--- title: ILLUMINE 2 Light Art Commission Open Call description: UK commission for Black and POC artists to create a mid/large-scale light art installation touring LUTN festivals; £8,000 bursary plus up to £70,000 production budget. url: https://www.artsume.com/programs/687a3eee-5925-4f1e-9b73-8bc4d3e066f2 type: program status: closed createdAt: "2026-09-04" updatedAt: "2026-09-30" programType: Commission organization: Light Up The North organizationUrl: https://www.artsume.com/o/light-up-the-north deadline: "2026-09-11" location: United Kingdom isOnline: false compensationRange: £8,000 artist's bursary plus a production/creative budget of £40k–£70k, with travel, accommodation and subsistence covered separately disciplines: - light art careerStages: - Established - Mid-career --- # ILLUMINE 2 Light Art Commission Open Call **Hosted by:** Light Up The North **Type:** Commission | **Location:** United Kingdom | **Deadline:** September 11, 2026 ## About This Program > "Light art — addressing the underrepresentation of Black and POC artists at light festivals" Light Up The North (LUTN) is launching ILLUMINE 2, an exciting commissioning opportunity for Black and People of Colour (POC) artists. As a positive action initiative, ILLUMINE 2 aims to address the underrepresentation of Black and POC artists at light festivals by supporting the creation of a bold new mid- or large-scale light art installation. The opportunity is to create a new, striking mid/large-scale light art installation that will tour to multiple light art festivals of LUTN members. LUTN member festivals will work together to commission an artist or collective to develop a new light artwork for the 2027/8 season. The artwork would travel to a number of different festivals in the network between October 2027 and February 2028. If an artist has never worked with light before, LUTN will budget for technical specialists and a creative producer to help realise the work. The final artwork will need to be SUITABLE for presentation at outdoor winter light festivals in the UK; ARTISTICALLY challenging, aesthetically impressive and of high quality; STRUCTURALLY resilient enough to withstand the winter weather at multiple festivals between October 2027 and February 2028, and to withstand transportation across the festival network; ABLE to be seen by large crowds of people. The successful ILLUMINE artist will also need to: DESIGN an artwork suitable to be repurposed – consider sustainable materials and equipment as well as what happens at the end of the presentations; CREATE an artwork of mid / large scale – we are encouraging ambitious proposals; DELIVER an experience for audiences to enjoy, be inspired by and engage with. ## Eligibility & Requirements - **Career Stage:** Established, Mid-career - **Geographic Eligibility:** National - **Disciplines:** light art - **Age Requirements:** 18+ years old - **Note:** To be eligible to apply to the ILLUMINE open call you must be UK-based; aged 18 or over; be Black and POC artists or collectives; able to demonstrate a portfolio of previous work; have the ability and experience to realise ideas to a high quality. ILLUMINE is for Black and POC artists with an established professional practice and a recognised, successful portfolio of work. The programme is intended to support and expand artists' practice in scale and technologies of production, therefore applicants who haven't already worked with light-based artforms are welcome to apply. Equally, unsuccessful applicants to the previous Illumine programme are welcome to apply again. ### Additional Requirements Please send a very short CV, examples of your work and covering letter (or video or audio equivalent), outlining your interest, your proposed idea, indicative budget and relevant artistic skills and experience. Please ensure your covering, proposal letter is no longer than 2-3 sides of A4. Please feel free to attach images which you feel will be relevant to your outline proposal. If you prefer to upload video responses to your application, we advise that you keep these brief — as a guide, videos should be no longer than 5 minutes each. All applicants must complete our Equal Opportunities Monitoring form. ## Compensation & Benefits £8,000 artist's bursary plus a production/creative budget of £40k–£70k, with travel, accommodation and subsistence covered separately **Includes:** Commission fee, Materials budget, Travel grant, Per diem The artist (or collective) will receive a bursary of up to £8,000 (exclusive of VAT) to research, develop and produce a proposal for an achievable new work. This will be paid in three parts – £4,000 at the start of the research phase, £1,000 on presentation of the final proposal and £3,000 on delivery of the work at the first festival. We can be flexible with the schedule of these payments should it be necessary. Reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be covered separately by LUTN during this phase. Artists will also receive a production/creative budget up to a maximum of £70,000 (exclusive of VAT) to deliver the new work. The production budget includes all materials and technical, installation and operational costs. Reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence costs at the delivery stage will be covered separately by LUTN. Transport of the artwork will be covered by the participating member LUTN festivals. If needed, commissioned artists can apply for match funding from other sources. A projected production/creative budget between £40k – £70k, subject to festivals funding the work. ## What's Provided - **Travel Support:** Available - Reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be covered separately by LUTN during the development phase and at the delivery stage. Transport of the artwork will be covered by the participating member LUTN festivals. - **Materials Support:** Available - Production/creative budget up to a maximum of £70,000 (exclusive of VAT), including all materials and technical, installation and operational costs. ## Timeline - **Opens:** July 20, 2026 - **Deadline:** September 11, 2026 - **Program Start:** October 1, 2026 - **Program End:** February 29, 2028 ## Contact **Email:** illumine@lightupthenorth.com ## How to Apply Apply at: https://lightupthenorth.com/development/illumine/