Open Call for UK-Based Writers
Park Royal Design District (PRDD) and ArtReview are pleased to announce an open call for the inaugural Manufactory x ArtReview Writer’s Residency.
The residency forms part of Manufactory, a new interdisciplinary festival for art and culture set within Park Royal — London’s largest industrial estate. Across installations, performances, exhibitions and collaborations, including those with ArtReview and London Design Festival, The festival explores contemporary cultures of making across art, industry, science, technology and production.
The residency is designed to support critical, place-responsive writing that engages with Park Royal’s architectures of production, creative ecologies, infrastructures and communities. Over a four-week period, selected writers will spend time within the district, developing research and producing new written work in dialogue with the people, spaces and systems that shape Park Royal.
Two writers will be selected through an open call process.
Residency Period
17 August – 13 September 2026
What the Residency Includes
Each resident will receive:
– A £2,000 residency stipend
– Editorial mentorship from ArtReview
– Access to PRDD networks, studios, sites and programme activity
– A guided introduction to Park Royal led by Programme Director Mazzy-Mae Green
– Introductions to artists, makers, researchers, businesses and practitioners across the district
– Opportunities to attend and engage with Manufactory festival programming
– Residents will be expected to spend the equivalent of at least one day per week in Park Royal during the residency period, alongside attending relevant programme activity during the festival weekend (11–12 September 2026).
Who Can Apply
The residency is open to UK-based writers working across criticism, journalism, essay writing, research, experimental writing and interdisciplinary forms of cultural commentary.
Applicants might come from backgrounds in:
– Contemporary art and design writing
– Architecture and urbanism
– Creative and poetry writing
– Performance and spatial practice
– Critical theory and cultural studies
– Ecology, infrastructure or material research
– Interdisciplinary or experimental publishing
We welcome applications from emerging, early-career and established writers alike.
Writing Focus
Applicants are invited to produce a piece of writing that engages critically and creatively with Park Royal and the wider themes of Manufactory.
Possible areas of interest may include:
– Cultures of making and production
– Individual or collective art, design or performance practices
– Industrial landscapes and infrastructures
– Labour, logistics and circulation
– Material innovation and circular systems
– Creative ecologies and alternative economies
– Relationships between art, industry, science and technology
– Hidden or overlooked urban systems
– Questions of regeneration, access and spatial change
The final format remains open and may take the form of an essay, critical text, interview, experimental piece, research-led writing or another appropriate format developed during the residency.
The selected residents will develop one written output during the residency, with editorial support from ArtReview and PRDD, and potentially one talk or other live output. Final formats and presentation methods will be developed collaboratively during the residency period.
Application Requirements
Applicants should submit the following in one combined PDF (in English):
– A short biography and summary of relevant experience
– A short summary of no more than 500 words detailing why the project interests you and what type of output you might want to produce
– One example of recent writing (maximum 1,500 words excerpt)
– A brief note confirming availability during the residency period
Submission Details
Please send applications to:
residency@parkroyaldesigndistrict.com
Subject line: Manufactory x ArtReview Writer’s Residency 2026
Timeline
Application Deadline: 9 June 2026
Selected Writers Confirmed: by 24 June 2026
Public Announcement: 30 June 2026
Residency Period: 17 August – 13 September 2026
Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed jointly by Manufactory Programme Director Mazzy-Mae Green, Fi Churchman of ArtReview and interdisciplinary artist Abbas Zahedi.
Selection will consider:
– Strength and originality of CV and writing sample
– Critical and creative approach
– Relevance to the themes of the residency
The selected residents will develop one written output during the residency, with editorial support from ArtReview and PRDD, and potentially one talk or other live output. Final formats and presentation methods will be developed collaboratively during the residency period.
We look forward to reading your applications and welcoming writers into Park Royal.
