Shiori Usui in the SSW Ceramics Studio, image credit: SSWShiori Usui, one of the five 2025 SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency artists, reflects on her time here at SSW in April and May. The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency was set up in 2020 to expand funded residency opportunities to artists who are also caregivers. Words, images and video below by Shiori Usui. — Wow, what intense but magnificent days they were. Thinking back to the days I spent on the Caregiver’s Residency at Counterflows Festival and SSW, these […]
Ellie Ballantine in the SSW Ceramics Studio, image credit: SSWSitka spruce growing from a bench at SSW Artist and Researcher Ellie Ballantine shares observations and insight into her time working at SSW on a Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH) Artist Residency. Over 3 months Ellie worked both on site in Lumsden and remotely, to explore Regenerative Materials and Community Knowledge within Arts Practice, alongside SSW’s Materials Garden and Community Making Space programme. Words and images below by Ellie Ballantine — sitka spruce growing from a bench […]
Belladonna sgraffitoing onto a ceramic work, image credit: SSWBelladonna Paloma, one of the five 2025 SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency artists, reflects on her time here at SSW in April and May. The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency was set up in 2020 to expand funded residency opportunities to artists who are also caregivers. Words and images below by Belladonna Paloma. — The tension between play and production was a big theme for me at SSW. As a carer for my partner I try to squirrel away time […]
Dylan Esposito, Without Words, 2024. Image credit: Finn Rabbitt Dove.We are delighted to announce that Dylan Esposito has been selected by SSW for the RSA Residencies for Scotland programme. Through this Dylan will undertake a 4 week residency and our metal fabrication course. RSA Residencies for Scotland is a scheme which provides valuable research and development opportunities for visual artists. It forges important networks with centres of artistic excellence across Scotland, ranging from traditional residency venues to specialised production facilities. In response to recieving the award, Dylan says:I’m incredibly excited […]
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: 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 […]
Alicia handbuilding in the Ceramics Studio, image credit: SSWAlicia Matthews, one of the five 2025 SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency artists, reflects on her time here in March and April with a recorded spoken excerpt of writing and images of work made on residency below. The SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency was set up in 2020 to expand funded residency opportunities to artists who are also caregivers. The 2026 SSW x Counterflows Caregivers Residency Open Call is live from 30 April and the deadline for applications is Friday […]
The deadline for applications has now passed. Deadline for applications: Friday 12 June 2026, 12 middayApply 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: This residency recognises that the care […]
SSW is excited to announce that Ellie Ballantine has been selected to undertake the SGSAH Artist Residency at SSW. Ellie will be working over 3 months to explore Regenerative Materials and Community Knowledge within Arts Practice. Working alongside our Community Making Space Ellie will explore the potential of working with locally grown, regenerative materials and how these materials positively impact community regeneration, empowerment, wellbeing and economies. Ellie says:‘I am delighted to contribute to SSW’s Regenerative Materials and Community Knowledge within […]
Group residents outside SSW with some of the SSW staff team. Image by SSW.It was a delight to welcome artists Hannah Ekuwa Buckman (England), Hannah Leighton-Boyce (England), Jessica Crisp (Scotland), Lily Lavorato (Scotland), Maïa Taïeb (Netherlands), Molly M. Whawell (Scotland) and Nicky May Bolland (Scotland) to SSW in October, as our third and final cohort of artists selected for Group Residency 2025. Over the course of their month-long residency, the group had inductions and support in ceramics, metalwork, blacksmithing and stonework. Alongside developing their practices in the workshops & studio, the group took […]
Jodi Le Bigre in the SSW Ceramics Studio, image credit: Felicity CrawshawEarlier this year in May and August, we were delighted to welcome RSA Residencies for Scotland artist Jodi Le Bigre to SSW. Below, Jodi shares an introduction to the work she developed during her residency and reflects on her time at SSW. SSW is excited to be participating in the RSA Residencies for Scotland programme again, to offer one artist a 1-2 month(s)-long funded residency in 2026. For more information and to apply, visit The RSA website.Deadline: Sunday 18 January 2026, […]
Scottish Charity Number: SC003223