Please note – this opportunity is with the brilliant Gladstone Connect Ltd, who have received Project Grant funding from Arts Council England to host a series of artist residencies at their centre. Peterborough Presents are supporting Gladstone Connect with recruiting artists & other creative support.
Gladstone Connect Ltd are looking for a professional creative who works with film / moving image to be in residence with their youth group, Youth Connect, at the Allama Iqbal Centre in Peterborough in September – November 2026. The work must respond to either or both of these themes: nature, justice.
The aim is to work with our Friday youth group to co-create a new piece of work which will be unveiled as part of the Allama Iqbal celebrations in November 2026.
The artist will co-create their work with the local community, and respond to the themes of Allama Iqbal’s poetry.
The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Sunday 23 August 2026.
About Youth Connect
Youth Connect is a vibrant youth group aged 8 and above, averaging about 15 regular attenders. Sessions run on Fridays, 4:30pm – 6:30pm at the Allama Iqbal Centre, which is managed by Gladstone Connect.
The group is diverse and reflective of the neighbourhoods of Millfield & Gladstone in Peterborough. Many of the young people face barriers to accessing high quality experiences, so Youth Connect is vital in providing opportunities to socialise, play games, learn, and gain skills.
About Allama Iqbal & The Allama Iqbal Festival
Together, Peterborough Presents, Gladstone Connect, The National Literacy Trust Peterborough, Gladstone Primary Academy, The Beeches Primary, Pakistan Community Association Peterborough, Salaam Radio, and a handful of passionate residents, are making an annual festival in Peterborough to celebrate Allama Iqbal as part of the international festivals and events that mark his birthday in November. Find out more about what we did in Year 1, and more info about Allama Iqbal himself, by clicking the button below.
What we want to achieve:
We would like the residency to be an active, participatory residency, where the artist will co-create a high quality piece, or pieces, involving Youth Connect members, and taking inspiration from the works of Allama Iqbal.
The young people voted on their favourite themes of Iqbal’s work. The top two themes they’d like to explore are nature and justice. Proposals can respond to one or both of these themes.
We are open to approaches and processes. We would like the end result to be showcased publicly between 5 – 10 November to be part of this year’s Allama Iqbal Festival Celebrations.
The artist will be supported by Centre Manager, Helen Walkinshaw, and additional support from Peterborough Presents Community Producer, Charley Genever.
Our passionate community panel can provide further insight into the works and history of Allama Iqbal if needed.
Fees and Timescale
Artists fees: £1,750
- This is what we will pay you
- This will equate to approx. 7 half-days’ work @ £250 per half-day
- We expect you to attend a minimum of 4 Youth Connect sessions between September and October
Production costs: up to £2,000
- This is what you will have to spend on workshop materials, the final output, and any other costs associated with making the parts of the project happen
Expenses (travel, accommodation): Up to £500
Workshops / development of the work will happen in September & October. Youth Connect sessions take place Fridays 4:30 – 6:30pm. We expect the work to be ready to be unveiled between 5 – 10 November (with 7/8/9 Nov being our preferred launch dates) as part of the city’s Allama Iqbal Festival celebrations.
How to apply
Make sure you download and read the full artist brief before making your application. Our Youth Connect members will be assessing applications. Please tailor your answers to the application questions to be suitable for children aged 8-16.
Please submit 3-4 examples of your work, your CV / biography, and answer the questions in the application form section of the artist brief. We will accept:
- A written application (e.g. word document or pdf)
- An audio application (e.g mp3 or wav format)
- A video application (e.g mp4 format)
Applications should be sent to: manager@gladstoneconnect.org
Deadline for applications is Sunday 23 August 2026
Please note we host our downloads via Google Drive. When you click on the link below, to download the documents, click on the Download option. This can usually be found under the File settings within the menu of Google Drive. If you have any problems, please email charley.genever@neneparktrust.org.uk to be sent a copy of the brief.
