SHINE 2026 Emerging Light Artist Programme – Open Call

We are looking for ambitious, high-quality ideas for two new light-based commissions to tour the North’s most iconic light festivals!
This is more than just a commission; it’s a career-changing opportunity to develop your practice, create work at scale, gain experience of working in outdoor festival contexts and build your profile within the light art sector!

What’s included:
Commission Fee: Up to £15,000 (Fees & Fabrication)
Touring Costs: Up to £2,500 (Travel & Attendance)
Support: Mentoring, production guidance, and technical delivery.

The Tour: Your work could light up Blackpool, Leeds, Lancaster, Barnsley, Wigan, Salford, or Oldham! From urban centres to waterfronts, we need adaptable, engaging ideas.

SHINE is aimed at artists in the early stages of developing their practice and profile.

We define an emerging artist as someone who may:
– Be in the early years of presenting work publicly
– Have not yet received a commission of this scale
– Be developing their practice and ready to take on a more ambitious project
– Be transitioning into working with light as a primary medium
Be experimenting with light within a broader practice
– You do not need extensive experience in light art specifically. We are interested in strong ideas, creative potential, and your readiness to develop work with support.

We particularly welcome applications from artists currently underrepresented in the light art sector, including people of colour and artists who identify as d/Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent.