Organizer Information
Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) forms a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site and is made up of the National Maritime Museum, historic ship Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and the 17th-century Queen's House, alongside the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre. The Royal Observatory Greenwich was founded by Charles II in 1675 to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea, and its work led to the adoption of the Greenwich Meridian as the global Prime Meridian in 1884. Cutty Sark, one of the world's most famous historic ships, has been berthed in dry dock in Greenwich since the 1950s and opened to the public in 1957. Together, RMG's collections include over 2.5 million items spanning maritime history, scientific enquiry, and artistic achievement, and the institution is dedicated to enriching public understanding of the sea, the exploration of space, and Britain's role in world history.
Title & Description
Creative Practitioner Residency — Royal Museums Greenwich
The Creative Participation Residency is a six-month programme inviting an artist, creative practitioner, or collective to respond to the Atlantic Worlds gallery at the National Maritime Museum. The residency supports research-led artistic practice, encouraging critical and creative engagement with Atlantic histories — including movement of people, ideas, goods, and cultures across continents, and the histories of violence, inequality, resistance, and creativity that emerged through these encounters. The selected resident will work in dialogue with RMG's Engagement, Curatorship and Research, Collections Management, and Exhibitions departments, exploring the museum's collections and archives through their own creative methodology, with outcomes developed collaboratively and shared through a public programme.
Theme
Atlantic Worlds — proposals should engage creatively and critically with the Atlantic Worlds gallery, whether by drawing connections across its themes and collections or exploring a specific object, material, archive, or idea in depth, with particular interest in projects that bring historical collections into dialogue with contemporary questions, communities, and creative practice.
Categories
- Residency
- Research
- Curatorial
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Multiple Disciplines
- History/Heritage
- Site-specific
Eligibility
- Open to artists, creative practitioners, or collectives working across a range of disciplines and approaches
- No prior experience working in the museum sector required
- No existing relationship with RMG required
- No fully developed final artwork required at application stage
- No detailed knowledge of the collections required
Program Benefits & Awards
- Residency fee of £12,000 for the six-month period (September 2026 – February 2027), paid in six monthly instalments of £2,000
- Materials budget of £5,000
- Dedicated studio space in the National Maritime Museum, accessible seven days a week, 09:00–17:00 (restricted to dry materials; access after 17:00 possible with advance notice)
- Access to the museum's collections, archives, library, and research resources
- Support and collaboration from RMG's Engagement, Curatorship and Research, Collections Management, and Exhibitions departments, led by the Creative Participation Producer
- Mentorship opportunity
- Opportunities to connect with public programmes and audiences across the museum
- Opportunity to become a critical friend to RMG after the residency ends
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Submitted as a PDF or portfolio link via email to participation@rmg.co.uk, subject line "Creative Practitioner Residency Application"
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 3 August 2026
- Interviews: week commencing 10 August 2026
- Programme starts: September 2026
- Residency ends: 1 March 2027 (residency itself runs September 2026 – February 2027)
Location
Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
Additional Details
- The residency's aims include supporting research-led artistic practice within an institutional context, enabling critical engagement with collections shaped by colonial histories, fostering exchange between the resident and RMG staff, recognizing lived experience and community knowledge as valid forms of research, and exploring how contemporary artistic practice can contribute to new understandings of maritime heritage.
- Suggested (non-prescriptive) areas of enquiry include Archives and Visibility, Material Memory, Maritime Movement and Circulation, Alternative Ways of Knowing, and Public Histories and Participation.
- The first month focuses on induction to the museum, including introductions to key staff across the library and archive, curatorial, and engagement teams.
- Due to limited flexible display space, full exhibitions are not feasible, though RMG will work collaboratively with the resident to explore presentation possibilities within the Atlantic Worlds gallery.
- There is no fixed weekly on-site requirement; applicants propose a working pattern suited to their practice, alongside required attendance at key meetings, induction, and agreed public programme activities.
- RMG intends to document the residency process through film and photography and will maintain a legacy page on its website.
- Reasonable adjustments and alternative application formats are available on request via participation@rmg.co.uk; access needs will not affect assessment of the application.