18th – 24th July 2026, Mallaig – Mallaig, £895
We are excited to announce the 2026 edition of the Life of Islands Residency. The week will offer artists a space to explore notions of remoteness, connection and identity, at the intersection between land and sea.
This residency has a greater focus on exploring ashore than most in Sail Britain’s programme. Together we’ll reflect on islandness with a particular focus on inhabited places. We will make inland visits and actively explore the connections between us as crew using Merlin, the boat, as a metaphor for a community in which we will share our values and ideas. The boat, serving as our island, will bring us together to develop and exchange perspectives.
In addition to some wonderful sailing between islands, expect evenings to go roaming ashore, spending time developing personal projects and discussing creative approaches to collaboration and communication. The residency will encompass the surrounding seas and will be an opportunity to experience the ocean first hand in a very intimate way. Travelling by sail allows an appreciation of distance, separation and the elements and opportunity to develop as a crew.
The crew will be supported by artist and musician Laura Copsey, who has collaborated on this residency over the past 6 years. Laura knows the territory well and during the week (weather permitting) we will aim for island connections, explore how experience, heritage and sense of place can inform creative practice. During the week, Laura will share prompts and provocations that introduce Island themes to develop an exchange of ideas and creative action on the theme. Come along with a willingness to engage in conversation and collaboration.
There are 6 places for this residency.
Applicants should have an interest in working within a strong team environment in collaboration with other artists, including a willingness to discuss and share ideas, and to work together as a crew to sail the ship. We hope participants will be eager to actively share in supportive creative environment. The resident artists should bring any materials or equipment required for their research, but please be aware space onboard is very limited and emphasis on packing light is strongly encouraged!
Application Process:
We ask applicants to submit an introduction to their work and their motivation for applying for the residency, including relevant themes in their work and how taking part will be beneficial for their practice. This should be no more than one page of A4 of text, with additionally up to 5 images or other supporting documentation such as video, sound, links etc. as an emailed PDF. This is so that we can learn a bit about you, and to ensure that applicants will get as much as possible out of the programme.
Applications should be sent to info@sailbritain.org, subject – ‘Life of Islands Residency Application + [your name]’
The deadline for applications is Saturday 15th February 2026, but applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Funding
This is a self-funded residency, as Sail Britain has no external support, but we have a good record of applicants making successful external funding applications to support their places, and we are very happy to write in support of these once we have received your application. Please let us know if this would be helpful, and see this page for suggestions on funding your place
Also have a look at our FAQs page for an insight into life onboard
For any questions about the programme, please send us an email – info@sailbritain.org
Practical information:
- Start point – Mallaig (The crew will send details with exactly where to find Merlin on the day of arrival)
- Start time – Saturday 18th July, 3pm
- End point – Mallaig
- End time – Friday 24th July, 12 noon
What’s included:
- Fully equipped yacht and professional crew
- 6 nights accommodation onboard
- All meals for the week
- All safety equipment and training
What’s not included
- Your travel to and from the start/end points of the voyage
- Travel insurance
- Any expenses ashore, although these tend to be very limited out in the wilds!
- Materials for your practice / research