Join Our Working Group - 'Re-shaping residencies and artist support'
Call Out – Members Working Group: Re-shaping TWR’s approach to residencies and artist support
Deadline: Monday 17 November 2025
Context
As part of The Work Room’s successful CS Multi-Year Funding bid, we proposed a review of our residency programme for 2026, with a view to enhanced artist support that reflects the current needs of artists. We are now seeking artist members who want to join a working group, to engage in a collaborative process of evaluation, discussion, creative thinking & problem solving, to develop a proposal for a revised residency programme.
Working groups are a foundational part of The Work Room’s artist-led organisational model, based on the belief that members, as the people most impacted by decisions, should be active in making them. Working groups come together around significant changes to TWR, such as shaping aspects of The Work Room’s programme or its membership.
Process
The working group process will be facilitated by our new Artists Programme Producer, Laura Fisher. The group will meet 3 - 4 times between Dec 2025 – March 2026, predominently online, with one in-person day in Glasgow. Together, we will deeply evaluate our current residency offer and programme and develop a new creative proposal for TWR’s artist residency programme and wider artist support.
The group will present their proposal to the wider membership for questions and comments at a Members’ Assembly on Sunday 1 March 2026, with a view to adopting changes from July 2026 onwards. At this stage, the wider membership will have the opportunity to propose amendments and vote on adopting the new proposal.
The Role
This role is only open to current members of The Work Room.
The role requires working collaboratively within a small group of members: sharing ideas, engaging in reflection, listening to others views and opinions, some reading and reviewing of written materials, and bringing suggestions and refernces from your own practice.
Members across a broad range of practices, styles and lived experiences are encouraged to apply. You do not need to have experience of being in a working group to be involved. It is integral to us to have a breadth of voices and members across different career stages represented and will form part of the selection process. If you feel excited about shaping this area of The Work Room’s programme, please get in touch.
If you’d like an informal conversation about what joining the working group might entail, please email Laura at producer@theworkroom.org.uk.
Fees
The fee for participating in the members' group is £400, plus travel for in person working and a commitment to meeting any access needs of group members.
Dates
The Working Group will run from December 2025 – March 2026. Members applying to the working group must be able to commit to all dates. The time commitment is estimated at around two days between meetups, independent reading, and review.
Dates and time commitments are as follows:
- Tues 9 December- meeting online – Introductions & Setting Our Intentions (1.5 hours)
- December - Independent time to read and review written materials and case studies (2 hours)
- Sun 11 January - in person at TWR – day of creative facilitation (6 hours) | 11:30 – 4:30 pm
- Fri 23 January – online, reviewing proposal + adding comments/voting (2 hours)
- Sun 1 March– Presentation at Members Assembly (2 hours)
How to Express Interest
To express your interest in joining the working group please send an email to producer@theworkroom.org.uk, sharing brief responses to the following:
- Why you are interested in joining the working group and any particular experience or perspective that you feel you would bring to the process
- What is one key point about the residency programme or artists support you feel is important right now?
Please also confirm your availability for the dates listed and whether your preference for online meetings is:
- morning (11:00 am – 12:30 pm)
- afternoon (1:00 – 2:30 pm)
- evening (17:30 – 19:00)
and flag anything which could potentially change your availability (such as pending applications or projects over the dates).
Responses can be shared in writing or as audio or video notes. We suggest responses are approximately 100 words
The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is Monday 17 November at 23:59.
Responses can be shared as an email of attachement and sent to producer@theworkroom.org.uk
Selection
The Working Group will be made up of 3 - 4 current artist members.
The working group selection will be made by The Work Room team, with a commitment to ensuring a range of experience, styles, lived experience and practices inform the group. We recognise that knowledge exists across a range of lived experiences and new members and emerging artists are encouraged to apply alongside those who’ve been members or maintaining practice for longer.
You don’t need to have been previously awarded a residency or have experience of working groups to apply. An option to shadow a residency selection panel will be open to anyone would find this helpful grounding ahead of the working group activity.