Applications Open
Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation invites applications from creative, cultural, research and ecological practitioners internationally for selected, self-funded residencies of between four and eight weeks at G.A.S. Lagos or the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ, Ogun State.
We welcome artists and cultural practitioners alongside researchers, scientists and specialists working across fields including visual arts, photography, film, architecture, design, fashion and textiles, ceramics and making, performance, writing, curating, publishing, agroecology, regenerative agriculture, soil science, food systems, biodiversity, environmental research and sustainable ecology.
Applicants do not need to define themselves primarily as artists. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary practices and proposals that create meaningful exchange between artistic, cultural, scientific and land-based forms of knowledge.
At a Glance
- Who can apply: Creative, cultural, research and ecological practitioners internationally
- Residency length: 4–8 weeks
- Residency period: April 2027 – July 2028
- Locations: G.A.S. Lagos or G.A.S. Farm House, Ikiṣẹ, Ogun State
- Programme: Competitive, selected and self-funded
- Applications open: 5 October 2026
- Applications close: 7 December 2026
- Successful Awardees notified by: 26th January 2027
[Download Info Pack]. [Apply Here]
About the Residency
The G.A.S. International Research & Creative Residency provides focused time and space for research, experimentation, fieldwork, reflection, knowledge exchange and the development of practice. A residency might provide the starting point for a new area of research or work; allow an existing project to develop within a different context; support field-based or material enquiry; create opportunities for exchange with practitioners and communities; or provide sustained time to think, write, observe, test and explore.
We do not expect residents to arrive with a predetermined finished outcome. What matters is the quality of the enquiry, why undertaking that work at G.A.S. would be meaningful, and how the particular contexts of Lagos or the Farm House could contribute to its development.
Our Strands of Inquiry
Applications should demonstrate a meaningful relationship to one or more of G.A.S.’s three strands of inquiry. We particularly welcome proposals that make connections across them and bring different disciplines and forms of knowledge into conversation.
Ecology, Farming and Food: This strand explores relationships between creative practice, environmental research, land, agriculture, food and ecological knowledge. We welcome artists, researchers, scientists and practitioners working across areas including agroecology, regenerative agriculture, soil health, biodiversity, food systems, climate adaptation, plant knowledge, land use and environmental change. We are particularly interested in approaches that bring different knowledge systems into conversation, including scientific research, agricultural practice, lived and locally held knowledge, oral histories and creative practice.
Materiality, Craft and Identity: This strand explores materials and processes of making as sites of knowledge, experimentation and cultural exchange. It might encompass ceramics, textiles and fibre, natural and manufactured materials, architecture and design, traditional and contemporary craft, material histories, fashion and processes of production, alongside questions of place and identity. We also welcome research into the origins, life cycles and sustainability of materials and work that connects material culture with ecology, agriculture and resource use.
Archives and Publishing: This strand considers how knowledge and cultural memory are created, preserved, interpreted and circulated. It encompasses archival and library research, writing, photography, film, oral histories, publishing and editorial practice, research methodologies and experimental approaches to documentation and knowledge production. This might also include ecological archives, agricultural histories, environmental data, field notes and other forms through which scientific, cultural and place-based knowledge is recorded and shared.
Applicants do not need to address all three strands. A strong proposal may focus closely on one or explore relationships between several.
Choosing Your Residency Location
Applicants should identify which G.A.S. site provides the most relevant context for their proposed residency and explains their choice within the application. Residents will be based primarily at their selected site. Where relevant to their research, and subject to programme and logistical availability, opportunities may arise to visit or spend time at the other G.A.S. location.
G.A.S. Lagos: G.A.S. Lagos provides a live/work environment within one of Africa's most dynamic cultural centres. Residents can draw on Lagos's extensive artistic, cultural and professional networks and undertake research, meetings, visits and exchange across the city. The site also houses the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive, providing an important resource for artists, curators, writers, researchers and others engaging with visual culture, art histories, archives, publishing and knowledge production.
Lagos may be particularly appropriate for practices concerned with urban space, architecture, photography, visual and material culture, archives, publishing, cultural research and engagement with the city and its communities.
G.A.S. Farm House, Ikiṣẹ: The G.A.S. Farm House provides a rural environment in Ogun State for sustained research, observation, fieldwork, reflection and making in close proximity to the land. It is particularly suited to practitioners concerned with ecology, agroecology, farming and food; regenerative agriculture; soil and biodiversity; ceramics and material experimentation; craft; textiles and fibre; landscape; environmental research; sustainability and natural materials.
The Farm House offers opportunities to engage with its working landscape, agricultural systems and surrounding communities, and to explore relationships between environmental research, creative practice and locally held knowledge. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary enquiries that bring artists into dialogue with scientists, growers, farmers, researchers, cooks, makers and environmental practitioners.
Residency Fees and What They Support
The G.A.S. International Research & Creative Residency is a selected, self-funded programme. There is no fee to apply. Residency fees become payable only once an applicant has been selected and formally offered a place. The residency fee supports the full residency experience at G.A.S., rather than accommodation alone. It enables us to provide residents with accommodation, professional and pastoral support, local knowledge, logistical assistance, security and access to G.A.S.'s networks and resources.
4 weeks - £4,750
6 weeks - £7,125
8 weeks - £9,500
International applicants may be provided with an indicative USD equivalent. Payment terms and the applicable currency will be confirmed at the point of offer.
The residency fee includes:
- accommodation and housekeeping at the relevant G.A.S. site;
- access to shared workspace and residency facilities appropriate to the selected location;
- access to the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive and, where relevant, facilities and resources at the Farm House;
- airport concierge support on arrival and departure in Nigeria;
- airport transfers between the airport and the relevant G.A.S. residency site at the beginning and end of the residency;
- visa application support, including appropriate supporting documentation and guidance;
- ongoing residency and pastoral support from the G.A.S. team;
- local orientation and logistical support, including assistance with meetings, visits and relevant research activity;
- introductions to relevant practitioners, researchers, scientists, artists, organisations, institutions and communities within G.A.S.'s wider networks, where appropriate;
- scheduled local transport support and shared access to the G.A.S. car and driver, subject to the arrangements at each site;
- security personnel at both G.A.S. Lagos and the G.A.S. Farm House;
- communications and documentation support connected with the residency; and
- support for an appropriate form of public or professional exchange, which might include a conversation, workshop, presentation, screening, open studio, field session, demonstration, shared meal or research exchange.
The residency fee does not include:
- international or domestic travel to and from Nigeria;
- visa application fees or associated external costs;
- travel or medical insurance;
- specialist materials or production costs;
- personal expenses;
- additional project-related travel, excursions or fieldwork beyond the transport support provided by G.A.S.; or
- other costs arising specifically from the resident's individual project or research.
Meals and food provision differ between G.A.S. Lagos and the Farm House. Full details of what is provided at each location, together with accommodation, facilities, transport, payment and cancellation arrangements, are provided in the G.A.S. International Residency Information Pack.
[DOWNLOAD THE INFORMATION PACK]
Exchange and Engagement
While the residency provides important space for independent research and practice, exchange sits at the heart of G.A.S. Residents are encouraged to engage with other practitioners, researchers, scientists, peers, organisations and communities where relevant to their work and to contribute to the wider intellectual and creative life around G.A.S.
There is no requirement to produce an exhibition or completed work during the residency. Instead, residents will be invited to consider an appropriate form of exchange arising from their research or practice. This might take the form of a conversation, workshop, reading, screening, open studio, curated shared meal, presentation, field session, research exchange or another format developed in discussion with G.A.S.
A Selected, Self-Funded Programme
The G.A.S. International Research & Creative Residency is a competitive, selected programme with a limited number of places available each year. Applications will be reviewed by an international selection panel bringing together expertise across the arts, culture, research, ecology and related fields. G.A.S. is inviting selectors whose knowledge and professional experience reflect the breadth of practices represented within the call and our three strands of inquiry.
Members of the international selection panel will be announced in November 2026.
Selection will consider:
- the quality and clarity of the applicant's existing practice, research or area of enquiry;
- the relationship between the proposal and one or more of G.A.S.'s strands of inquiry;
- why the selected G.A.S. location provides a relevant and productive context for the work;
- the applicant's openness to exchange, experimentation and engagement with different forms of knowledge; and
- what a period at G.A.S. could meaningfully contribute to the development of their work.
Selection represents an invitation to join the G.A.S. residency programme and its wider community of artists, researchers, cultural practitioners and collaborators. It does not constitute a funded award.
Supporting Your Residency
We recognise that many practitioners and researchers will need to secure external financial support in order to participate. Selected residents may use their formal G.A.S. residency offer to approach employers, universities and research institutions, arts councils, cultural agencies, foundations, mobility programmes and other funding bodies.
G.A.S. will provide selected residents with:
- a formal residency invitation;
- confirmation of residency dates and fees;
- relevant programme information;
- supporting documentation for funding applications; and
- appropriate documentation and support for Nigerian visa applications.
Applicants are encouraged to investigate potential sources of external support in their home country or through their professional, academic or research networks.
Register for an Information Session
Join us on 23 October 2026 and 10 November 2026 for an online information session for prospective applicants to the G.A.S. International Research & Creative Residency Open Call 2027–28.
G.A.S. Executive Director Moni Aisida and Y.S.F./G.A.S. CEO Belinda Holden will cover:
- eligibility and the application process;
- the differences between G.A.S. Lagos and the G.A.S. Farm House;
- programme expectations and G.A.S.'s strands of inquiry;
- residency fees and what they include;
- the selection process; and
- questions from prospective applicants.
[REGISTER FOR THE INFORMATION SESSION]
Key Dates
Applications open: 5 October 2026
Online Information Session: 23 October 2026 and 10 November 2026
Applications close: 7 December 2026
Discretionary interviews and clarifications: January - February 2027
Selected residents publicly announced: March 2027
[APPLY HERE]