Romhainn: Gaelic Arts Commission
Romhainn is a Gaelic arts commission from Taigh Chearsabhagh Trust, in partnership with PS2. We are looking for an artist-, writer-, or musician- in residence to spend time exploring multilingual futures, focussed on an exchange between Scottish Gàidhlig and Irish Gaeilge. This residency is a short, intensive period of playful experimentation and research rooted in decolonised language and placemaking.
This residency comprises two parts; one research exchange trip to PS2 in Belfast, and a working period at Taigh Chearsabhagh in Lochmaddy.
The residency workspace will be in our upstairs gallery, with adjoining darkroom and printmaking studio which is available for use. To conclude the research period, there is a production budget available to create a display appropriate to your practice, or host an event. Taigh Chearsabhagh staff will be available to support you in curating, planning and executing an installation or event.
This opportunity includes time in dialogue with a relevant artist or curator working with multilingual practice, to expand our thinking and make cross-cultural connections. There are two public facing events associated with this residency, including an introductory talk, and a concluding sharing event inviting the local community into the workspace to explore the results of your work.
This is a multidisciplinary call out for creative practitioners, and we welcome interest from artists with diverse practices including visual arts, writers, and musicians.
Expectations and specifics:
There will be a trip to Belfast 11th – 15th May 2026. You will travel with Susannah Bolton (Gaelic Engagement Curator) to visit PS2 and work with Jane Morrow (Co-Director / Strategic Vision and Development Curator) and Eimear NicRobeaird (Visual Artist / Gaeilgeoir).
The workspace is available during September 2026 with the research period worked flexibly as you wish during this time.
As part of the residency programme, the following deliverables are expected:
- Public artist talk or in-conversation
- 1-1 Research exchange session with relevant artist / curator
- Public sharing event to conclude the residency and/or installation of research material in workspace / gallery
Fees:
£3500 artist fee
£300 production budget
Travel and accommodation expenses for the Belfast visit will be reimbursed. If you are not based in Uist and require accommodation for the second part of the residency, please make this clear in your application so we can support you to find appropriate places to stay. There is £400 available towards travel and accommodation costs for the Lochmaddy residency.
How to apply:
To apply, please send up to 500 words or 4 minutes of audio describing your practice. We are interested to hear what your focus for the residency might be, and what media or format you usually work in. You can include links to your website, social media profile, or a pdf of recent work to contextualise your application. You can use Gaelic and/or English as you prefer.
Additionally, please include information on any travel, accommodation, or other access requirements you may require support for.
Applications will be reviewed by a panel consisting of staff from Taigh Chearsabhagh and PS2. The panel will consider
- the relevance of your ideas to the Romhainn theme
- the quality of your recent work
- the scope of your research within the timeframe
- your Gaelic language ability.
Applications should be sent to susannah@taigh-chearsabhagh.org before 23:59 on Sunday the 5th of April 2026. Decisions will be communicated by 16:00 on Friday the 10th of April.
If you have any questions, please email susannah@taigh-chearsabhagh.org
With special thanks to Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Creative Scotland for making this opportunity possible.
More Details: https://www.taigh-chearsabhagh.org/opportunities/
Organiser: Taigh Chearsabhagh Trust