announcing the New Dimensions Commission

Introducing Dan Daw Creative Projects

A portrait of Dan Daw wearing a black tshirt with white text that reads 'Joy As Resistance' . He has tattoos on his arms. He has closely cropped hair, a ginger moustache & beard & is smiling.

Dan Daw

In February we launched New Dimensions with five UK partners, a commissioning programme to support UK artists to scale up their practice and create new ambitious work for national and international touring. Battersea Arts Centre (London), Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow), Tramway (Glasgow), Transform (Leeds) and Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (Brighton) created this partnership to nurture and support ambition through a package of support that includes £50k commission, residency space, fundraising and producing support.

We received an overwhelming 240 applications to the open call, with many brilliant ideas from artists expressing how rare these opportunities to create works of scale are for contemporary performance makers. The response to this call has shown us how vital it is that we continue to develop, strategise and advocate for the conditions needed for more works of scale to be made in the UK, so that we can offer more opportunities in the future.

“We are thrilled to support Dan Daw Creative Projects’ first large scale work, Spenny, with this commission. We fell in love with their previous work, The Dan Daw Show, and recognize their potential to engage diverse audiences on a grand scale. Their joyful and unapologetic approach intertwines their lived experience, incorporating queer, Crip, and working-class politics into the core of their creations. We admire that Spenny fearlessly tackles the theme of desiring more money and resources amidst ongoing economic crises. This is a pivotal moment for the company as they aim to expand, and we are excited about their eagerness to explore intimacy within larger spaces. We are delighted to accompany them on this journey and support their ambitions."  - New Dimensions Partners

Read the interview with Dan Daw on the Battersea Arts Centre website.

The Commission process

Battersea Arts Centre (London), Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow), Tramway (Glasgow), Transform (Leeds) and Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (Brighton) have come together to support artists who are ready to dream big and create a new work of scale that can tour nationally and internationally.

The five UK partners have created a partnership to nurture and support ambition through commissioning, residency space, fundraising and producing support and international development opportunities.

One artist or company will be selected for commission, supported by the partners through to the premiere of a new production in Autumn 2025. 

The Commission:

  • £50K (Fifty Thousand Pound) commission

  • 28 month (2.5 year) making process

  • 20 weeks residency space

  • Fundraising and producing support

  • International development opportunities

  • Premiere and tour the new work to the partner festivals and venues in Autumn 2025. 


What are we looking to support?

  • Artists who can demonstrate a strong track record for making and touring cross-disciplinary performance work, who are looking to expand their practice and present work on a larger scale. 

What do we mean by ‘work of scale’?

  • Work for larger stages: minimum 10 x 10m stages

  • Space & time: research time, residencies and production time spanning 28 months

  • Creative teams: resources to work with larger, experienced and multi-disciplinary creative teams

  • Ambition & innovation: creation of new forms and aesthetics to support rigorous research and ideas.

  • Audiences: platforming the work at leading international festivals, and presenting the work over longer runs for 300 - 600 seater venues

  • International outlook: we aim to provide an international outlook from the outset by including international programmers as part of the decision-making process.

Who can apply?

  • UK based artists/companies only

  • Artists working in contemporary performance. 

  • Applicants will need to demonstrate a professional track record including successful grants or previous public and/or arts council funding, tour dates and venue support.

  • We are actively encouraging applications from artists who have experienced barriers to working at scale and touring - LGBTQI+, female, non-binary, disabled, global majority led work, and work led by artists from low-socio economic backgrounds.  

Application Process

  • 14 Feb 2023: Open call for Stage 1 applications

  • 21 March 2023: Deadline for Stage 1 applications