Open Call: Creative Practitioners Sought for Community Land Scotland's Cultural Programme
Community Land Scotland is inviting artists and creative practitioners to take part in a new programme of community engagement work, as part of its Creative Scotland-funded Cultural Programme, “What Next for Scotland?”
Running for 24 months until December 2027, the Cultural Programme uses creative methods to explore land, power and place across rural and urban Scotland, helping communities reflect on their relationship to land amid climate change, social inequality and political change.
This call out is for the Programme’s Community Engagement strand, which will see artists and creative practitioners co-create with communities across the country to develop creative responses to these themes.
We’re looking for Artists and Creative Practitioners working in any medium – visual art, performance, digital, participatory or socially engaged practice – with experience of, or a strong interest in, community-based work.
Key dates
Applications close:
12 October 2026 at 14:00
Interviews:
Week commencing 19 October 2026
How to apply
Applicants should include a CV, a statement about their approach to community participation and details of why they have selected the specific group to work with.
The opportunity
Each residency pairs one creative practitioner with one community group, to help that community engage its own people in a live, real-world process, whether that’s shaping a Local Place Plan, rebuilding shared understanding of a community trust’s role, documenting a community’s story, or exploring what ownership and membership mean from the very start of a buyout journey.
We are deliberately not prescribing what the creative output should be. We’re looking for practitioners who can work with each community to co-create the right creative process for their situation.
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 group 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
- Get to know your paired community group and work with them to map out a realistic timeframe and engagement programme for your residency.
- Through that early period, clarify together what the process is looking to deliver - this will differ across the four residencies.
- Lead a creative community engagement process that responds to the community's pace, geography and priorities, rather than a fixed template.
- 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 community.
The Outcomes
- A meaningful and impactful community engagement project, fitting the requirements and brief co-created by the community group, Community Land Scotland and the successful candidate.
- Materials that document the process, participation and outcomes of the project at every stage. 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
The four residencies are flexible, depending on the groups involved. It will be for the creative practitioner to work flexibly, to ensure that timelines work for the group first and foremost, as well as for Community Land Scotland.
This could happen over one fixed timeframe, or alternatively in stages over a longer period, as best suits the creative programme being adopted.
However, all projects must be completed by the end of November 2027, to allow for evaluation and the creation of case studies.
The groups
We will be working with 4 community groups across Scotland – from the Highlands to the Northern Isles, South Ayrshire to Skye.
Go Girvan!
Kinlochleven Community Trust
Uig Community Trust
Muckle Roe Community Enterprise
Fee & Support
Each residency includes an artist fee of £4000, 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.
Who can apply
Open to artists and creative practitioners based in Scotland. We would particularly like to hear from creative practitioners who enjoy co-created work.
What we’ll ask
We will ask for a CV as well as some examples of your 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 community you’re applying to work with.
Essential
- An established track record of co-creating 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).
- 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
- Knowledge or awareness of community ownership in Scotland.
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.