodation and meals - and travel costs for everyone who needs them.
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In Good Company are running some exciting workshops in May and June:
Creative Audio Description Workshop, Fri 23 May, 2025, 2.30pm -5pm, Derby Theatre, pay what you can
Join In Good Company and Ben Wilson to learn more about the world of Creative audio description. Whether you’ve been integrating audio description into your work for years or have not yet taken your first steps into access for visually impaired audiences, this workshop will be a collaborative and creative way to explore all the many ways you might make your work accessible to blind audiences.
How to tell your Nan you’re an Artist, Fri 30 May, 2025, Online, 2pm-3pm
During this workshop with The Uncultured, we'll cover how to talk about yourself and your work for multiple readers. This workshop is about how to maintain the integrity of your practice whilst not alienating anyone who might potentially want to see it, and how you might adapt the way you describe, sell or fund your work depending on who is listening.
Going Green for Freelancers, Fri 6 Jun, 2025, Online, 10am-12pm
Join In Good Company and sustainable advisor Talie Smith on a workshop exploring all things sustainability!
Wanting to know how you can embed better practice into your work? Where should you be looking for industry standard eco choices? This workshop will walk through all things theatre Green Book and more!
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Good luck to anyone applying for these opportunities and for those heading to any of the events - enjoy!