Deadline for applications: Friday 12 June 2026, 12 midday
Apply using this online application form.
2026 is the 6th year of the SSW and Counterflows collaboration, offering vital residency opportunities to Scotland based artists who are also caregivers. We are delighted to offer 4 Fully Funded Residencies in 2026, thanks to generous support of the William Grant Foundation and Creative Scotland.
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 their diverse needs.
Caring for family (bio or chosen), community and/or kin, either professionally or informally can form and create artistic practices as well as disrupt them. We recognise how difficult it is for artists with caring responsibilities to grasp time, energy, resources and focus for their practices. This is particularly the case when support networks have been disrupted, home and work have become tangled up and funding systemically diverted away from caregivers infrastructures of support.
The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency offers artists funding, flexibility, respite and space for self-care, to focus on their own needs and support their continued learning and development.
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)
Juliana Capes (2024)
Morven Mulgrew (2024)
Alicia Matthews (2025)
as well as an essay by writer, journalist and caregiver Claire Sawyer
Further information
The four weeks of residency will take place between November 2026 and April 2027, depending on the artist’s needs and SSW’s availability. The residency can be scheduled in one longer period or multiple shorter blocks. There are further details about this in the application pack and FAQs.
This residency offers access to the following making facilities:
Please read the residency application pack (see below for different formats) for full information about the residency and how to apply. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at SSW if you have any questions about this opportunity, if you have technical difficulties with your application, or you have any access requirements that we can support you with in the application process.
Eligibility
To apply for the SSW x Counterflows Caregiver’s Residency you must:
- Identify as a caregiver
- Work in any artistic discipline supported by SSW and or Counterflows i.e. visual arts, sound and contemporary performance
- Be based in Scotland
- Be willing/ able to travel to SSW and participate in the residency with the support provided and within the timeline outlined.
- Not be in formal education during the residency period, November 2026 – April 2027.
We have written more about these criteria in the residency application pack. If you aren’t sure if you are eligible to apply, please get in touch.
How to apply
Applications should be made via SSW’s online form: SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency application form. Please note that you cannot save your progress in the form, and as such, we recommend writing the answers in a separate document and then copy and pasting them into the application form.
You can apply in the format that feels most comfortable for you, either text, video or audio. We have no preference and will only evaluate the content of each application, not its production.
There is a .pdf application questions document, along with a MS Word application questions and Large format application questions. You can use these to prepare your responses to the questions, before completing the online form.
If, for access reasons, you would prefer to not submit through the online form, you can use the .pdf application questions, MS Word application questions or Large format application questions to answer the questions and email the completed form to Anna on arts@ssw.org.uk with ‘Caregivers Residency Application’ in the subject, before the deadline.
To support your applications we have created a selection of resources and further information:
Residency Application Pack pdf | MS Word | Large Format | Audio
Application Questions pdf | MS Word | Large Format
Frequently Asked Questions pdf | MS Word | Large Format | Audio
Please also read our
SSW Community Guidelines
SSW Accessibility information
