From community commissions in Revoe and Claremont and a £20,000 music fund to screening grants, open calls and submission windows for writers, October brings a busy run of opportunities for creatives across the Fylde Coast. Here’s our round-up of open calls, commissions, training and funding.
TRAINING
An Introduction to Working with People in Probation
Online
Event: Thursday 8 October, 10-11am
Part of INCUBATE. An introduction to Tipp’s participatory arts programme working with people in the probation system.
BURSARY
LANDS Assembly Artist Bursaries
Arts Lancashire x LANDS | LICA, Lancaster University
Application Deadline: 5pm, Friday 9 October
Arts Lancashire has five £100 bursaries for Lancashire-based freelance artists to attend this year’s LANDS Assembly on Wednesday 18 November. Hosted by the Lancashire Arts Network for Developing Sustainability, it’s a day of ideas, conversation and collaboration on the role of creativity and the arts sector in responding to the climate crisis. The bursary covers the ticket plus a contribution towards your time and travel, and is for artists for whom the cost of a day away from work is a barrier. Successful applicants will be contacted by Friday 23 October.
EVENT
Music Industry Pathways for Young People
Gregson Centre, Lancaster | Part of Lancaster Music Festival
Event: Sunday 11 October, 1.30-3.30pm
A free panel and breakout session for 16-25-year-olds on routes into a music and arts career, with a singer-songwriter, a composer for film, TV and games, and the head of community music charity More Music. Free, but booking is required.
COMMISSION
Artist Commission – Blackpool Tree Wardens
Creative Blackpool | Revoe, Blackpool
Application Deadline: 9am, Monday 12 October
A £5,000 commission to work with the volunteer-led Blackpool Tree Wardens, who care for the Tree Nursery at Revoe Park. The brief is to brighten and enliven the site, paying particular attention to the tool shed and clubhouse, and to connect the local community with the Wardens’ work and encourage a sense of ownership of the site.
COMMISSION
Artist Commission – Fylde Opportunities Trust
Creative Blackpool | Claremont, Blackpool
Application Deadline: 9am, Monday 12 October
A £5,000 community-led creative project with Fylde Opportunities Trust, a Blackpool CIC delivering inclusive activities for adults with additional needs and those at risk of social isolation. The creative will support adults with disabilities and neurodivergent adults to express their identity, feelings and lived experiences through accessible creative activity. Open to UK-based creatives who meet the eligibility requirements and are available to work in Claremont.
COMMISSION
Artist Commission – Layton Library
Layton Library | Blackpool
Quote Deadline: Monday 12 October
Layton Library is looking for an artist or artists to quote for work that makes the entrance to its hidden garden more inviting. The brief covers a mosaic pavement either side of the railings, plus designs for two 110 x 250cm acrylic panels that point visitors towards the garden and feature its logo. Funded through Pride in Place, with an ideal completion date of 30 November (flexible). Send quotes to [email protected].
OPEN CALL
Blackpool Film Festival Short Film Competition
Blackpool Film Festival | Submissions via FilmFreeway
Submission Deadline: Thursday 15 October
Blackpool Film Festival, founded by Aunty Social and the Winter Gardens Trust, is taking submissions for its short film competition. Filmmakers will be notified by 15 December.
FELLOWSHIP
Churchill Fellowship
UK-wide | Funds overseas learning travel
Deadline: Midday, Tuesday 20 October
Funds UK citizens to travel and learn from international best practice, then bring that learning back to their community or field. New this round: a Civic and Democratic Engagement strand.
FELLOWSHIP
Blackpool Creative Market – Stallholder Callout
Blackpool HAZ | Local makers
Deadline: Friday 21 October
The fifth HAZ Christmas Creative Market will be held at the Winter Gardens on Saturday 5 December 2026 and seeking stallholders with great creative talent and unique, original products.
FUNDING
Film Exhibition Fund – Round 3
Film Hub North | Venues and screening groups across the North
Application Deadline: Noon, Friday 23 October
Up to £10,000 per project, per year for in-person screening activity between April 2026 and March 2029. The fund supports independent exhibitors such as cinemas, film societies, festivals, arts venues and community groups, with an emphasis on bringing audiences together for British, independent and international film. Decisions will be notified in the week of 2 November.
COMMISSION
Blackpool Creative Market – Artist Workshop Callout
Blackpool Creative Market | Blackpool Winter Gardens
Proposal Deadline: Midnight, Sunday 25 October
Blackpool Creative Market is looking for artists to run festive, family-friendly drop-in activities on Saturday 5 December 2026, on the theme ‘Festive Fancy’. The fee is £350, covering planning, preparation and delivery. Activities run from 11am to 3pm, with artists on site from 10am to 4pm including set-up and take-down. You should ideally have experience of community art projects with adults and children from toddlers to 12-year-olds, and participants should leave with something to take home. You’ll need your own equipment and public liability insurance, but DBS checks aren’t required. Open to UK-based individuals and organisations, with priority for Fylde Coast applicants. Proposals should cover your experience, your activity, how many people can take part at once and your equipment, and be emailed to [email protected]. Successful applicants will hear by 1 November.
FUNDING
Music Creators Growth Fund
Arts Council England | UK-wide (applications open nationally)
Application Deadline: Round One opens 1 October, closes 29 October 2026
A new Arts Council England fund offering artists, bands, composers, DJs, groups, producers and songwriters grants of £10,000–£20,000 to grow their careers – covering everything from recording and touring to international showcasing and business development. Open to music creators with at least three years’ active practice, £5,000+ music-related income in a recent financial year, and evidence of professional achievement (releases, touring, press, airplay, awards). Requires at least 25% cash match funding from other sources. Round Two opens 6 January to 3 February 2027.
OPEN CALL
Artist Open Call – Creative Responses
Lytham Institute | Lytham
Deadline for Responses: Saturday 31 October
Lytham Institute is inviting artists, designers and creative practitioners, established or emerging, to share ideas for a future programme responding to the building, the Lytham Heritage Group Archive Centre and the many layered histories of Lytham. Once a working men’s reading room, then a library, the Institute is now a community asset on Lytham High Street. It’s a chance to start a conversation about what could happen there next.
OPEN CALL
Poetry Collection Submissions
Nine Arches Press | Submissions via Submittable
Submission Deadline: Midnight, Saturday 31 October
Independent poetry publisher Nine Arches Press is open for full collection manuscripts from debut and established poets alike. Send a sample of twenty poems in a single document, plus a short bio, through Submittable. There’s no fee, and the press particularly encourages submissions from poets from underrepresented backgrounds. It will only consider poets with a track record of publication or audience in the UK, and asks that you read its guidelines first.
TRAINING
INCUBATE: Building Better Budgets
The Old Electric | Blackpool
Application Deadline: 3 weeks before the session (5 November)
Part of INCUBATE, The Old Electric’s paid professional development programme for Blackpool creatives. “Show me the money (honey)” is an overview of how to build and manage a realistic budget that keeps your creative project on track. Session: Thursday 26 November, 2-5pm.
OPEN CALL / EXHIBITION
Grosvenor Museum’s 16th Open Art Exhibition
West Cheshire Museums | Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Submission Deadline: Midnight, Sunday 15 November
The Grosvenor Museum in Chester is inviting artists over the age of 16 who live or work in the North West, North Wales and Cheshire’s bordering counties to enter its open art exhibition. Entries on any theme and in any visual arts medium are welcome (digital photography included), with up to three works per artist at £10 each. No work may exceed 1.8m in any dimension. Prizes are £1,000, £500 and £250, plus a £150 Visitors’ Choice award. The exhibition runs from 6 February to 4 July 2027, and artists will be told the outcome on 4 December. Sold work is subject to a 30% commission.
OPEN CALL
Anthology 3: Cosmic Horror
Carnyx Press | Submissions by email
Submission Deadline: Midnight, Monday 30 November (open from 1 October)
Northern speculative fiction publisher Carnyx Press wants weird, disturbing stories of existential dread from writers living in the North of England, including Lancashire. Send one unpublished story of 2,000-8,000 words. Between five and ten stories will be chosen, with contributors receiving four copies of the printed anthology and a £20 honorarium. Work created with generative AI isn’t accepted.
OPEN CALL / PRIZE
Leodis Prize for New Writing
Leodis Talent | Submissions by email
Deadline: November – exact date to be confirmed
A new writing prize for previously unrepresented playwrights. The winning play will be produced at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2027 and published by Methuen Drama, with a paid writing residency at a producing theatre also on offer. Submit the full script, a synopsis and a character breakdown.
PRIZE / DEVELOPMENT
Women’s Prize Discoveries 2027
Women’s Prize Trust | Online submissions
Deadline: Monday 11 January 2027
A free-to-enter writer development programme for unpublished and unagented women in the UK and Ireland. Submit the opening of a novel (up to 10,000 words) plus a synopsis, for the chance of a literary agent offer, a £5,000 bursary, a bespoke creative writing course and mentoring. You don’t need to have finished your novel.
COMPETITION
Writers’ & Artists’ Short Story Competition 2027
Writers’ & Artists’ | Online submissions
Deadline: Midnight, Friday 12 February 2027
A free annual competition for unpublished, unagented writers. Submit a short story for adults of up to 2,000 words on the theme of celebration. The winner receives a place on an Arvon Residential Writing Week (worth £985), and the winner and two runners-up are published on the site.
EXHIBITION
Culturapedia Open Call
Culturapedia | Blackburn Market
Deadline: Rolling – limited slots through the year
A free four-week exhibition slot in what’s billed as Lancashire’s newest and smallest art gallery, in the heart of Blackburn Market. Open to all art forms that fit the space: paintings and drawings, photography, textiles, prints and small 3D work, whether wall-mounted or not.
ONGOING
Art Shelter Tram Stop
Creative Blackpool | Bus/tram stops across Blackpool
Deadline: Rolling – check site for current call
A year-round public platform showcasing Blackpool artists’ work on street furniture across the town.
