Commons: A Festival of Shared Experience

As part of Stanley Arts’ annual ‘Commons’ Festival we are offering two £3000 commissions for two performance pieces to feature in this year’s programme. Commons is a festival of participatory dance, performance and participation across two weeks at the beginning of June 2026.

What are we looking for?

• Work which responds to the theme of ‘Common Ground’ and ‘Shared Experience’ 
• Performances which can be programmed across the first two weeks of June 2026 (with a particular focus on the weekends).
• Work which aligns with Stanley Arts’ vision 
• Work which can be performed in one of our spaces and accommodate an audience (we are open to using unusual spaces or different performance models)
• This can be a new idea or something that is already in development but not a fully finished piece
• Whilst Commons festival to date has focused on dance, we are open to live performance work in the fields of dance, movement, physical theatre and theatre.

What do I get?

• £3000 commission
• At least one performance as part of Commons Festival at Stanley Arts between 31 May and 14 June 2026.
• At least 5 days rehearsal space in Stanley Arts (dates and space to be discussed)
• Producing/Development support from the Stanley Arts team

Who is it for?

• We particularly welcome disabled artists, global majority artists and Croydon / South London based artists to apply

 How do I apply?

Please complete our application form which includes the following:

• where you are based
• where in Stanley Arts do you imagine your project could happen 
• a project outline (maximum 1000 words)
• a full budget 
• links to previous work
• Information about what you would do if you were successful in additional fundraising or we were able to increase the budget slightly? and, what you will deliver if you have just £3k to work with
• Please also complete our Equal Opportunities survey

All proposals should be sent by Friday 10 April, 5pm.

If you have a question or want to speak to someone about any details or access requirements or you would prefer to send a proposal in another format, i.e. as a video submission, then email info@stanleyarts.org