Bursaries for Artists

Bursaries for Artists 2026

To date, we have awarded sixteen £2,500 Bursaries to Artists. The bursaries support recipients to develop and deliver projects around the region to enrich the creative journeys of young people. Each bursary recipient is supported by the Festival and a local organisation to deliver their projects.

Applications for 2027 bursaries will open in September 2026

2026 Cohort

Recipient: Alice Stallard
Location: Suffolk
Partner organisation: Noise of Art

Clouds Burst When I See You Smile is an art and science led, audio visual research and development project exploring sound as a tool for mark-making. Building on an existing analogue to digital process kit with the aim of increasing inclusivity in social engagement activities, Clouds Burst When I see You Smile offers unique and playful learning experiences for participants whilst supporting greater awareness and connectivity. Alongside the development of kit structure and facilitation process, Clouds Burst When I See You Smile will curate a short immersive AV piece which will be exhibited in partnership with Noise of Art.

Recipient: Charlotte Jolly
Location: Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire
Partner organisation: CUH Arts (Addenbrooke’s Hospital)

Roly Poly Play CIC makes participatory art with and for very young children and their caregivers. We aim to nurture, immerse, attune with and inspire audiences, always meeting them where they’re at. We celebrate every child’s voice in our creative approach. Our show Roly Poly is relaxing and highly engaging, featuring music, movement, ambient lighting and cardboard to transform community venues.

Recipient: Chris Yarnell
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Partner organisation: SPILL

Chris Yarnell is a multi-award-winning theatre-maker/ director/ magician. He specialises in visually and physically driven work through highly collaborative processes. His work has been seen at venues including SOHO Theatre, New Diorama, and New Wolsey Theatre.

Shadowplay is a place where imagination lives, where identity is explored, and where every young person can experiment with what is seen and what is imagination. We invite young people to explore light, movement, and illusion as tools for storytelling. Participants will create a performance – using lighting, projections, and physical theatre to transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary ones. Participants will learn how to build short movement-based scenes, use light and shadow to create illusions, and explore rhythm, pattern, and teamwork. The final piece will be presented as a short, informal sharing.

Recipient: Helen Vine
Locations: Norwich, Norfolk
Partner organisation: National Centre for Writing (NCW), Deaf Connexions (Norwich Deaf Centre), Norfolk Deaf Festival

This project delivers BSL-led poetry workshops for Deaf young people aged 11–18 in Norfolk, held at Norwich Deaf Centre and the National Centre for Writing between January and June 2026. Led in British Sign Language, the workshops centre Deaf culture and identity, using movement, rhythm and visual imagery to explore poetry. Participants will create short signed and visual poems inspired by Deaf poets, focusing on play, confidence and self-expression. The final session will record performances, with selected work shared at the Norfolk Deaf Festival 2026, celebrating Deaf-led creativity and community connection.

Recipient: Maddie Exton
Locations: Lowestoft, Suffolk
Partner organisation: First Light Festival

Maddie is an artist who cares deeply about class and place. Working across sculpture, drawing, film, and socially engaged projects, she explore themes of care, resilience, and the complexities of working-class identity.

Working with young people in Lowestoft, this project gives young artists a platform in Lowestoft’s cultural regeneration through creative workshops, dialogue, and a public exhibition. Exploring manifestos, affirmations and local priorities, participants will be invited to translate their thinking into flags and banners, which will go on to be showcased at First Light Festival. To further this conversation, Maddie will curate a panel discussion with the young artists as part of the festival’s talks programme, directly putting young people at the front and centre of a national stage.

Recipient: Natalya Martin
Location: Norwich, Norfolk
Partner organisation: Frozen Light

‘The Bubble Project’ will support young siblings of disabled children in Norwich, offering free creative and well-being sessions for children who often feel overlooked, worried, different or who simply need time for themselves. These children carry extra responsibilities at home, and their own feelings can stay hidden. Through arts, play and time with others who “get it”, the project gives them space to relax and feel seen. Alongside the sessions, Natalya will begin developing a new theatre piece, ‘Bubble’, shaped by real sibling stories. ‘The Bubble Project’ also aims to help teachers, families and communities understand the experiences and needs of young sibling carers.

Recipient: Russ Daff
Location:West Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire
Partner organisation:  Fulbourn Primary School

Tales of the Emotosphere Comic Art Workshops, led by artist Russ Daff and supported by clinical psychologist Dr. Susannah Redhead, invites children into the playful world of comic art where creativity rules. Using a “cosmic powers” framework from their graphic novel, children explore personal themes through drawing, comic jams, and storytelling games. The workshops combine art and psychology to help children understand thoughts and experiences while building confidence, communication, and collaboration. This fun, interactive approach nurtures self-expression and emotional wellbeing, empowering children to connect, create, and share creative strategies for understanding themselves and others.

Recipient:Tom Hobden
Location: Sudbury, Suffolk
Partner organisation: Gainsborough’s House

Tom Hobden’s project explores how children and young people can use projection mapping to express identity, creativity and self-representation. Working in partnership with Gainsborough’s House and its education artists, Tom is developing and testing new workshop models that blend digital art with inspiration from Thomas Gainsborough’s life and portraiture. Through mentoring, research and hands-on sessions with children aged 5–16, the project will trial accessible ways for young people to co-create digital artworks and see their ideas projected onto public spaces.

Previous Recipients

Find out more about previous bursary projects here

Bursaries for Young Creatives

Alongside the Bursaries for Artist we also award eight Bursaries for Young Creatives. These are for people aged 18-25 who are working in, or want to develop their skills in socially engaged practice.

Find out more about Bursaries for Young Creatives here