The WFH Residency is a £1000 award to support artists during the covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic.

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Artists are starting to report a collapse in work and higher levels of unemployment as the UK responds to the covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic.  Reliant on the gig economy for income as technicians, visiting tutors, and in jobs outside of the arts, this residency provides financial support for artists and encourages digital, community-focussed activity while following current government guidelines around social distancing.

The WFH Residency (standing for ‘working from home’) will pay artists who have had arts projects or other work cancelled, or have been made unemployed, as result of the covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic lockdown. It will particularly support projects that take a co-operative or communal approach and connect people while social distancing.

Projects should aim to generate content that can be shared online and/or are physically viewable from wherever you are social distancing. Projects that include a physical product must avoid the spread of covid-19 / coronavirus by not encouraging touching or sharing objects. Proposals for online communal activities, such as reading groups, peer mentoring, or wellbeing support amongst artists, are also welcome. To reduce potential harm for delivery workers, proposals that do not require home delivery of materials will also be prioritised.

Any proposal that meets the project aims will be considered. You can propose activity that is unrelated to art or your practice, and projects unrelated to the covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic are particularly welcome.

Key Dates

Applications are open from 10am Monday 30 March until 10am Monday 1 July 2020 and may be extended or reduced depending on current guidance around social distancing and any increase in paid work elsewhere. Each month, one submission will be selected for the award.

You can apply at any time, as many times as you like, but awards will not be made to the same artist more than once.

The current cut of points for each month are at 10am on the dates listed below.

• 8 April (artist selected by 15 April) DEADLINE CLOSED
• 6 May (artist selected by 13 May) DEADLINE CLOSED
• 3 June (artist selected by 10 June)
• 1 July (artist selected by 8 July)

Please note all projects must be complete within 4 weeks of selection.

The Award

Each month during the project run a selected artist will receive

• An award of £1000
• Support in promoting / disseminating any shareable content through Artquest and partner networks

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the award you must:

• Be a London-based visual artist at any stage in your career
• Have had work or projects cancelled, and/or are unemployed as a result of the covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic
• Not be enrolled in full-time education, at any level, at the time of application or over the project period

Application / selection

Read the FAQs before completing the application form.

Apply for WFH Residency here.

If you are unable to complete an online application, please email Nick Kaplony to arrange an alternative method.

Please note that selected artists are responsible for administering and realising all aspects of their proposed project, including any payment to collaborators.

Awardees

The first WFH residency was awarded to Daniella Valz Gen for her project Warping Symbols Finding Meanings. The selection panel consisted of Artquest and guest panelists, Helen Nisbet and Louise Shelley. Visit the residency awardees page for more information.