Artist Residency Opportunity
The Allama Iqbal Project
Deadline: Sunday 24 August 2025 at 11:59pm
In partnership with Gladstone Connect, The Allama Iqbal Centre, the Pakistani Community Association, Peterborough Presents are seeking an Artist, Creative Practitioner, or Creative Collective to create a new piece of work inspired by the poetry of influential poet Allama Iqbal.
Information about this opportunity is available in two different formats.
• An audio recording
• A downloadable word document
Timeline
Closing Date for Applications – 24th August 2025
Artists chosen by week of 1 September 2025
September – October 2025 – residency takes place, work created
Saturday 8 November 2025 – work unveiled as part of a weekend celebration for Allama Iqbal Day
The Brief
We are looking for an artist to undertake a short residency at the Allama Iqbal Centre in the heart of the Millfield and Gladstone Communities.
We would like the residency to be an active, participatory residency, where the artist will co-create a piece, or pieces, inspired by both the community and the works of Allama Iqbal.
Allama Iqbal (1877 -1938) was a philosopher and poet, recognised as the national poet of Pakistan. His poetry explores themes of community, nature, social justice, khudi (self-realisation), imagination, and spirituality.
Our community panel member Numra has created a brilliant overview of the works of Allama Iqbal. This is available to download below.
We are open to approaches and processes, and do not have a particular art-form in mind. We would like the end result to be displayed at height in the window panels, wood panels, or hanging from the ceiling of the Iqbal Centre.
The artist will be supported by the Peterborough Presents team, Access Coordinator Julie Fernandez, and our passionate community panel who can provide insight and routes into different communities to engage with you during your residency, as well as insight into the works and history of Allama Iqbal.
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.
Download the full brief and application questions
as a Microsoft Word document (.docx)
Download the Allama Iqbal Info Sheet
as a pdf
Listen to the full brief
as an audio file
Download the Application Questions
as an audio file
Easy Read Information
as a word doc
Selection Criteria
Artists with at least 5 years’ experience of working with communities (either as an artist, or transferrable skills in a non-arts setting)
Artists who are part of the South Asian diaspora.
We particularly welcome applications from artists who have a personal connection to the area / region.
We particularly welcome applications from artists who are familiar with Allama Iqbal’s works, although this is not a requirement.
Artists of all disciplines are welcome to apply, but we imagine the artwork made will be either: visual art, street art, poetry, photography, craft, 3D art or sculpture.
Artist(s) who are passionate about helping people to tell their stories or express opinions.
Artists with experience of delivering high quality engagement as well as high quality artistic outputs.
Budget + Fees
A total of £3000 will be awarded to the commissioned artist / organisation.
We anticipate artists will spend approximately 10 days working on the project.
The £3000 fee is inclusive of any costs associated with designing the work.
An additional budget of £1700 is also available to support the production, installation and maintenance of the final work.
There is a separate budget of £500 available to support access and/or travel costs.
Independent artists must have their own Public Liability Insurance and be registered as self-employed. Please note: artists who are not currently registered as self-employed, but are actively seeking to become registered, can contact the Peterborough Presents team for support in this process. It is important to note that we cannot pay artists who are not registered, so if you are unsure or have any questions, please get in touch with us before you apply.
Artists must also be available to take part in reflective and evaluative discussions about their work, during and at the end of the project.
How To Apply
Applications will be assessed by a panel of community representatives, working with the Peterborough Presents team. Our decision-making panel, while champions of Millfield and its local arts and community offer, have no formal training in the arts. We advise all applicants to refrain from using jargon and terminology which isn’t easily understood by a non-specialist audience in their application.
Please note that shortlisted artists may be invited to an informal interview over Zoom with the community panel. More details of this will be released, should you be shortlisted.
Please submit 3-4 examples of your work, any links to website/social media, fill in our anonymous equality monitoring form, and answer the following questions.
1. Tell us about your recent experience as an artist. This can include any professional experience or paid work.
2. Tell us about a time where you’ve worked directly with communities to inform the work you were making.
3. Tell us about any initial ideas you’ve had and how you will approach this commission.
4. Why do you want to work on this project?
Please send us 3 – 4 examples of your work & links to websites/social media
Ways to apply:
• A written application in a doc or pdf format
• An audio application in mp3 or wav format
• A video application in mp4 format
Applications should be sent to: peterboroughpresents@neneparktrust.org.uk
Deadline: Sunday 24 August 2025 at 11:59pm