Calling artists and designers living in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight!
A partnership of local women of Black and South Asian background, maternity researchers and care providers, art educators and artists are seeking Expressions of Interest from artists to co-create a workshop for the British Science Festival in September 2026.
Creative Conceptions, led by the University of Southampton, is a partnership built around the voices of local women with past or current pregnancy experience. UK maternal and neonatal outcomes are worse for South Asian and Black women. Working alongside researchers, artists, art educators, and those who plan or deliver care before and during pregnancy, these women’s journeys, heritage, and identities shape the project from the start. We’ll co-create a workshop to launch at the 2026 British Science Festival in Southampton in the setting of the Art of Creation Exhibition. It will invite diverse Festival visitors from across the region into creative conversations about early development, parental health before and during pregnancy, and shaping better health outcomes for the next generation.
Process
• Shortlisted artists will be invited to an information session on Friday 23 January 2026, 2–4pm to find out more about the project and meet the team.
• Shortlisted artists will submit workshop proposals by Monday 9 February 2026.
• Shortlisted artists will also be invited go to a second stage interview on Friday 20 February 2026.
• One artist will be commissioned to work with the team to develop a creative workshop and deliver it in a community setting, and co-create and lead a workshop as part of the British Science Festival.
Fees
• Each shortlisted artist will receive £200 (inclusive of attending the information session on Friday 23 January, developing the workshop proposal, and the interview on Friday 20 February).
• The selected artist will receive an additional £1,430 to cover the running of three 3-hour workshops (provisionally in April, July and September), workshop research / development and attending planning meetings, contribution to post-project evaluation meetings / reports, and travel to workshops. We will provide additional budget up to £300 for workshop materials.
To apply:
Click here to submit your application.
Deadline for Expressions of Interest:
Monday 12 January 2026 at 12pm
For further information:
Please contact L.R.Green@soton.ac.uk.