The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency is 5!
2025 marks the 5th year of the collaboration between SSW and Counterflows Festival offering vital residency opportunities to Scotland based artists who are also caregivers. To celebrate this important milestone, and with the generous support of the William Grant Foundation and Creative Scotland, this year we are offering 5 fully funded residencies.
The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency offers:
- A 4 week fully-funded residency at SSW bespoke to the artists’ caregiving needs and schedule
- £3000 artist fee
- £300 travel budget
- £300 materials budget
- £1000 to support access and care costs to enable the artist to take part in the residency.
- Weekend pass and travel to Counterflows Festival in April 2026
This residency recognises that the care of others is central to the collective survival of our world yet is deeply undervalued within our society. This is often mirrored in the structures of support created for artists.
The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency is shaped to support artists who undertake this essential care work. It is set up to provide a nourishing, open and flexible residency structure to serve caregivers diverse needs.
For an insight into what can happen whilst on this residency you can read blogs from all our past Caregivers Residents:
Laura Bradshaw (2021)
Chris Dooks (2021)
Hang Linton (2021)
Oren Shoesmith & Rabindranath X Bhose (2022)
Norma D Hunter (2022)
Bobbi Cameron (2023)
Keng Keng Tang (2023)
Julianna Capes (2024)
Morven Mulgrew (2024)
as well as an essay by writer, journalist and caregiver Claire Sawyer
We can’t believe that this is the fifth consecutive year of running this important residency programme. Residencies form a vital part of artists practice, but as a caregiver, residency can often feel impossible. Being able to provide the conditions, flexibility and support for these residencies is only possible through our important partnership with Counterflows, the support from Creative Scotland and the William Grant Foundation and the time, energy and commitment of our teams and previous Caregivers Residency artist alumni. We hope that this residency programme continues to support artists and inspires others to consider caregivers within their programming and ways of working, and makes visible the important work that caregivers undertake. Sam Trotman, Programme and Partnerships Director SSW.
Counterflows’ sees the Caregivers Residency programme as an essential part of our collaborative work with Scottish Sculpture Workshops. We believe the Caregivers Residencies offer important support to artists, that through the circumstances of care, find it difficult to pursue their art and practice, often due to lack of time or space. After five years it is great to be able to expand the programme and offer more artists support of this kind. It is, of course, also important that we learn from the challenges that caring presents to artists and others in our communities and find ways to reduce these through better understanding. Alasdair Campbell, Director, Counterflows.
Find out more and apply here: SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency
The deadline for applications is Wednesday 15th October 2025 at midday.
