Creative Practitioner in Residence 2026

Overview of the Creative Practitioner Residency

• Length: The residency will run for six months from September 2026 to February 2027
• Aims: The focus for the residency will be on developing a creative output in response to the Atlantic Worlds gallery at the National Maritime Museum
• Proposal types: We welcome proposals that engage creatively and critically with the gallery, whether by drawing connections across different themes and collections or by exploring a particular object, material, archive, or idea in depth
• Deadline for applications: 9am on Monday 3 August 2026 (see below for details of timings)
• How to apply: proposal submitted as a PDF or portfolio link to participation@rmg.co.uk (see below for the full brief, an overview of the application stages and application requirements)

The Residency invites critical and creative engagements with Atlantic histories, exploring how artistic practice can open new ways of interpreting the collection. The residency will explore how contemporary creative practices, archival research and participatory methodologies can generate new interpretations of Atlantic histories.  

Over the course of the six-month programme, the selected resident will respond to the Atlantic Worlds gallery located in the National Maritime Museum. This gallery explores the histories and cultures of the Atlantic world, tracing the movement of people, ideas, goods, and cultures across continents, while revealing histories of violence, inequality, resistance, and creativity that emerged through these encounters and continue to shape our world today. 

Working in dialogue with the Engagement, Curatorship and Research, Collections Management and Exhibitions departments, the selected resident will be supported to explore the Museum's collections and archive through their own creative methodology and research interests. 

We especially encourage participatory methods of research and making that engage with underrepresented audiences. We are particularly interested in projects that bring historical collections into dialogue with contemporary questions, communities, and creative practice, generating new interpretations of the collections and expanding how Atlantic histories are understood and experienced. 

The residency recognises that archives are partial, contested, and often shaped by unequal histories of power. We welcome practitioners interested in exploring and developing methodologies that bring collections into dialogue with alternative forms of knowledge, memory and interpretation. 

This may include working with material culture, oral histories, speculative narratives, participation, performance, sound, or other forms of creative inquiry that expand how maritime histories are understood and shared.