We are delighted to launch our 2026 open call for three paid Digital Artist Residencies.

Based at FACT in Liverpool, these 18-week residencies are open to early-career artists living in the North West of England and North Wales. Each resident will receive £4,500 to develop a digital artwork using Unreal Engine, supported by Lucid Games, DaDa (Disability and Deaf Arts), or Homotopia.

To hear more about the residencies, the application process, and ask any questions, sign up here for our Online Information Session on Friday 13 March from 17:30 to 18:30.

This open call is available in alternative formats:

• Black text on white background
• Black text on colour background
• Large print
• BSL
• Audio description

APPLY NOW
Deadline: Tuesday 31 March 2026, 23:59

Since 2020, FACT’s Digital Artist Residencies have supported over 20 early-career artists based in the North of England and North Wales to create new digital artworks. Artists have produced podcasts, live streams, games, animations, performances, short films, interactive artworks, workshops and more. With the opening of Studio/Lab in 2024, our new experimental, creative production space on the top floor of FACT, residencies are now hosted here, giving artists improved access to mentorship and technical equipment, more partnership-working across Liverpool, and a dedicated space to support their practice.   

For 2026, FACT will host 3 residencies for emerging artists based in the North West of England and North Wales with a digital arts practice. This year’s residencies focus on world-building and creative experimentation using Unreal Engine. Artists will receive structured technical workshops led by Lucid Games, alongside curatorial and creative mentoring from FACT and their chosen partner organisation.

No prior experience with Unreal Engine is required.

We are seeking applications from people with a variety of practices, interested in world-building and using Unreal Engine as a creative tool to make artworks that give audiences agency to alter narratives. This might involve:

• XR and immersive experiences
• Accessible digital worlds
• Unreal Sequencer to explore cinematic film techniques
• Interactive sound environments with Wwise
• Responsive hardware that interacts with the game engine. 

The three artworks produced during the residency will be presented on FACT’s Studio/Lab Exhibition Wall in Autumn 2026 and hosted on FACT’s website. Projects must be adaptable to a single screen-based presentation format.

You can apply with a project or idea you have already started or are working on; it does not need to be a new piece or commission.

We welcome applications from early-career artists who:

• Have been developing their practice for at least 2 years (including beyond formal education, where applicable)
• Are based in the North West of England or North Wales
• Are not currently full-time students (part-time postgraduate students may apply)

You may:

• Be at the beginning of your career
• Have taken a break from your practice
• Be shifting your work into a more digital direction

Each artist receives £4,500 total, including:

• £2,500 artist fee
• £1,000 production budget
• £500 presentation fee
• £500 integrated access support

In addition, artists receive:

• 18 weeks of structured development support
• 4 months Studio/Lab membership
• Curatorial and technical mentoring
• Unreal Engine workshops led by Lucid Games

Over 18 weeks, artists will receive:

• Full access to Studio/Lab
• Monthly Unreal Engine workshops with Lucid Games
• Bi-weekly 1–2–1 sessions with FACT and your chosen partner
• Group and individual crits
• Technical inductions and hands-on production support
• Dedicated guidance on embedding accessibility in digital work

APPLY NOW

To keep the application process accessible, we are initially asking for a short Expression of Interest and portfolio only. This process is designed to reduce pressure and encourage applications from artists who may feel excluded by traditional open call formats.

The expression of interest must include: 

1. Portfolio: this could be a PDF (maximum 5 pages), a website, or a link to your social media profile if that’s the best representation of your practice.
2. Overview: a short statement no more than 300 words, or an audio or video clip no more than 2 minutes, if you prefer to talk through your proposal rather than write it out. This should include:
   1. Information about your practice
   2. How you would like to use Unreal Engine as a creative tool to explore your ideas/concept
3. Acknowledgement that you’re happy to produce a version of your artwork for presentation at FACT.
4. Partner: please specify which partner you would like to support your residency (Lucid Games, DaDa, or Homotopia)
5. Access: please include any access requirements where applicable.
    

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a 15–20 minute Zoom call with FACT and their chosen partner (Lucid Games, DaDa or Homotopia). Final decisions will be made after these calls.

The deadline for proposals is 23:59 on Tuesday 31 March 2026. 

For more information, please read the FAQs. For any other questions, please contact studiolab@fact.co.uk with the subject line: Digital Artist Residency 2026: [Your Name]. 

FACT is flexible to the different circumstances in which people work. Once you are successful, we will contact you to ask a bit more about your access needs. 

Programme Access Measures Include: 

• Optional pre-programme support to design an Access Rider to outline your bespoke access needs 
• Plenty of personal work time built in around scheduled workshops and 1-2-1s
• Should you require a tailored payment structure, please contact us to discuss. The payment structure would be led by the artist.
• Scheduled workshops designed around embedding accessibility into digital artworks
• Welsh-language support available 
• Flexible participation (online and optional sessions)
• Additional mentoring can be built into the schedule

There are three paid residencies available for this open call, each with a different partner. Please let us know in your application which partner you would like to be supported by.

• Lucid Games Lucid Games is an award-winning Liverpool-based game development studio specialising in Unreal Engine. Lucid is eager to continue their partnership with FACT in supporting artists as they explore new ideas around gaming and interactive mediums. Whilst creativity and artistic pursuit are a core part of game development, Lucid is excited to see what themes and ideas might be explored as gaming and art become even more intertwined.
• DaDa is a leading voice in disability arts activism, delivering the longest-running Disability arts festival in the UK, DaDaFest International, and harnessing the ambition of disabled artists through artist development for over 40 years. DaDa is looking to support a disabled artist interested in exploring social justice and inclusion through a disability lens, and committed to creatively embedding accessibility into the project.
• Homotopia is the UK’s longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival and a year-round creative force showcasing courageous art since 2004. Homotopia is a Queer-led organisation that uplifts artists from the Liverpool City Region and around the globe through bold storytelling, cutting-edge public artworks, and inclusive artist development, because we believe art changes lives. Homotopia is interested in supporting an artist passionate about queer arts, culture, and activism.

FACT's 2026 Digital Artist Residencies are generously funded and supported by Lucid Games, Homotopia, DaDa and others.