Collections in Dialogue: Artist Co-Commission Call Out

The British Library and Leeds Art Gallery seek to commission an artist or artist collective based in the Yorkshire and Humber area. This commission will culminate in the creation of new work by the artist to be exhibited at Leeds Art Gallery from May to October 2027. 

The selected artist or artist collective will be invited to engage with collections at both institutions as a catalyst to produce new work that creates a dialogue between the British Library and Leeds Art Gallery collections. 

The focus will be on exploring the collection of artists’ books held at the British Library alongside works in Leeds Museums and Galleries’ sculpture collection that employ the medium of the book as a raw sculptural material or incorporate text within the sculptural object. The collection of artists’ books in the Henry Moore Institute Research Library Special Collections will also be available for the selected artist or artist collective to access. Further information on these collection areas is detailed in the PDFs at the link below.

The commissioned work should seek to link the two collections in some way – through medium, concept, theme or otherwise. We are open to proposals from artists working in any medium. It is anticipated that the new work produced will include an artist’s book or books in an edition. However, this does not necessarily need to form the main focus of the new work produced and we are interested in responses which include outcomes across different media, both physical and digital.

The artist fee for the project is £11,000 and there is a budget of £9,000 for materials to realise the project, along with additional resources to cover other expenses. If an artist collective is successful, the fee is to be split equally among all members.

How to apply

Applications are especially encouraged from Disabled and LGBTQA+ practitioners, ethnically diverse artists who may identify as black, brown, people of colour or global majority. We also encourage applications from those who have experienced disadvantages due to their socio-economic background or who have otherwise faced barriers to a career in the arts.

Full details of how to apply are detailed in the PDF at the link below. Please submit proposals and supporting documents using the form on the website. 

Applications should be submitted via our online form. Click the button below to start.

Deadline

The deadline for proposals is 9am on Friday 29 August 2025.

Interviews for shortlisted artists will be held on Tuesday 16 September 2025.

Full proposal brief [PDF, 416KB]

Artists’ Books from the British Library collection [PDF, 1.3MB)

Apply for Collections in Dialogue Co-Commission

Application requirements

1. An artist’s CV including name, contact details, past exhibition history and references. If applying as a collective please submit all artists’ CVs.

2. Up to 10 images of your work (including titles and dates). Individual images or media files must be below 2MB in total. Links to WeTransfer or Google Drive can also be shared.

3. A proposal of up to 500 words or a 5-minute video outlining:

• Why you are applying for this project, some examples of aspects of the two/three collections which are of particular interest to you. The application pack contains more details on the collections      
• A summary of how you would approach the project.
•  What the potential creative outcomes will be and how they will be presented in the gallery [we understand this is conceptual at this stage].

The artist should have resided at their main residential address in the Yorkshire and Humber region for at least one year.

If you require any assistance with the application process, please contact Clare Nadal, Assistant Curator, Sculpture clare.nadal@leeds.gov.uk or Elizaveta Butakova, Curator of Exhibitions Elizaveta.Butakova-Grimshaw@leeds.gov.uk