Artist Commission Open Call
Following our successful application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Studio KIND CIC is commissioning three artist/researchers to investigate three key areas of heritage around its venue, The Corn Store, in Barnstaple Pannier Market.
Studio KIND is a contemporary artist-led visual arts and community space that inhabits The Corn Store – an enclosed space at one end of the market that has recently been modernised with sky lights and large, arched, glass doors opening straight into the main market space. Working with a range of contemporary artists as well as numerous community groups, charities and local schools, to put on a range of workshops, gatherings, talks and exhibitions.
Barnstaple, formerly “Barum”, is a lively town on the River Taw in North Devon which dates back to the Saxon era and has a current population of around 31,000. Situated in the heart of North Devon, many people come to the area on holidays throughout the year to visit the sandy beaches, dramatic coastline and enjoy water sports such as surfing. Despite this, Barnstaple and other neighbourhoods in North Devon are in the top 5% more deprived neighbourhoods in the UK, with many people living in poverty.
Barnstaple Pannier Market, designed by the Borough Surveyor, Richard Davey Gould, opened in 1855 and has recently undergone an extensive restoration. Open year-long, you will find a variety of traders who operate from the market five days a week, selling fresh produce, second-hand goods and crafts.
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to deliver a year-long project that provides research opportunities, fun activities for the community, and the chance for people to think more deeply about what the Pannier Market means to our area.
About the commissions
'Back To The Market' will investigate the heritage of Barnstaple Pannier Market, concentrating on three key areas of research that we are inviting contemporary artists/researchers to respond to. We do not wish to be too prescriptive about the approach, only asking that heritage is at the centre of the research. Each historical event has interesting links to contemporary issues in Britain today, whilst exploring Barnstaple Pannier Market’s role at the heart of the town.
One commission will explore the events around Oswald Mosley’s talk that took place in Barnstaple Pannier Market in 1934, one will be linked to Jeremy Thorpe’s wedding reception that took place in Barnstaple Pannier Market in 1968, and the other inspired by The Beggar’s Opera written in 1728 by John Gay who was born in Barnstaple. More info on each historical event below.
There will be an exhibition presenting all three commissions in November 2026 (date TBC), which will also be documented as a virtual exhibition and a short video will be made interviewing each artist/researcher about their experiences. We expect some digital output as part of each commission, which could be in the form of documenting/blogging, podcasts/audio, visual/video, digital zines, or any other form that suits the research and work made.
We also have funding for a series of workshops and talks beginning in April. Each artist will be expected to give a talk or a workshop (@ £250 each + travel) but can do more workshops if they wish.
Application process
The deadline to apply is 23:00 20th April 2026 and there is no fee to apply.
As artists ourselves, we are very aware of the time that can be spent on unsuccessful applications. We would like a brief summary of you and your practice, what attracted you to the project and a possible approach.
Please send us a single PDF to applications@studiokind.org.uk with the following information:
Name
Address
Telephone
Website
Social media
Artist statement (150 words)
Which commission you are applying for (just select one)
What interests you about this project? (150 words)
What areas of interest and approach would you take: (150 words)
Give three examples of previous relevant work (150 words each and up to 4 images/web links each)
Artist CV (no more than one page)
The distance any applicant would have to travel is a consideration - both in terms of the link with the area and environmental concerns about travel - so this call-out favours artists from the South West (but is not exclusive).
Applications will go through a short-listing process by Studio KIND staff, followed by a further short-listing process with an external selection panel to include Alison Mills (Barnstaple Museum) and Harriet Cooper (The Burton at Bideford). The final shortlist will be invited to interview on the 1st May. Applicants invited to shortlist will receive a contribution towards travel costs.
Commission #1
On October 6th 1934, Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists gave a speech in Barnstaple Pannier Market to a crowd of almost 2,000. His Black Shirts had allied themselves with local farmers who were protesting about the tithes (the tax levied by the Church against farmers) and had set up road blocks. As the Bideford Gazette reported “The inhabitants of Stibb Cross, Langtree, Buckland Brewer and surrounding parishes have not had such excitement for years and young Hitlers and young Mussolinis are bursting for an outlet for their high spirits while their fathers, proud men of the soil who have wrung a living from the soil these thirty years or more, are great sympathisers..”
It is somewhat ironic that the Pannier Market was chosen as the venue for these fascists to gather. North Devon’s prosperity was greatly assisted by a wave of refugees from the Huguenots who rejuvenated the textile trade and bought new banking skills into the area. Today we are also witnessing the arrival of refugees – mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine, but also from elsewhere – who are bringing their own heritage with them, which is contributing to the culture of North Devon. Studio KIND currently works with a number of refugee groups that we would like to involve in the project.
We would like the artist/researcher to respond to this aspect of our history, both past and present. We don’t expect the artists to necessarily cover all the aspects of this complex subject matter but to suggest fresh artistic approaches.
The commission will be awarded at £1,500, with £1,000 paid at the beginning of the commission and the remainder paid after the public-facing exhibition.
Commission #2
Jeremy Thorpe’s wedding reception was held in Barnstaple Pannier Market in 1968. Jeremy Thorpe was a successful and popular leader of the Liberal Party and the MP North Devon. His fall from grace was triggered by a succession of events that stemmed initially from the secrecy about his sexuality, which he felt was necessary in order to function as a successful politician. The events were recently dramatized in the series A Very British Scandal A Very English Scandal (TV series) - Wikipedia
The Royal family attended his second marriage in 1973 to Marion Stein after Caroline’s death in a car crash in 1970, and that reception boasted 900 guests at St James’s Palace, but this did not prevent his downfall which occurred shortly after.
The wedding reception in the Pannier Market was not only the celebration of the wedding but a political statement about Thorpe’s sexuality. Thorpe’s initial affair with Norman Scott began in the early 60’s when homosexuality was illegal.
We would like the artist/researcher to respond to the contradictions encapsulated by Thorpe’s wedding with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ heritage within living memory. The commission will be awarded at £1,500, with £1,000 paid at the beginning of the commission and the remainder paid after the public-facing exhibition.
Commission #3
John Gay was born on one side of Barnstaple Pannier Market and went to school on the other side (although this was before the Pannier Market itself had been erected). His most famous work was The Beggar’s Opera written in 1728 where he set new lyrics to popular broadsheet ballads, opera arias, church hymns and folk tunes of the time and used them to create a new opera.
Other composers used the concept to create their own versions. Most well-known is The Threepenny Opera by Brecht and Weil in 1928 but other versions have been created by Benjamin Britten, The Beggar’s Holliday (1946) by John Latouche, Duke Ellington, and Billy Strayhorn; Vaclav Havel, Žebrácká opera (The Beggar’s Opera) (1975); Wole Soyinka, Opera Wonyosi (1977); Dario Fo, L’Opera dello sghignazzo (1981); Alan Ayckbourn, A Chorus of Disapproval (1984); Chico Buarque, Opera Malandro (2003); and Carl Grose and Charles Hazelwood, Dead Dog in a Suitcase (2015).
It can be seen as a forerunner of collage and sampling so we would like the artist/researcher to create their own work that investigates the heritage and social histories of the Pannier Market and surrounding area – whether this focuses on local music or the history of the Pannier Market itself – using the concept of the Beggar’s Opera as a model.
The commission will be awarded at £2,000, with £1,500 paid at the beginning of the commission and the remainder paid after the public-facing exhibition.
About Studio KIND
Founded as a community interest company in 2020, Studio KIND presents the work of both local and national, early-career and established artists through an ambitious and diverse programme of exhibitions and events, curated to excite imaginations, challenge perceptions and create connections. Our mission is to raise the profile of contemporary art in North Devon; supporting and promoting the rapidly-growing local arts scene whilst showcasing artistic activity from around the UK.