Create Work for Refugee Week 2026!

The Belgrade Theatre is thrilled to open applications for Midlands-based artists with lived experience of displacement to strengthen their practise and create work as an artistic response to Refugee Week 2026 at the Belgrade Theatre. The response can be shared or performed in to share in our nineteen 58 space or exist as an installation. 

This year’s theme is Courage and it celebrates the many ways courage is lived and expressed from extraordinary journeys to quiet, everyday acts of resilience, care, and connection. 

What We’re Offering

We are inviting three artists to respond to the theme of courage through a clearly defined, small-scale commission. Each artist will develop a piece of work that unfolds across the week, either by delivering one workshop with a community group or by creating a one-day, temporary installation using our spaces.

The work will engage audiences in accessible ways and contribute to a shared city-wide celebration in partnership with Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre on Sat 20 Jun in our nineteen 58 space.

Each artist will receive a £500 artist fee, intended to cover concept development, preparation, delivery, and attendance at the final event. The scope of activity will be agreed in advance to ensure it remains proportionate to the fee. Materials and additional production costs will be discussed separately.

We can provide: 

• Space in the Belgrade Theatre’s Jag Meeting Room during the week

• Basic equipment (microphone and speaker) 

• 1-1 support with the Belgrade’s community embedded producer and associate director 

• A diverse and engaged audience 

Practical Information

Performance/ Installation Space: nineteen 58 and the Burbidge Room

Dates and Times:

Fri 15 Jun – Wed 20 Jun, 10-6pm for workshopping and development of the idea

Sat 20 Jun, 11- 3pm city wide celebration – performance /sharing of work

Fee: £500

Who We’re Looking For

Displaced artists (refugee and migrant), working in any art form.  

We particularly want to hear from artists based in Coventry and the surrounding region. If you’re not based locally but have a strong connection to the themes or Coventry, we still want to hear from you.

Refugee Week 2026 at the Belgrade Theatre

As part of Refugee Week, we will be hosting two key celebration moments at the Belgrade Theatre. 

On Thu 18 Jun at 2pm, we will present a performance in our B2 Space in partnership with Out in Cov.

Later in the week, on Sat 20 Jun, we will host a city-wide celebration event in partnership with Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre (CRMC) in our nineteen 58 Burbidge Room. This event will bring together local organisations offering stalls, information, creative activities, and opportunities for families and communities to connect. The commissioned artists work will be shared on Sat 20 Jun as part of this celebration.  

Alongside these public events, CRMC will also lead a workshop exploring what it means to be a City of Sanctuary, and how organisations and individuals can actively support and champion sanctuary in Coventry.  

We imagine the week as a series of living moments rather than a fixed programme work that grows over time, invites participation, and builds towards a shared moment on the Saturday. 

Ideas For Commissions

We are open to hearing ideas/pitches that could include:

• Running creative workshops that explore what courage means to participants

• Developing spoken word, music, or performance pieces through the week

• Creating an installation that evolves as audiences contribute to it

• Presenting a live performance in the nineteen 58 space (simple technical set-up available)
• Using our exhibition wall or foyer spaces for visual work

However, these are only starting points and we would love to see where your creativity takes you.

How To Apply

Please send:  

• A short description of what you’re interested in developing and how you might engage a community group and or audience (max 400 words) 

• A few examples of your work (links, images, video – whatever represents you best) 

• A brief note about your own practise and journey as artist : Why do you do what you do? How do you define your practise?

You can also send a video or audio file up to 5 minutes instead of a word document for your application instead.  

Please your application to communityadmin@belgrade.co.uk,using the subject line: “REFUGEE WEEK 2026 APPLICATION”. 

For any alternative formats, please email communityadmin@belgrade.co.uk. We can if needed schedule a phone call and a member of staff can record your application responses. 

The deadline for applications is 5pm, Mon 25 May. With interviews scheduled for Thu 28 May/Fri 5 Jun. We will aim to confirm commissions by Mon 8  Jun.