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The countdown is on to our first event!
The countdown is on to our first event!
Three performers in blue dresses and a little girl dance in the street

Liberty Open Call for Artistic Work: FAQs

What do you expect for each project/event band? 

The headline, large-scale and mid-scale projects/events should be creative pieces (rather than talks, panels or discussions). They could be presented live, or experienced as screenings, exhibitions, installations or engaged workshop-performances.  

The headline project/event is our headline event and should be a significant draw for all audiences.  If it’s a live event (as opposed to being an installation or exhibition), we would probably expect delivery twice.  

The large-scale and mid-scale project/events (up to £10,000 and £5,000) can be: 

  • Targeted at a general or a specific audience. If targeted at a specific audience, artists should demonstrate why there will be significant attendance from that audience. If they involve live delivery, these could be delivered once or twice.   Delivered ideally at the Battersea Arts Centre, and we would expect significant consideration to have been given to audience accessibility including in your budget, and timeline (if this would need to be developed).

The small-scale and micro projects/events (up to £1,500 or £500) could be: 

  • A presentation of work at an early stage (e.g. a proof of concept or scratch basis) where this will appeal to audiences
  • Delivery of existing creative work (e.g. exhibitions, screenings or installations of work you have previously developed)
  • Workshops, talks, panels, discussions and other engagement events

These could be designed with general appeal, or to appeal to a specific community. 

What are the key dates & deadlines? 

  • Tuesday 1 April
    • Call out opens
  • Thursday 1 May, 12pm (midday)
    • Application deadline
  • Friday 23 May
    • If you applied with other funding expected (but not confirmed), you must contact us by this date to inform us
  • Thursday 1 May – Friday 23 May 
    • Application Shortlisting
  •  Monday 26 May to Friday 06 June
    • We will get in touch with everyone to let them know the outcome of their application
    • Contracting & onboarding begins - please note that you will need to provide your project’s technical requirements and top-line risk assessment at the point of contracting
  • Monday 23 June - Friday 26 June
    • Public announcement of Liberty Festival lineup
  • June - August
    • Co-production period: artists working with schools & community groups
  • Wednesday 24 September - Sunday 28 September
    • Liberty Festival takes place

Who can apply? 

Liberty is for disabled people - by which we mean “all people who face disableist [including audist or neurotypist] barriers”, or “people who identify themselves as disabled and/or are identified by others as disabled in society”. To find out more about what we mean by this, please look at CRIPtic Arts' website here.

All projects will ideally be creatively led by disabled people. If this is not the case, you will be asked to explain how disabled people have shaped the project creatively. 

What work are you looking for? 

We want to hear from disabled creatives working across all art forms and disciplines. 

We are committed to supporting a diverse range of work — from intimate storytelling to large-scale productions, panel discussions to interactive workshops, craft events to art installations. Whether you are an emerging artist who has just created their first piece, or an established creative with a major new work, we want to hear from you. 

We welcome proposals of work that: 

  • Goes beyond tropes of disability — whether exploring the disabled experience past, present, or future, or using a crip lens to engage with broader themes that challenge societal norms and redefine artistic possibilities.
  • Is immersive, engaging and accessible, especially for disabled people.
  • Takes a creative approach to accessibility, ensuring work is inclusive and engaging.
  • Advocates for disabled people’s rights, highlighting issues, experiences, and triumphs through art.
  • Attracts new audiences to disability arts, reaching beyond traditional spaces and engaging the wider community.
  • Has the potential to tour across other UK and international arts festivals.
  • This opportunity is open to both individuals and organisations working in any artform, as long as the creative lead on the project is a disabled person.

 

Who should the work be for?

Your work could be aimed at a general audience - either the public, or disabled people specifically. It could also be aimed primarily at a certain age group (e.g. work for children). It could be aimed primarily at people with a particular shared impairment experience, or who share access barriers (e.g. a workshop for neurodivergent people). It could also be aimed primarily at disabled people who share other experiences (e.g. disabled people from the global majority). 

Having a particular experience, or making work about a particular experience doesn’t mean that this work is aimed primarily at that group. For example, an art exhibition featuring paintings of women, or a performance line-up of people with learning disabilities doesn’t mean that work is aimed primarily at people from those communities. 

Work should be accessible for disabled audiences, and you will need to have considered this - including elements such as captioning, British Sign Language interpretation, audio-description, audio recordings of text elements. Please read the ‘making work accessible to audiences’ section of the Access Funding and Disabled Creatives page here.

How complete does my work need to be? 

This call out is intended for the delivery of a completed project, so we’re looking for work that’s completed or in its latest stages of development.  If there are elements of the project still to be completed, we will ask for a brief timeline for completion of these with the festival dates in mind (Wednesday 24 - Sunday 28 September 2025). 

Can I have shared my work previously? 

Yes, absolutely, we are programming completed work, so you are welcome to have shared it previously or have it programmed for the future. 

What project costs do I need to budget for?

We would expect you to budget for the costs associated with delivering your project/event, including: 

  • Creative fees (performers, directors, panellists, workshop host).
  • Project / event materials.
  • Specialist technology & things that are not available as standard in venues.
  • Costs of making your work accessible to audiences (for events/projects applying for mid-scale projects and beyond).

What does Liberty funding provide?

We will provide: 

  • Venues & spaces.
  • Front of House and Technical Staff who will help to run events. Where staff require specialist knowledge,  or will take on a creative role (e.g. a lighting designer) we will require you to provide your own team.
  • Basic/Standard tech where it is included in venue hire, e.g. lighting rigs, PA system, projectors.
  • Marketing for the overall festival and all events running as part of it including but not limited to; website, event listings, social media posts, flyers, posters, press coverage.
  • Costs associated with project evaluation e.g. creating feedback forms, surveys, surveying audiences.

 For applications over £1,500, please budget for audience access, including BSL interpreters and audio-description services. While we ask you to plan for these costs, where possible, we will try to centralise expenses by booking interpreters for multiple events.

If you would like to propose a venue / space, we are open to this, however you may need to budget for this in your application. If you require specialist tech, or tech/materials that are not provided by the venue, you will need to cost this into your budget. 

What do you mean by “connection to Wandsworth”? 

Wandsworth’s year as London Borough of Culture (April 2025 to March 2026) is about celebrating the rich talent that Wandsworth has to offer and create lasting cultural investment in the borough. We’re therefore particularly interested in finding creatives who feel they have a strong personal or professional connection to Wandsworth.  

This may mean those who: 

  • Were born in Wandsworth.
  • Grew up in Wandsworth.
  • Have a family connection to Wandsworth.
  • Live in/are local to or have lived in Wandsworth.
  • Study/have studied in Wandsworth.
  • Work/have worked in Wandsworth.
  • Run/have run initiatives or community work in Wandsworth.

How do you assess applications? 

Liberty Festival is about showcasing disabled talent and creativity. We will be programming shows, events, workshops, installations, talks - this is about creating a great line up of events, not about artistic research and development.  

When reviewing applications, we’ll ask ourselves questions like: 

  • Does the project proposal fit with the vision of Liberty Festival?
  • Do the examples of previous work submitted show that the artist is working at an appropriate level to successfully deliver this creative project?
  • Have the applicants successfully delivered work of a similar scale or budget previously?
  • Are the production elements of this project feasible and practical (e.g. do budgets, plans and timelines seem reasonable, with everyone paid fairly)?
  • Have the applicants considered access for disabled audiences where relevant (especially for mid-scale projects/events and above) - please see our guide on access here.
  • How does this project fit with other projects we want to programme, and what does it add to the line-up for the festival?

A key priority for us is ensuring there is work in as many artforms as possible, for as many audiences as possible, and the final projects/events will be awarded to create a festival that reflects this ambition. Our decisions will be based on that, not just on the individual idea or project. 

Don’t worry about neuro-normative applications and what you think is “expected” in terms of spelling, grammar and structure - your application will be read by a disabled team and will be assessed on its creative or organisational merits. Just tell us about the things we’ve asked you to tell us about, in the way that works best for you. 

What support is available to me when I apply? 

We accept applications via Google Form, Word document, or audio or video file (in spoken English or BSL). We are also able to support applicants with transcribing answers on a 1:1 Zoom call. 

Our goal is to assess the creative idea, not neuro-normative standards of “ideal answers.” A diverse team, including disabled and non-disabled members, will read your application. It won't be judged based on spelling, grammar, or structure but on your proposal's content. 

Your application doesn't need to be perfect. If we consider your proposal but have questions, we will ask you for more details. 

We hope that by creating such an open application process, there are accessible ways for everyone to apply. We cannot provide or fund individualised access support for applications beyond this.  

If you have any queries about this, please contact us at [javascript protected email address] to discuss. 

 

Watch the BSL Application Form here