Colstoun Arts’ residency programme has been developed to provide both international and Scottish artists with the rare opportunity to step outside the pace of their everyday practice and enter into a period of concentrated reflection and making.

It is designed primarily for mid-career artists who have already established a clear artistic voice, yet wish to challenge, refine, or expand their practice through sustained engagement with place and landscape.

On occasion, we also extend invitations to early-career artists whose work demonstrates exceptional promise and resonance with our ethos.

At the heart of the programme is the conviction that meaningful art emerges from deep, undisturbed time with ideas, materials, and the natural world.

We have created a space in which artists can pursue a body of work with focus and continuity rather than distraction or interruption. which ultimately serves as the springboard for the development of a larger body of work on returning to their normal life.

For international artists participation is by invitation only. Scottish artists are able to apply, for more information please contact us directly

Residencies at Colstoun Arts are deliberately open-ended, shaped around the specific needs and working rhythms of each artist.

We recognise that the depth and intensity of practice can take many forms—what one artist may achieve in a focused week, another may require several months to explore fully. In 2025, for instance, residencies ranged from an intense seven-day immersion to an eight-week period of sustained engagement, intertwined with cultural visits, gallery meetings in London and other activities.

Each invited artist is asked to propose the duration of their residency, articulating why that span of time is essential to their creative process and the development of their work. This ensures that every residency is purposeful, responsive, and attuned to the demands of the project at hand.

Colstoun Arts is committed to supporting the development of contemporary art in Scotland by offering opportunities to artists based here while also welcoming international voices to engage with the unique cultural and natural context of the country.

Our residencies have hosted a number of international artists—particularly those with Scottish heritage or family connections—who have found in Colstoun a site of both return and discovery.

By broadening our reach internationally, we aim not only to enrich the dialogue between Scotland and the wider world but also to contribute to the evolving language of contemporary Scottish art itself, ensuring that it remains dynamic, and globally relevant.

Please note that while we welcome artists from abroad, Colstoun Arts does not provide immigration or visa support, and participants are expected to make their own arrangements in this regard.

Accommodation

• Private accommodation within Colstoun House.

• Comfortable bedrooms with access to communal kitchen, dining, and living areas. We eat together as a family Monday-Thursday evenings.

• Wi-Fi and basic utilities included, staple foods and vegetables and fruit from Colstoun Walled Garden.

• A setting that combines historical architecture with a direct connection to the surrounding landscape and Nature.

Studios & Workspaces

• Dedicated studio spaces for individual artists. in 2026 we are hoping to bring on an additional studio space within the grounds of the estate for smaller projects.

• Access to outdoor spaces and the estate grounds for site-specific or land-based projects.

• Access to materials including Artel Canvas Stretchers, Liquitex Primers, Michael Harding Oil Paints and more upon agreement.

Landscape & Environment

• Direct access to Colstoun’s historic estate, woodlands, and gardens.

• Opportunities to work in natural settings, reflecting the programme’s emphasis on the relationship between art and nature.

• Support for artists wishing to create outdoor installations or environmentally responsive projects.

Professional Support

• Curatorial guidance from Colstoun Arts’ team, and industry professionals within our artistic network.

• Documentation of the residency and final works (photography, texts, social media features).

• Opportunities to present work in an exhibition, open studio, or online presentation upon agreement with Colstoun Arts.

Practical Amenities

• Shared kitchen and dining facilities.

• Laundry and storage space.

• Transport support (pick-up from Edinburgh/airport or local train stations (Waverly, Drem, Dunbar or East Linton)

Community & Exchange

• Participation in group meals and discussions.

• Opportunities to contribute to Colstoun Arts’ archive through interviews or written reflections.

There is no fee to participate in the Colstoun Arts Residency. However, Residency opportunities are provided via invitation only.

Yes, please refer above to “What facilities and support are provided to resident artists?”

We encourage artists to immerse themselves in nature, we frequently have artists who prefer En plein air than studio work and guides to the local environment will be provided on request.

Artists are invited to Colstoun Arts through a considered selection process led by a panel of respected industry professionals, including curators, gallerists, and practising artists.

Selection is not based on style or medium alone, but on the strength of an artist’s vision and their capacity to make a meaningful contribution to the evolving language of art inspired by the natural world, additionally each year we seek to tie the resident artists together through a theme. 2025 saw the theme of “Women inspired by nature in art” and 2026 will see us explore “how heritage, race, culture and geography influence artists inspired by nature”

We look for experienced artists whose work demonstrates both rigour and sensitivity—it is of the greatest importance to us that we invite artists who are able to respond to Colstoun’s landscape, history, and ecology with originality while situating their practice within a wider contemporary discourse.

In this way, each residency becomes part of a broader conversation about how art can articulate, reflect, and reimagine our relationship with nature.

At Colstoun Arts, we prioritise the artist’s vision, allowing each participant to shape the direction and outcome of their residency, to describe particular outcomes expected for the residency is therefore very challenging to do.

Our programme is designed to be supportive rather than prescriptive. We have found that, providing the resources, space, and environment for deep engagement while respecting the individuality of each practice, ultimately leads to the best outcome for the artists involved. This and many other reasons is why we have sought to primarily work with midcareer artists who require less support and more freedom to receive the largest benefit to themselves.

Artists invited to participate are asked to donate a work to the Colstoun Arts Collection, helping to continue the evolving narrative of artistic voices that have shaped and enriched Colstoun over the years.

Through this approach, we have observed that most artists leave their residencies with renewed creativity, a strengthened sense of purpose, and a clear momentum to return to their own studios and surroundings.

Many produce a cohesive and compelling body of work during their time at Colstoun, often culminating in pieces that are exhibition-ready and deeply reflective of both the artist’s vision and the inspiration drawn from our landscape and ethos, whilst others use the experience as an opportunity to research and experiment with a future exhibition in mind.