2027 Young Artist in Residency, Wollongong Youth Services

About this call

Wollongong Youth Services in Wollongong, Australia, is taking applications for its 2027 Young Artist in Residency, a 12-month residency in Wollongong Youth Services' in-house artist studio. The program supports young artists to focus on their work, build their skills and portfolio, and interact with other creative young people. The selected artist gets free studio access at agreed times, professional development and mentoring, $1000 worth of art supplies and equipment paid in two instalments of $500, experience delivering workshops with support from Youth Services staff, and an exhibition at the end of the residency with promotion and publicity. In return the artist signs a contract with Council, uses the studio weekly, delivers two school holiday workshops with young people, contributes to the skills development of young people in the regular Crafts n Chat program and undertakes a collaborative artwork project with its participants that ends in a curated exhibition or arts event. Council encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, young people living with disability, LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse young people, and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Who can apply

• Limited by country or region
• Medium: Painting / Sculpture / Installation / Textile / Video / New Media / Drawing / Photography
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to artists aged 18 to 24 during 2026 / 2027 who live, work or attend school in the Wollongong City Council area (New South Wales, Australia), working in one or more of painting, sculpture, installation, textiles, moving image, digital, illustration and / or photography. Attach a current CV highlighting qualifications, experience, exhibitions / performances and other achievements (max 5 MB, Word, Pages or PDF), a document with up to five images of your work (max 10 MB; the page asks this of visual artists), and a copy of your current Working With Children Check if you have one. The form also asks for a description of your arts practice (max 1,500 characters), what you hope to achieve (max 1,000 characters), any experience working with young people or in community arts, two example workshops for people aged 12 to 24 (max 1,500 characters) and a referee who can speak about your arts practice. The selected artist signs a contract with Council, uses the studio weekly, delivers two school holiday workshops with young people, contributes to the skills development of young people in the Crafts n Chat program, undertakes a collaborative artwork project with its participants ending in a curated exhibition or arts event, regularly liaises with Youth Services staff and is available for media promotion or publicity. A current Working With Children Check is needed before taking up the residency; if you do not have one, you arrange it at your own cost.