Two Together: Porthmeor Studios Residencies

The 2026 Two Together: Porthmeor Studios Residencies is an opportunity for pairs of artists to live and work together at the historic Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, Cornwall. 
 
Held in partnership with Borlase Smart John Wells Trust, Two Together enables an artist to invite a new person into their practice as a basis for exchange and open-ended material exploration in line with Freelands’ recognition of the studio as a vital site for learning and making. 
 
This opportunity invites applications from pairs of artists: one from Devon or Cornwall and the other based anywhere in the UK. Selected pairs will work alongside one another in Porthmeor’s Studio 5 across a month-long residency, encouraging dialogue, experimentation and reflection. 

This residency is about exploration, experimentation and shared learning, allowing artists to focus on creative growth and exchange through making.

Each pair will have access to a large shared studio, shared accommodation, travel support and a stipend to cover living costs for one month. Artists will be encouraged to document their experience, though there is no expectation of final work(s) or resolved outcomes.

Each residency will provide:

• Use of Studio 5 at Porthmeor Studios (shared with your collaborator).
• Accommodation in St. Ives, Cornwall (shared with your collaborator).
• Travel expenses covered to and from St. Ives, Cornwall.
• £2,000 stipend per artist to participate and cover living costs during the residency.
• Support from Porthmeor Studios and the Artist Development Team at Freelands Foundation.
• A unique opportunity to learn from and experiment with another artist in a supportive, process-driven environment.

• Artists must be based in the UK, with a studio-based visual arts practice.
• Applicants must have at least 5 years of professional practice (five years after graduating from BA, or equivalent experience).
• Each application must include a collaborator.
• One artist must be based in Devon or Cornwall.
• Existing artist collectives or duos are not eligible to apply together for this opportunity.
• Artists currently enrolled in formal education (e.g., BA/MA/PhD programmes) are not eligible.
• Both artists must be available for at least one of three proposed residency months: March, May and September 2026. The residency dates will be agreed with successful applicants.

Date: Wednesday 12 November
Time: 12–1pm

Zoom link: Online information session and Q&A

Please register your attendance via the link above in advance.

Should you have any enquiries about the information session or the application process in general, please get in touch with [email protected].

Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, Cornwall, has been a nurturing and generative space for artists’ practice for decades – providing studios for local artists and artist residency opportunities. Recent residency artists include Rebecca Moss, Rae-Yen Song, Rana Begum, Nicholas Deshayes, Lubaina Himid, Richard Long, Katy Moran, Veronica Ryan, Daniel Sinsel, Caragh Thuring, Noorain Inam and Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings. Working in partnership with the Borlase Smart John Wells Trust (BSJWT), who manage Porthmeor Studios, Freelands Foundation has created a residency opportunity for artists in this unique space. 

At Freelands Foundation we create programmes based on testing approaches that support the different ways that artists learn. Both Freelands Foundation and BSJWT recognise the vital role that the studio can play as a space for learning, making and experimentation, and how developing networks and opportunities for artists to collaborate with their peers around the country can support artist development over the short and longer term. 

Image: Eleanor Turnbull and Alexandra Searle, Two Together residency, Porthmeor Studios, St. Ives, Cornwall, 2025. Courtesy the artists.