Any artist can apply for the Fellowship regardless of medium or practice, nationality or country of residence, as long as the artist is out of full-time education by the start of the Fellowship, over the age of 18 and willing to travel to Cambridge.  

We actively encourage applications from artists with no previous experience of working with scientists or in a scientific environment.

Cavendish Arts Science is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all, regardless of sex, race, colour, religion and belief, ethnic or national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, gender identity, gender expression or disability. Please refer to the University of Cambridge's Equal Opportunities Policy for further information.

There is no charge for submitting an application.

The Fellowship supports the Cavendish Arts Science ethos of experimenting, decentring and re-imagining. The Fellowship will provide the selected artist with the opportunity to

• develop thought-provoking ideas through engagement with physicists and those working in other fields
• experiment with new approaches to their practice 
• make progress in developing new work that will be presented during the Fellowship and beyond

We seek adventurous artists 

• whose practice resonates with the ethos of Cavendish Arts Science and whose approach to making work is playful and experimental
• who can demonstrate high quality artistic ideas, processes and outcomes
• who are open to new ideas and to experimenting with new approaches to their practice
• who work with communities that are not privileged in the mainstream and who explore alternative ways of knowing the world

Please submit your application using this online submission form only 

You can download a copy of the questions and word limits from this link to help prepare your submission. This document also gives details of the formats and maximum file size of attachments that can be uploaded. Please note this document is just for your reference. You can only apply through our online form.

We apologise, it is not possible to save your online submission and return to it later. We recommend preparing your application in a separate document that you can back up on your computer, pasting the text into the form, and filling in any links or uploading attachments when you are almost ready to submit. 

Please note that we will only accept submissions received before the deadline.

The deadline to apply is Saturday 10 May 2025, 17:00 British Summer Time (GMT+1)

Eligible applications received before the deadline will be reviewed by a panel of arts professionals with expertise in a range of art forms and practices, and a longlist of applicants selected. This initial selection process will take place through May and June.

A separate panel of final selectors will include artists, physicists, arts professionals, a Girton College Fellow and the Cavendish Arts Science Director. The panel will review longlisted applications in early July and identify artists to be invited for interview.

Interviews with shortlisted artists will take place on zoom on Wednesday 16 July 2025. Artists selected for interview will be notified a few days before to confirm a time. We are unable to offer interviews on other dates.

Previous panelists have included Rachel Anderson, Mete Atatüre, Gemma Bale, Rob Bowman, Dominic Czechowski, Siân Ede, Jade Foster, Natasha Freedman, Johnny Golding, Tamsin Hong, Imani Mason Jordan, Elisabeth Kendall, Ariane Koek, Thandi Loewenson, Haroon Mirza, Anna Nickerson, Harold Offeh, Hussina Raja, Amanprit Sandhu, Suchitra Sebastian, Devika Singh, Cindy Sissokho and Susan Smith. 

We encourage applications from artists of all nationalities and languages.

However we ask for the application form to be submitted in English. If you wish to alert us to the fact that you have used a translation tool to complete your application, please indicate this in your application.

You may upload examples of your work in another language but if you are concerned about communicating your ideas to the selection panel, you may choose to translate parts of your accompanying materials before uploading them as part of your submission.

Interviews will be conducted in English. Translation can be arranged if you are more comfortable in another language - please indicate this in your application. 

We accept joint applications from artist partnerships. As part of your application, we expect you to provide practical details of how the partnership plans to creatively engage with the Fellowship. 

The partnership will be expected to adapt to the provisions of the Fellowship, including the following: our budget is fixed at the level described, including the amount of stipend and other financial support; accommodation is based on single-occupancy and meals at Girton College are provided for one person. 

For questions about accessibility or to discuss any needs you may have, whether related to the application process or the Fellowship itself, please email us on contact@cavendish-artscience.org.uk

No, all interviews will be held remotely on Zoom

The Fellowship will begin in October 2025 and end in October 2026. 

It is flexible and part-time.

It involves a residency period in Cambridge, typically of at least six months up to one year.  For the rest of the Fellowship year, the artist can engage remotely.

The artist will be welcomed into the Cavendish Laboratory, and during the residency period, will be accommodated at Girton College.

The structure and dates of the residency period are flexible and will be responsive to the individual circumstances of the selected artist. The residency period may be split across two visits within the Fellowship year.

Where feasible, the selected artist will be encouraged to come to Cambridge in early October for the start of the academic year and induction of new Fellows, but we do not expect time spent in Cambridge to be structured precisely to match term dates.

Rent-free accommodation is provided at Girton College during the residency period in Cambridge.  The accommodation includes a kitchen for self-catering.

As part of the fellowship, the selected artist will normally be elected Visiting Fellow Commoner in the Arts at Girton College and as a Visiting Fellow Commoner, will be entitled to free meals in college, subject to the normal opening hours of the college kitchens.  

Visits from partners/family will be accommodated where possible. This may incur additional costs that would not be covered by the programme. Family members would be able to access meals in college at a subsidised level.

Girton College is a family-friendly college. Children can eat in the cafeteria and in the social hub or use the pool and play in the gardens if supervised by a parent/adult. The programme cannot directly fund the cost of or provide care that may be required during the residency (for example, creche or nursery costs, child minders, or other professional carers).

Yes, a studio / creative workspace will be made available at Girton College during the residency period, in addition to flexible working spaces at the Cavendish Laboratory.

Depending on the length of time spent on the residency period in Cambridge and the country from which you are travelling, you may require a visa. Details can be found on the UK government website.

Visa fees can be met from our travel budget and we can provide appropriate documentation to support visa applications related to the Fellowship (though not for applications for visas to cover other types of activity).

The Fellowship is not expected to be a full-time engagement. You are welcome to continue ongoing commitments, jobs or projects that are compatible with meeting the expectations of the Fellowship, whether during the residency in Cambridge or at other times during the year.

You should only undertake other paid work in the UK if you have a legal right to do so.

The Department of Physics website is the best source of information about the Cavendish Laboratory and Physics at the University of Cambridge. You can also find out more on these channels X , LinkedIn , Instagram , TikTok

You can find more information on the Girton College website and on their social channels Instagram , X , Facebook , LinkedIn , YouTube

We will contact artists who have been shortlisted for interview by Monday 14 July. Interviews will take place on zoom on Wednesday 16 July.

Please make sure the contact details you provide on the submission form will be active until the selection process is completed.

We will send an email notification to all other applicants once the selection process has been completed. 

We are a small team and sadly can't offer individual feedback on submissions from applicants who aren't selected for interview.  Thank you for your understanding. 

Please contact us at contact@cavendish-artscience.org.uk to ask us about anything else.  Please note we are a small team working part time and may take several days to reply. Please note if you contact us during the final week of the open call we may not be able to respond before the deadline. Thanks for your understanding.