A round-up of opportunities available to creatives based on the Fylde Coast in March 2026.
These include grant funding, commissions, jobs, consultations, research projects and more. New opportunities will be added to this page as they arise.
Lancashire Arts Exchange 2026
9:30am – 4pm, Fri 13 March
Lancashire Arts Exchange 2026 is a full-day conference for artists, arts organisations, cultural leaders, educators, and local decision-makers to explore the future of cultural education and creative careers across Lancashire.
Taking place at the iconic Blackpool Grand Theatre, the event brings together Lancashire arts and culture professionals from primary, secondary, FE and HE, alongside representatives from local government, to share insight, influence policy, and strengthen pathways into and through the arts and culture sector.
The programme includes:
- A keynote on curriculum reform and the future of cultural education
- Speakers from cultural education partnerships and alliances working across Lancashire
- Case studies showcasing innovative practice from across Lancashire
- Practical workshops on cross-sector collaboration, best practice and knowledge sharing
- Opportunities to shape a new county-wide policy on creative education access
Creative Horizons: Launch Gathering
10am Thurs 19 March & 2:30pm Weds 25 March
An event specifically aimed at those who are seeking to live/work in the town and want to find out more about how to scale up their work beyond individual practice. An opportunity to reflect on your individual professsional development needs and needs of the sector in the town.
To consider values, respond to provocation, and to hopefully leave feeling inspired and armed with some practical support for how to take next steps towards being a curator/producer/event manager in Blackpool.
Spaces are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Job Opportunity: Showtown - Collections Manager
Closing date: Mon, 23 Mar 2026
Job Summary
Showtown is seeking an experienced and authoritative Collections Manager to provide senior leadership for the stewardship of Blackpool Council’s historic collections, operated on behalf of Blackpool Heritage and Museum Trust.
Job Description
This is a high-impact role with strategic responsibility for collections management, policy, accreditation, digitisation, rights, loans, access and governance across collections of local, regional and national significance. The postholder will act as the museum’s lead professional for Museum Accreditation, Spectrum compliance, collections policy and ethical practice, ensuring the highest standards of care, accountability and public value.
Working as part of the senior museum leadership, the Collections Manager will shape long-term strategies for collections care, storage, digitisation and access, oversee funded projects, and lead the development of inclusive and future-focused collections practice. The role includes line management of collections staff and volunteers, oversight of storage and environmental standards across multiple sites, and responsibility for all incoming and outgoing loans, copyright, licensing and intellectual property relating to the collections.
The successful candidate will bring significant professional experience in museum collections management, with a strong track record of policy leadership, accreditation delivery and compliance. You will have in-depth knowledge of Spectrum standards, experience of digitisation and digital asset management, and confidence working with funders, academic partners and sector bodies. The role requires a collaborative leader who can represent Showtown within the wider museum and heritage sector while supporting organisational ambition and public accountability.
This is a rare opportunity to take a senior leadership role within an ambitious cultural organisation, contributing to the long-term legacy of Blackpool’s internationally recognised entertainment and heritage collections.
Grant Funding: The Open Fund for Music Creators
Deadline: 18 March 2026
The Open Fund for Music Creators supports the development of outstanding music creators of all genres and backgrounds at different stages of their career with grants of up to £5000. Previous recipients include Young Fathers, Afrodeutsche, Jasdeep Singh and Ruth Lyon.
In order to be eligible Music Creators’ projects must fulfil all three of our funding priorities:
- To support the creation, performance and promotion of outstanding new music in any genre
We are particularly interested in the quality of the music - To enable the UK’s most talented music creators to realise their potential
We are interested in how your project will develop the music creators involved. You will need to tell us why this particular activity is so crucial to your creative or professional development. If you are a small performance group commissioning others, you will need to explain why your project is so important to the music creators you are working with. We are committed to supporting UK based songwriters and composers of all backgrounds - To reach audiences
You will be asked to outline who you are reaching and how this will benefit the music creators in your application. This includes audiences at a local, regional, national or international level
Job: Head of Creative Arts - Drama or Music specialist
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Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 16 March 2026
- Academy: Garstang Community Academy
- Contract: Permanent, Full time
- Salary: Teachers Main/Upper Pay Scale (currently £32,916 to £51,048 per annum), plus TLR2b (currently £5,870 per annum)
- Start date: 01/09/2026
For any questions regarding the vacancy please contact Liz Macpherson, at [email protected]
Training: Advanced Social Media with Blackpool Growth Business Academy
10am – 1pm, Weds 25 March 2026
Designed for the business owner who already knows the basics of social media management. You have your pages, followers and post regularly – what you’re missing is advanced strategy in how to monetise your audience and link it to financial return on investment.
If this is you, or someone in your team, grab a free spot – we will need to limit this to 2 per business as it is always very popular. This is your last chance to jump on this session.
This is not a startup session, but for established businesses with consistent revenues and marketing resource.
Creative Blackpool: Creative Seed Funding
Deadline for round 1: 11pm 31 March
Where creative sparks become real projects
We have a total pot of £30k from which to award grants of up to £5,000 to support new and innovative, creative ideas, events and activities to take place in Blackpool in 2026 and 2027.
Grants are to be awarded to individuals or organisations registered as living or operating in Blackpool and the surrounding areas.
The grants could be anywhere between £500 – £5,000 maximum. Match funding is welcomed but not essential.
We define creative projects as original artistic activities in: Applied Arts, Artist
Moving Image, Circus, Combined Arts, Crafts, Dance, Design, Digital Art + Media,
Festival, Carnival, Film, Literature, Poetry, Spoken Word, Live Art, Music,
Performance + Live Arts, Photography, Theatre or Visual Art (or any combination
of these).
Your project should achieve all the following objectives:
– Pilot a new and potentially scalable concept/project/activity/event
– Strengthen and grow the town’s cultural ecosystem
– Enhance Blackpool’s cultural reputation locally
– Connect with and contribute to the town’s wider cultural programming
Expressions of Interest: Thornton Little Theatre
Deadline for EOIs: 13 March
Wyre Council is now formally inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from organisations or individuals who wish to take on the lease and help shape the next chapter of this much‑loved community venue.
Thornton Little Theatre is an important cultural asset for our borough, and the Council is committed to securing a strong, sustainable and community‑focused future for the building.
We are seeking EOIs from suitably experienced and committed parties who can bring forward a positive vision for the venue’s future operation and long‑term success. This is an exciting opportunity to support the continuation of theatre, arts, events and community activity in Thornton.
Submitting an Expression of Interest
To submit an EOI, or to request further information about the process and the terms of a new lease, please contact Wyre Council’s Estates Team: [email protected]
The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is Friday 13 March
Full details of the EOI process will be provided upon request.
