24 JULY - 2 AUG

Background

 

The Indoor Performance Bursary for art in public space is a new seed funding programme offered in partnership by Surge and Manipulate Arts for artists to develop a new performance work to be delivered in non-theatre spaces, specifically the public non theatre spaces of the Traverse Theatre and one other TBC

 

Manipulate Arts and Surge are collaborating on this project due to a shared interest in supporting the development of high-quality, visually-led work which can exist in public spaces such as libraries, shopping centres, museums, unusual spaces during arts festival or community centres. The seed commission is intended to support one artist or group to undertake development on a new work, with a view to sharing it as a work-in-progress as part of Manipulate Arts’ new festival Undercurrents in February 2027.

 

This latest opportunity builds upon a long history of collaboration between Surge and Manipulate Arts to support the visual and physical performance sector in Scotland as part of their shared commitment to sector and talent development. Both organisations are supported through Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding Programme.                                                                                                                                                                                   

Fund Overview

The Indoor Performance Bursary will support one artist or group based in Scotland. Proposed ideas should be in visual, physical, puppetry or mask-based performance disciplines. We are particularly interested for this bursary round in ideas which are highly visual and design-led, for example with a puppetry focus, but not to the exclusion of other physical/visual proposals and welcome any artist whose practice resonates with the focus of Manipulate Arts and Surge (including mime, clowning, physical theatre, object theatre, gestural theatre, puppetry arts, circus and mask).

 

Projects should be primarily driven by visuals: it is fine for proposed projects to include some spoken language provided that visual performance techniques are central to the work.

 

Artists will receive a cash bursary of £6000, plus rehearsal space provided by Surge, mentoring from both organisations, and two work-in-progress performance opportunities at Undercurrents (11-14 February 2027) with wraparound marketing and administrative support from Manipulate Arts.

Find out more about Manipulate Arts at https://www.manipulatearts.co.uk

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Who Can Apply

 

• Professional artists over the age of 18 at any stage in their career.

• Artists who are at a moment of development or progression in their practice such that they would benefit from mentorship and support from Manipulate Arts and/or Surge.

• Artists that Surge and/or Manipulate Arts have never met before, as well as those who we have supported in the past.

• Artists whose primary practice is in a discipline that is not included in the list of supported artforms, provided that the project is in one of these artistic areas. If this applies to you, we strongly encourage that you include a named collaborator or mentor with experience in these fields.

 

What Support is Included

 

• £6000 cash bursary

• Rehearsal and workshop space in Glasgow provided by Surge in January and early February (possible also in December)

• Personal access costs if required for lead artists and key contributors

• Two work-in-progress performance slots at Undercurrents in Edinburgh between 11-14 February 2027 with wraparound marketing and administrative support.

• Ongoing artistic mentorship from Surge and Manipulate Arts

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It is largely anticipated that the Indoor Performance Bursary is for projects in early stages of development, before the stage when you might consider applying for further funds from any Creative Scotland funding schemes. However, if you do intend to apply to Creative Scotland for the same project, please note that you can apply at the same time for the same project to both this fund and Creative Scotland, however you must not include any of the same costs across the two applications. This is because the money for the Indoor Performance Bursary already comes from Creative Scotland and would constitute double funding.  

 

Structuring Your Project Budget

 

The types of project cost that we expect to see in your budget include:

 

• personnel fees (these are likely to constitute the majority of your budget)

• equipment, materials, technical and design costs

• travel costs if required

• research or training costs (only where these are directly linked to the creative development of your project)

Personal Access costs should not be included in your £6000 budget, however we ask you to detail these on a separate tab.

 

We expect all personnel involved in your project, including lead artists, to be remunerated at least at minimum ITC or Equity rates. We will ask you to clarify the basis on which you have set fee rates. It’s very important that you remember to indicate how you have arrived at fee levels.

 

It is the responsibility of each applicant to set rates in line with the individual roles and previous experience of their team; however, artists have previously asked us for full transparency around the average fee levels that we usually anticipate for R&D. It will be equal to ITC minimum rates.

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Application Process

 

Artists should apply in writing maximum of 500 words plus biographies of participating artists or alternatively you are welcome to apply by video submission either in spoken English or in British Sign Language. The maximum amount that you can apply for is £6000 and your budget breakdown should detail how these funds will be allocated.

 

The closing date for submissions is: Thursday 12 November 2026

 

After the closing date, Surge and Manipulate will mutually assess applications, and may award directly based upon application or may request a follow-up conversation with a small number of shortlisted artists.

Projects may start at any time from 1st December 2026 and must be completed by 11 February 2027.

To apply, you must send us:

 

• A completed 500 word application letter, biographies and a budget OR a video with the same information in either English or BSL.

• An Equalities and Diversity Monitoring Form which can be found here.

 

Please email your form in PDF format or a link to your video to melanie@surge.scot by 12pm on Thursday 12 November. We are a very small team and will not be able to acknowledge all applications upon receipt, however all applicants will receive an email notifying them of the outcome of their application. If you require the application in another format, or require support or assistance, please contact us via email. Interviews will be on 18th November, 2026.

 

As this is a new fund and it is difficult to gauge demand, we cannot currently guarantee feedback for all applicants, however we will contact all applicants to advise of the outcome of their applications.

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Selection Process
 

The selection process will involve representatives from Manipulate Arts and Surge. We work hard to ensure that selection panels integrate diverse perspectives and lived experiences. Each application will be assessed based on the information provided, and we will use a selection grid to assess each across 5 categories:

 

Creative Potential: We will consider the artistic merit of the idea pitched alongside the artist’s previous creative track record to assess the overall creative potential of the project.

 

Objectives and Timeframe: How realistic is the timeframe and what the artist wants to achieve within it?

 

Benefit to Artist’s Practice: Is/are Manipulate Arts and/or Surge the right organisation(s) to support this project and is it the right moment in the artist’s career for this kind of support?

 

Budget: Is everyone paid fairly and is the budget realistic?

 

Legacy:  What is the future potential for the artist and the sector from this project? For example we may consider the possibilities for a future life for the work and the potential positive impact for both artist, audiences and the wider sector.