Closing Date - 12 PM, Monday 3rd November 2025

Please contact us at artist.development@factoryinternational.org if you require any support in completing your application. 

Calling all dancers and choreographers – do you have a creative idea you wish to explore, experiment and create at scale?

Think big!

For our next Artist Takeover residency, we are looking for dancers, movement artists, choreographers and movement/dance collectives who want to take over the space and explore technology* within their creative practice. We are keen to hear from creatives who want to explore this brief and be supported by Factory International to develop their ideas.

Factory International has built a reputation for staging epic choreography – from the animal choreography in Figures in Extinction to the dancers flying through the air in Free Your Mind to the text messages interpreted as movement in The Accountants. We present ambitious work by acclaimed international dance companies and collectives.

*The term ‘technology’ can be broad in its interpretation. You will have a set budget to deliver the project, so we recommend focusing on one particular technical discipline (e.g. AV, flying, sound scape) to maximise use of the available resources.

About

Aviva Studios’ vast spaces have been designed to provoke artists to do things differently, explore what’s possible and offer a backdrop to create some of the most ambitious work in the world.

In February 2026, we will hand over the keys to our Warehouse space for use by an artist or collective of artists who want to explore working at an ambitious new scale, to experiment and play with dance/movement and technology. This is an opportunity to explore an idea at scale that is not possible elsewhere.

We'll support artists from any discipline from the North of England (link to ACE definition), with a minimum of five years of professional practice, to experiment in our space for six days (from 16 to 22 February). We will support the development of your ideas in the weeks leading up to the takeover with our specialist team of producers, engagement and technical staff, offering a budget of £10,000 to support your development time, R&D and production costs. You can apply as an individual or as a collective of artists. There’s no pressure to create a public outcome; instead, the priorities are your development and to create space to play and imagine.

How we’ll support

We will support you in the following ways:

• Provide a dedicated Producer and help support you in the run up to the takeover to help realise your ideas…

• Offer a budget of up to £10,000 to produce your idea. This will likely cover artist fees and production costs; you will be offered support by the Factory International team to budget your project.

• Provide access to the Warehouse with a production team for the agreed period.

• Provide critical feedback and advice from our Curatorial/Producing/Digital/Technical teams.

• Provide networking opportunities internally and externally.

• Co-ordinate a public sharing or targeted industry event if appropriate/desirable.

How to apply?

Please read the guidance notes and complete the online application here. If you would like an informal conversation with our Head of Artist Development, Punam Ramchurn, please email Punam at punam.ramchurn@factoryinternational.org

Guidance notes

• We are looking for artists who are either working individually or as part of a collective/creative team, from any artform or interdisciplinary and based in the North of England.

• Applicants must be over 18 years of age.

• You need to be able to demonstrate at least five years of professional experience and be making work that is ready to scale up.

• You need to be able to demonstrate that you or the artists you are working with are interested, or at a position in your career, to make work at large scale. The space will be the main Warehouse.

• There is no limit to the number of artists who can apply as a collective in one application but the budget will be £10,000 in total. This can be spent on artist fees, equipment hire, materials etc. An amount of in-kind Producer/Technical/Engagement/Digital support can be accessed from the Factory International team.

• You should have availability from 16 February to develop your ideas ready for experimentation in the space on 22 February.

• You’ll need to be available for bi-weekly meetings with Producing and Artist Development and the wider Factory International team. You must have enough free time in the proceeding weeks to be able to fully plan and prepare for the takeover, to make the most of this opportunity.

• You will need to outline your idea and evidence how this opportunity will impact your development.

• You will need to outline how you’ll spend the £10,000 including artists fees, dramaturgs, rehearsal spaces etc.

• You will need to take part in our monitoring, evaluation and documentation processes. We will also help you create assets for the work you have developed.

We particularly welcome applications from artists who are underrepresented in the sector including artists who identify with disabilities, artists from the global majority and female artists.

Key Dates

• Drop-In Session: Week Commencing 27th October [TBC]
  
• Recruitment Closes: Monday 3rd November 
• Interviews: Thursday 20th or 27th November [TBC]

When applying please do not rely solely on ChatGPT/AI software for your answers as it may not fully reflect your skills and experience and how they align with this opportunity. We may decide to discount your answer if we believe it is solely generated by AI.