In February 1927, Aby Warburg embarked in earnest on a project that he never completed, the Mnemosyne Atlas, a series of wooden panels on which he pinned clusters of images into thematic constellations. In doing so, he proposed a novel way of understanding visual culture that would pre-empt the use of search engine.

In 1977, NASA sent the Voyager probe into space. Included on board was the Golden Record, a disc containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form that may find it. 

In 1980, The Photographers’ Gallery’s founder, Sue Davies, curated the ground-breaking exhibition In and Out of Space featuring all 116 of the photographs contained on the Golden Record, offering a new context for photography that sits between science, technology and the imagination.

The Wirksworth StarDisk, located in Derbyshire and created in 2011 by local artist, writer and activist Aidan Shingler, is situated on a site notable for stargazing and was designed to inspire contact with extraterrestrials. Whereas Voyager went looking for other lifeforms, StarDisk hopes other life will come to visit Earth.

In her essay ‘Seeing Global’ Susan Buck-Morss proposed “a different construction of history altogether—to cite the past, as one might sight the stars, bringing elements of it together within constellations of meaning that relate to our own time as the vanishing point.”

The Inverted World Labs is a speculative research project that highlights a contemporary ‘inversion’ of cultural production where digital creators are employed to produce cultural content (such as images, video games and music) specifically for AI systems to interact with, no longer making work for humans but for intelligent machines. The lab launched in 2026 with Ghost in the Loop, an online exhibition of new commissions in partnership with Goethe-Institut London. 

The Photographers’ Gallery invites applications from artists working with expanded photography and digital practices for a new residency. The two-month residency takes place at Wigwell Lodge in Derbyshire. 

Through the theme of the residency, artists are invited to research, experiment and expand thinking around photography, technology and innovative approaches to image making and visual culture. We’re interested in practices that consider new cosmologies, approaches or relationships between images, celestial fictions and realities, and AI world models. Some contextual information and a list of potential starting points are included in the open call above. You can also read more about our previous work in this area through the website Unthinking Photography.

This opportunity is open to individual artists over 18 with the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we can’t sponsor visas. You may apply with only one application.

The residency is only open to individual artists to apply. However, the accommodation has two bedrooms and visitors/partners are welcome.

Wigwell Lodge is in Derbyshire, about 1 mile outside from the village of Wirksworth. Wirksworth has shops, a cinema, the StarDisc and various artistic communities. Also nearby is Cromford Mill, a site of importance to the Industrial Revolution and Matlock Baths. Derby is a 30 minute drive away. Though there is local public transport and taxis, to access and explore the many sites of interest in the vicinity we recommend you have your own form of transport (car/bike).

Unfortunately, the site is not currently accessible. The residency is remote, 1 mile outside of Wirksworth village, on a flat site but at the bottom of a steep hill. The historic building has two bedrooms on the first floor as well as a study that are not wheelchair accessible. Though there is public transport and taxis, a form of transport (such as car or bike) is recommended.

Since 2018, Wigwell Lodge residencies are designed to provide space for artists, writers and researchers for reflection and production. Wigwell Lodge is a fully equipped cottage with two bedrooms, dining, studio, and study spaces, as well as a garden and outdoor studio (former garage). While no member of staff is based on site, the curator will visit at intervals throughout the residency period. 

In February and March, it is likely to be cold which could restrict use of the garden and outdoor studio, however the cottage has central heating throughout which should ensure warmth and comfort. 

The dates of this residency lead to the spring equinox (the astronomical spring equinox falls on Saturday, 20 March at 20:24), and therefore daylight hours are shorter (dark from around 4-5pm each day). Therefore, when taking into account potential poor weather which can exacerbate this, residents should be prepared for limited daylight during their residency.

A showcase at the lodge could take place to coincide with the Spring Equinox on 20 March 2027. Following the residency period, there is potential to further develop the ideas into a project or commission for a presentation at The Photographers’ Gallery in 2028.

Yes, it is free. You can submit your application through the Submittable platform. If you would like to submit in any other form, including through audio or video, please contact us at digital.programme@tpg.org.uk. 

Alongside contact details, the application form asks one question: ‘Describe your proposal and what the residency would offer for your practice’ in around 400 words, alongside supporting material, such as a pdf or website. You must answer this question.

The equal opportunities questions are optional and will not be not be viewed with your application and will only be used anonymously by The Photographers’ Gallery for evaluation, reporting and marketing analysis.

While we understand you may use generative AI in your application, we encourage you to consider how the writing reflects and relates to your practice.

The submissions open on Monday 20 July and close on Sunday 6 September, 11.59pm BST. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to accept any late entries.

The open call closes on Sunday 6 September, 11.59pm BST. Following the jury meeting, we will invite up to 3 people for a short online interview on the 21 September. We aim to inform all applicants of the result by Wednesday 30 September. If you haven’t heard from us by then, feel free to get in contact with us. 

The residency takes place from 2 February to 31 March 2027. We understand that you may have other commitments taking place throughout this time, but we would expect you to spend a significant proportion of your time at Wigwell Lodge. Following the residency period, there is potential to develop the ideas into a project or commission for a presentation at The Photographers’ Gallery in 2028.

The Ampersand Foundation have partnered with numerous organisations to offer residencies at Wigwell Lodge. 

In 2026, The Photographers’ Gallery invited artist Felix Loftus to undertake a residency at Wigwell Lodge under the framework of Waste as Resource, taking an approach based on permacomputing to create new artworks with old smartphones, alongside solar-powered, automated, landscape cameras and nature cams. The residency posits that the distinction between artwork, infrastructure and environmental activism has collapsed. His work also considered the industrial heritage of the nearby area – Cromford Mill was the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill. An interview with Felix at the site is available to watch here.

A record of other residencies run by The Ampersand Foundation and participating artists can be found here.

The Ampersand Foundation is a UK grant-awarding charity dedicated to supporting the visual arts. Founded in 2011 by businessman, collector and philanthropist Jack Kirkland, the Foundation funds high-quality exhibitions and visual arts activities that are free to the public at least one day per week. It also supports various projects and programmes including new commissions, exhibitions, the expansion of public collections and collection care. Since its founding the Foundation has awarded millions of pounds in grants to art organisations and visual art projects, mainly within the United Kingdom.

For any further questions, please contact digital.programme@tpg.org.uk. Answers will feed back into this page.