August 2026
Cove Park's Awarded Residencies continue with the return of visual artists Anne-Marie Copestake and Anne Hardy. They are joined by visual artist Soorin Shin, recipient of the 2026 Emerging Visual Artist Residency supported by The Bridge Awards.
Working in collaboration with leading national and international cultural organisations, Cove Park's Partnership Residencies include the Edinburgh Art Festival Residency, providing time for artist, performer, and director Magnus Westwell and movement artist Océane Robin to develop the new work 'Caught Hold of Nothing' for the Festival.
Our first Creative Compass Georgia Residency saw the arrival of documentary filmmaker Ana Barjadze, and we are also delighted to work with the Dutch Foundation for Literature and Modern Culture to welcome literary translators Shimanto Reza and Quaid Cey.
August's Open Residencies bring creative practitioners from across Scotland and the UK, Dubai, Ireland, and Italy. Residents include: interdisciplinary artist Noura Alserkal; performer and creator of multidisciplinary performance Claire Cunningham; writer and creative writing facilitator Joanne Derrick; theatre director, writer, and dramaturg Sarah Fielding; writer and translator Vincenzo Latronico; ceramic artist Laura Lightbody with visual artist Kerry McGhee; poet Paul Maddern; visual artist Charlie Prodger; and interdisciplinary artist, musician, and lecturer Jennifer Wicks.
Read on for the call for applications for our next Loch Long Crime Writing Residency and the Design Ecologies Residency, the announcement of this year's Smith Residency, and details of our partnership with Sound Lab on the New Sounds Academy Residency. We're also pleased to share news of our participation in the national Doors Open Day in September, the next workshops in our new series of Saturday Studios, and an Open Studio event in September with photographer Joseph Wilson.
Image: The Bridge at Cove Park (photography, Alan Dimmick).
Loch Long Crime Writing Residency 2026
Call for Applications
We are pleased to accept applications for the fourth edition of the Loch Long Crime Writing Residency, a fully funded opportunity for Scotland-based writers developing new work in crime fiction.
This year, the dates for this two-week residency are flexible and we will work with the appointed writer to select dates appropriate for them before the end of March 2027. Learn more and apply here by Monday 21 September.
Scotland has a strong tradition of crime writing and many internationally acclaimed contemporary authors based in Scotland are known for their work in this genre. Former recipients of this residency include Caro Carver, Callum McSorley, and Claire Wilson. This programme builds upon our ongoing commitment to the development of new writing in Scotland and is made possible with support from Cove Park's Patron programme.
Image: Loch Long (photography, Ruth Clark)
Design Ecologies Residency 2027
Call for Applications
Applications are now open for Design Ecologies 2027! This month-long funded residency is open to practitioners based in Sweden working with questions of ecology, agriculture, food production, rural contexts and community organising. The programme particularly welcomes practices within design, craft and spatial approaches, with a focus on developing and implementing just, circular and sustainable methods.
This residency is scheduled to take place 17 May – 17 June 2027. Learn more and apply by 9 September via the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.
Design Ecologies developed from Food Ecologies, a pilot residency exchange programme between Scotland and Sweden. It is a partnership between Cove Park and IASPIS, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s international Programme for Visual and Applied Arts.
Image: Cove Park Cubes (photography, Ruth Clark)
Autumn Micro Residencies 2026
Call for Applications
As part of our ongoing commitment to offering subsidised rates for our Open Residencies - in alignment with our Equalities, Diversity, Inclusion Policy and Action Plan - we are delighted to once again launch our seasonal Micro Residencies programme of short, subsidised four night residencies in October and November 2026.
Micro Residencies are an ideal opportunity to meet an upcoming deadline or to focus upon new projects and research. The short time frame can also suit other work/life commitments or caring responsibilities.
The dates available include:
- Monday 5 October – Sunday 11 October
- Monday 12 October – Sunday 18 October (limited availability)
- Monday 19 October – Sunday 25 October
- Monday 2 November – Sunday 8 November (limited availability)
- Monday 23 November – Sunday 29 November
Costs begin at £75/night. Members of Cove Park's Associates programme, for former residents, will continue to benefit from an additional discount.
Apply here. For more information, please contact Nicola Jamieson (Producer – Open Residencies).
Image: Cove Park in the autumn (photography, Alan Dimmick).
Programme Announcement
The Smith Residency 2026
The Smith Residency is a residency for a visual artist and recent graduate of either The Glasgow School of Art, Goldsmiths University of London, or University of the Arts London.
We are delighted to announce the third residency in this series has been awarded to René Lazový. Rene is a Slovak artist based in London whose multidisciplinary practice spans photography, sculpture, painting, installation and drawing. His work explores the relationship between human perception and the material world, often engaging with contemporary philosophy, ecology, technology, identity, migration and the legacies of post-socialist experience.
Previous Smith Residencies were awarded to Tamsin MacArthur in 2024 and Anouk Verviers in 2025. We are very grateful to Cove Park Patrons, the Smith family, for making this programme possible.
Image: René Lazový, Double Displacement, 2024 (courtesy of the artist).
New Sounds Academy 2027
This month we worked in partnership with The Sound Lab on its New Sounds Academy, a one-year professional development programme for care-experienced musicians aged between 16 - 30.
First launched in 2021, New Sounds Academy was created to support emerging musicians who face barriers to establishing their careers. Through opportunities to record with professional producers, release original music, perform live, gain radio exposure and build industry networks, participants are equipped with the skills, experience and confidence needed to refine their sound and advance their practice.
This edition of the programme included a micro residency at Cove Park, where participants Ciara, Lyvi, Fin and Nikan worked with musician and singer-songwriter Kitti, composer, producer, and guitarist Dorian Cloudesley, and New Sounds Academy graduate Josh Apollo
Maguire on workshops covering vocal development, live performance, music production, independent songwriting and beat-making.
A blog on the residency is available here. We are grateful to Rollo Strickman, The Sound Lab's Programme & Development Manager, and Adam Khettabi, Programme Coordinator, for their support.
Image: Ciara at Cove Park (courtesy of The Sound Lab).
Shore Photography Residency: Open Studio
18 September 2026
Please join us on Friday 18 September at 4pm for an Open Studio event with photographer Joseph Wilson.
Joseph Wilson uses photography to explore interactions between perception, memory, and the material world through the sustained observation of the places and things which bear our trace. Through this practice he asks of memory, of the world around us, and of photographs themselves: what is it that persists?
This free event forms part of Joseph’s two-week residency at Cove Park where he will work with makeshift materials, lenses, and the local environment to stage encounters whereby projected and physical worlds reveal and illuminate one another.
Space is very limited. Please reserve your free place by emailing Alex Marrs (Senior Producer – Awarded Residencies).
This is the second year of the Shore Photography Residency, made possible with generous support from Cove Park’s Patron Programme and the Hope Scott Trust.
Image: Silver gelatin print, Joseph Wilson, July 2025. From the series 'Bound'
Doors Open Day
19 September 2026
Cove Park will also take part in this year's Doors Open Day, opening our doors for workshops and tours on Saturday 19 September 2026 from 10am - 4pm.
In the spirit of this year’s Doors Open Day Theme, Heritage at Risk, we’re inviting you to join us for a drop-in finger knitting session where all you will need are your hands. Knitting is one of the oldest crafts in the world, passed down through generations by hand and by word of mouth. Finger knitting is a great introduction to the craft and it’s a perfect way to feel the rhythm and meditative quality of knitting for the first time. Register your participation via our Ticket Tailor page.
If you would like to visit for a tour of Cove Park and require further information on Doors Open Day please contact Rona Grierson.
Image: The Jacobs Building (photography, Tracy Bloxham)
Saturday Studios – Folk Tales:
Collaging Our Stories
31 October 2026
Join Collective Home Embedded Artist Carina NicHaouchine in a workshop where participants will have the chance to create folk tales of their own. Folk stories often come from reimagining everyday domestic life and reconstructing memories, and together participants will shape these into something fantastical.
Drawing from Scottish and Kabyle (an ethnic group native to the mountainous Kabylia region of Algeria) aural storytelling traditions, the workshop will explore little-known folk tales, how they have lingered and how we can share and preserve our own mythology – creating magical documentations through collage.
Two workshops will take place on 31 October for children and their accompanying adults. For further information and to reserve your free place, please visit our Ticket Tailor page.
Image courtesy of Emma Henderson.
Saturday Studios: Building Home
5 December
Join Cove Park's Embedded Artist Kenny Glenaan for an immersive workshop connected to the concept of home. Kenny is a theatre maker and filmmaker based in Renfrewshire and developing work in Argyll.
During the workshop participants can create a character, form a family, build a home, go on a journey, meet strangers, build a community. Taking the idea of what ‘home’ means this is a two-hour interactive physical theatre workshop for everybody – of all abilities – in which everyone will play everything!
Two workshops for children and their accompanying adults will take place on 5 December. For further information and to reserve your free place, please visit our Ticket Tailor page.
Image courtesy of Emma Henderson.
Cove Park Friends & Patrons
Cove Park is proud to have a growing community of supporters who believe in the vital work we do to promote national and international cultural exchange and ensure our local rural community has access to innovative and creative learning opportunities as well as protecting the biodiversity of our site.
By becoming a Friend or Patron of Cove Park, you will help us to enrich arts, culture and creativity in Argyll and across Scotland, support the global exchange of ideas through our artist residences and save the natural heritage of Cove Park as a space for everyone to enjoy. Wherever you are, you will know your donation is making a vital contribution to the work of Cove Park and our support of artists. If Cove Park and our work means something to you, please consider becoming a Friend today. Learn more and join here.
If you are based in the United States, you can join our American Friends of Cove Park, our tax-effective annual giving programme.
Image: Cove Park Summer Dinner (photography, Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
