Call Out: Storytelling Commissions for Community Land Scotland’s Cultural Programme
Three residencies. Six communities. Three languages. One shared ambition: to bring creative storytelling into the heart of community ownership, in Scots, in Gàidhlig and in English.
The Opportunity
Each residency pairs one creative practitioner with two community groups, working across a shared language strand, to help those communities capture and share their own stories – whether that’s the story of a buyout, a community’s history and heritage, or everyday life and belonging in the place today.
We are deliberately not prescribing what the creative output should be, or what language forms it should take beyond the strand’s core language. We’re looking for practitioners who can work with each community to co-create the right storytelling process for their situation, and who can hold two parallel community relationships within one residency.
Each group will shape a brief alongside Community Land Scotland, setting out the desired outcomes for the process, and will then work with the creative practitioner to shape the right approach.
We will ask you to indicate which language strand and pairing of groups you are applying to work with.
What is Culture Collective
The programme is one of 23 Scotland-wide projects awarded funding through Culture Collective supported by Creative Scotland. Funded by the Scottish Government, Culture Collective places creativity at the heart of community development, supporting artists and organisations to work directly with communities, repond to local priorities and create paid opportunities for creative practitioners.
What You’ll Do
Key dates
Applications close:
12 October 2026 at 14:00
Interviews:
Week commencing 19 October 2026
How to apply
Applicants should include a CV, and a statement about your work.
We also ask you to highlight work that has been co-created, we’d love to fully understand your approach and experience, as well as indicating which language strand and pairing of groups you wish to work with and why.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss access requirements for the application process itself, contact Iain.
Apply now
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Get to know both of your paired community groups and work with them to map out a realistic timeframe and engagement programme for your residency across both. -
Through that early period, clarify together what the process is looking to deliver for each group – this will differ across the two, even within a shared language strand. -
Lead a creative storytelling process, rooted in the strand’s language, that responds to each community’s pace, geography and priorities, rather than a fixed template. -
Find the right balance between working with each group individually and, where it makes sense to both communities, bringing the pairing together. -
Document the work as it unfolds and gather evaluation materials, using a shared framework agreed with Community Land Scotland. This will feed into a set of case studies for the wider community land movement to learn from. -
Report to Community Land Scotland’s Cultural Programme Manager, who oversees the programme, while working independently day-to-day and collaboratively with your paired communities.
The Outcomes
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Two meaningful and impactful community storytelling projects, fitting the requirements and brief co-created by each community group, Community Land Scotland and the successful candidate. -
To be performed once with the community, as well as performed to be filmed for the www.100year.scot archive. We will also look at possibilities for additional performances with the 2027 Storytelling Festival. -
Materials that document the process, participation and outcomes of the work at every stage, in the strand’s language. Details of this, and the framework for evaluation data, will be made clear and simple for all participants, and provided at the start of the project.
Timeline
Each residency is flexible, depending on the two groups involved. It will be for the creative practitioner to work flexibly, to ensure that timelines work for both communities first and foremost, as well as for Community Land Scotland.
This could happen over one fixed timeframe shared across both groups, or in stages over a longer period, as best suits the storytelling work being developed with each community.
However, all projects must be completed by the end of May 2027 to allow for evaluation and the creation of case studies.
What we’ll ask
We will ask for a CV as well as some examples of your past work. In addition, we will ask you for the following statements:
- About your approach to community engagement work / co-creation
- Why you’ve selected this group, how it relates to your current practice.
- A statement about your current understanding of the communities you’re applying to work with.
Who We’re Looking For
Essential
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An established track record of co-creating storytelling or creative work with community groups. -
Current PVG Scheme membership, or willingness to apply for this before starting (Community Land Scotland will cover the cost). -
A genuine passion for community empowerment and action. -
Willingness and ability to travel, and to work flexibly and responsively to each community’s own pace and needs (some residencies involve remote or island travel and working across two communities within one residency). -
A track record of running a project to budget and within agreed financial constraints. You will be supported in planning this work by Community Land Scotland’s Cultural Programme Manager and Business Support Officer.
Desirable
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Knowledge or awareness of community ownership in Scotland. -
Fluency or a strong working knowledge of Gàidhlig is desirable for the Gaelic-strand residency, and fluency or a strong working knowledge of Scots language and storytelling traditions is desirable for the Scots-strand residency.
The Residencies
Each residency is paired with one of the following community groups:
Bays of Harris Community Estate, South Harris, Outer Hebrides
Bays of Harris is a 27,000-acre community land buyout, backed by a 2026 Scottish Land Fund award following a 14-year community campaign, with completion of the purchase expected shortly. As the estate moves from campaign to community ownership, this residency is an opportunity to work with its members – around 250 at the last count – to capture and share the story of the buyout and what community ownership means for the Bays going forward.
Uig Development Trust, Timsgarry, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Uig Development Trust serves the Uig district of Lewis, acting as landlord for the Timsgarry Community Shop and recently taking on land for new business units for local entrepreneurs. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to tell the story of the area’s development journey and its connection to land and enterprise..
A’ the Airts, Sanquhar, Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries & Galloway
A’ the Airts is a community-owned arts and crafts centre in Sanquhar, run by the Upper Nithsdale Arts & Crafts Community Initiative, and home to café, gallery, theatre and workroom space – as well as the area’s distinctive Sanquhar pattern knitwear tradition. This residency is an opportunity to work in Scots with the centre and its community to capture local heritage, craft and story.
Largo Communities Together
Largo Communities Together is a community charity working across Largo, Lundin Links, Woodside, New Gilston, Newburn and Drumeldrie, looking to bring Largo House and its historic estate back into community use, alongside the restoration of Largo Pier. This residency is an opportunity to work in Scots with the community to capture the story of the community and their journey to find a shared ambition for the future.
East Kilbride Community Trust, South Lanarkshire
East Kilbride Community Trust manages community land and assets across two sites – K-Woodlands and K-Park at Calderglen Country Park – supporting recreation, horticulture, health and education in the town. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to tell the story of these spaces and what they mean to the people who use them.
Portree & Braes Community Trust, Isle of Skye
Portree & Braes Community Trust holds land formerly part of the Lord MacDonald estate, including a community car park, woodland and allotments, and is developing a new community hub building beside the King George V Playing Fields. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to document its growth and the story behind its plans for the new hub.
Bays of Harris Community Estate, South Harris, Outer Hebrides
Bays of Harris is a 27,000-acre community land buyout, backed by a 2026 Scottish Land Fund award following a 14-year community campaign, with completion of the purchase expected shortly. As the estate moves from campaign to community ownership, this residency is an opportunity to work with its members – around 250 at the last count – to capture and share the story of the buyout and what community ownership means for the Bays going forward.
Uig Development Trust, Timsgarry, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Uig Development Trust serves the Uig district of Lewis, acting as landlord for the Timsgarry Community Shop and recently taking on land for new business units for local entrepreneurs. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to tell the story of the area’s development journey and its connection to land and enterprise..
A’ the Airts, Sanquhar, Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries & Galloway
A’ the Airts is a community-owned arts and crafts centre in Sanquhar, run by the Upper Nithsdale Arts & Crafts Community Initiative, and home to café, gallery, theatre and workroom space – as well as the area’s distinctive Sanquhar pattern knitwear tradition. This residency is an opportunity to work in Scots with the centre and its community to capture local heritage, craft and story.
Largo Communities Together
Largo Communities Together is a community charity working across Largo, Lundin Links, Woodside, New Gilston, Newburn and Drumeldrie, looking to bring Largo House and its historic estate back into community use, alongside the restoration of Largo Pier. This residency is an opportunity to work in Scots with the community to capture the story of the community and their journey to find a shared ambition for the future.
East Kilbride Community Trust, South Lanarkshire
East Kilbride Community Trust manages community land and assets across two sites – K-Woodlands and K-Park at Calderglen Country Park – supporting recreation, horticulture, health and education in the town. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to tell the story of these spaces and what they mean to the people who use them.
Portree & Braes Community Trust, Isle of Skye
Portree & Braes Community Trust holds land formerly part of the Lord MacDonald estate, including a community car park, woodland and allotments, and is developing a new community hub building beside the King George V Playing Fields. This residency is an opportunity to work with the Trust and its community to document its growth and the story behind its plans for the new hub.
Fee & Support
Each residency includes an artist fee of £3500, paid in line with Fair Work principles, plus a separate budget for travel and access costs covering work with both paired community groups. We expect all practitioners to work within an agreed budget for the project, with support from our staff team.
Every practitioner we take on is provided with Community Land Scotland’s Artist & Freelancer Handbook, covering our organisation, working practices, safeguarding and procedures, so you have everything you need to get started with confidence.
Our Commitment
Community Land Scotland is committed to Fair Work and to widening who gets to shape Scotland’s land story. We particularly welcome applications from practitioners based in, or with strong connections to, the communities above, and from those currently underrepresented in the arts and cultural sector.
For more information or informal queries, contact Iain Craig, Cultural Programme Manager.