DIT FAQs

You can watch here documentation of the first DIT online information session.

What sort of project can I propose?

We are seeking proposals that offer a research, training, creative or professional development opportunity for both the lead artist and the group of participating artists/practitioners. 

We want to be led by you in terms of format, activity or methodology. We highly encourage you to think beyond conventional workshops or masterclasses and more toward a shared activity, experiment or process.

We aim to support projects that are inventive, playful and unconventional. We are also particularly looking for projects that engage with our current sociopolitical contexts and urgent questions. See examples of past DIYs here.

The most important thing is that you have considered why it is important to do the activity with other artists, how you will do it together and what becomes possible through sharing the process.

What is my role as lead artist?

The role of the lead artist(s) is to set the frame of enquiry and plan the activity for a group of artists to explore together.

Where a workshop or masterclass may see the lead artist(s) in the role of facilitator sharing skills, DIT is about learning, exploring and experimenting together. The lead artist(s) running the DIT should gain as much from the experience as the participating artists/practitioners.

The lead artist(s) will also manage the budget.

Can I apply to R&D a new project?

You can absolutely apply with an idea that relates to or feeds a longer-term project, artwork or performance, but you need to be clear about why you want to do the activity with others, and what the development opportunity is for both you and the participating artists/practitioners.

This is not an opportunity to test an idea on others (e.g. test new choreography on a group of dancers) – it is an opportunity to test ideas together.

Can you give an example of a DIT project?

DIT is a reimagining of LADA’s flagship programme, DIY. All of the DIY projects from 2002-2020 can be explored here.

Can I apply with a project I led in the past, as part of LADA’s DIY?

If you want to apply with a DIY project that you led in the past, you will need to explain why it is important that it happens again with a new group of people, in a new time and context, and how this will still be a development opportunity for you as well as them.

Timeline

When would my DIT project have to take place?

Between March and September 2026. The exact date will be set by you and your partners so that you can co-ordinate on space and hosting capacity.

How long should the project be?

The length of your project should be proposed by you. You may want to run the activity over consecutive days, or you may want to run the activity over a series of shorter meetings/moments. 

The length will need to work within the confines of the budget. As a guide, we would suggest a maximum of 3 days of activity (whether this is consecutive or intermittent), depending on costs of the activity, so that the budget can cover a fee for your time.

Budget

 

What should I put in my budget?

We ask you to give an indication of how you will spend your budget in the application, but this can be finalised with support from your partners after selection.

£2,250 all in, broken down as:

£1,750 to cover:

• Lead artist(s) fee for the time they contribute to the project. 
• Lead artist(s) travel expenses if delivering the project with partners that are not local.
• Project expenses which may include materials, tickets for events, space hire (if not with partners), guest speakers’ fees.

To ensure a proportion of the budget is reserved for reducing access barriers, we ask that £500 goes toward helping to reduce access barriers. This could be:

• Your personal access costs
• Providing access for the group of participating artists/practitioners. 

If you do not require access support yourself, you may want to decide how to spend this money once you know who the participating artists/practitioners are.

Are the participating artists’/practitioners’ expenses covered?

The DIT projects are free for the participating artists/practitioners to attend, but they will need to cover their own travel and accommodation if they are not local.

The lead artist(s) can choose to use some of the budget to pay participating artists’/practitioners’ expenses rather than spend it on activity expenses, and in some cases this may feel like an important part of the methodology.

Ultimately, the value of DIT for participating artists should be the development opportunity and this should be considered in how the project is designed and led.

Who will manage the budget?

The partners will support you to finalise your budget. The money will then be paid to you directly by LADA, and you will manage the budget in consultation with your partners. 

If budget management is a barrier for you, we can find alternatives. Please let your partners know as soon as you are selected, so we can plan relevant support.

How will the award be paid?

We will pay £2000 in January 2026, and pay the final £250 on receipt of documentation and a short evaluation report. All payments require an invoice (to include BACS details for electronic payment).

Participating artists/practitioners

Who will I work with?

Participating artists apply to take part through a national open call, and are selected by you with support of your partners.

Think through who you want to work with as part of your proposal and how you will select them. You may want to work with artists/practitioners from a particular background or with a particular interest or experience related to your idea.

We want to know how your project will contribute to the artistic and/or professional development of the participating artists/practitioners as well as your own practice.

How many participating artists should I plan it for?

We would suggest a minimum of 5 and a limit of 15 so that you can take care of everyone.

Partners and location

 

What support will I get planning and producing the project?

Planning: 

• Before the open call goes out for participating artists, LADA will run a planning session for all Lead Artists and partners focused on embedding access and inclusion and troubleshooting – led by an artist with expertise in intersectional facilitation practice.
• Your partner will support you with planning dates, space and what you want to do for the activity.

Open call for participants: 

• LADA will manage the open call for participants through our website.
• The partner will support you with selecting participating artists.

Delivery:

• Your partner will help you to host and be on hand for the activity.
• They will provide space if needed.
• You will manage the budget.

Can I choose which partner I work with?

Some partners have set specific briefs. When you apply, you can select if you want to apply for one of the specific briefs. Otherwise, you will be matched with the partners as part of the selection process. We encourage you to read both the brief and research the profile of the partner. For example some partners are particularly focused on supporting socially engaged live art practice where others are more focused on contemporary performance.

If I apply for a specific partner brief, will I only be considered by those partners or will my project be considered by other partners too?

The partners who have not set a brief and are ‘open to anything’ will review all of the applications, including those responding to a brief. 

The partners who have set a brief will only read those applying against their brief, unless there are applications that come in that LADA thinks will still be of particular interest to those partners or specified wanting to work in their location.

Does my DIT have to take place in a specific place and/or location?

Think about the kind of space and location your project needs while you shape your proposal (e.g. do you need a studio space, a swimming pool, a pub, a forest?) We will use this to help match you with the suitable partner organisations who can best accommodate these ideas.

Do I need to budget for renting a space?

DIT is supported by a range of partner organisations across the country. All pairs of partner organisations come with some form of indoor space that will be free to use (within reason and through matching up calendars and availability). The exception is Fierce x performance, possession + automation that only have access to a small meeting space in the Fierce office and are therefore encouraging site specific explorations in Birmingham.

Can I request to work locally?

In the application form, we will ask you if your circumstances mean that you need to work locally to deliver the proposal (e.g. childcare, work commitments). We will use this to help match you with the suitable partner organisations.

For the GroundWork Gallery x Norfolk & Norwich Festival brief, should the participants be children and young people?

For this brief, the participants should still be peer artists, but artists who are interested in creating work for and with young people and the themes of the brief. The partners are not looking for you to create a brief to do with young people and all participating artists should be over the age of 18.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

 

What does ‘5+ years of professional experience’ mean?

We are looking for artists and practitioners who have built 5+ years experience working professionally, so that they are comfortable leading other artists in the process.

By ‘professional’, we mean that we are looking for evidence that an artist has been working/making/facilitating outside of educational contexts for 5 + years. This does not mean that being an artist is your only or main income stream, but that your work is happening professionally in the public sphere. The 5 years do not need to be consecutive.

Artists who have been working professionally for less than 5 years are very much welcome to apply to participate when the open calls for participating artists are announced early 2026.

Can I apply if I’m based outside of the UK?

For 2026, the opportunity is only open to artists based in the UK. This is because we can not support international travel costs and we do not want DIT to be reliant on match funding. This may change in the future.

If you work between the UK and other countries and have a UK bank account, you are welcome to apply, but please consider that your full travel costs may not be covered.

Can I apply as a duo/collective?

Yes, you can apply to lead a DIT with another artist or a collective, however the budget is the same for each project. You will need to adjust the costs of the project around allowing for multiple lead artist fees.

Can I apply to lead a project as a solo artist and also apply in collaboration with someone else?

You can submit one application as a solo artist, and one application in collaboration with another artist/as part of a collective. This means you can only be named in a total of two applications.

How will you decide which projects are funded?

LADA and DIT partners will review proposals based on the following criteria:

• The inventiveness, originality, and curiosity of the proposal.
• The urgency and sociopolitical relevance of the themes and questions being explored.
• Why this project needs to happen with others, and how the artist and participating artists/practitioners will benefit in tandem.
• How your proposal fits with the brief, values and/or priorities of the partner organisations.
• If the project is feasible within the timeline and budget.
• The relevance of the proposal to the aims of DIT.
• Track record of 5+ years of professional practice.

Balancing criteria 

• In addition to the above, we are actively seeking to meet and exceed current cultural representation of Global Majority artists and disabled artists in the UK. DIT therefore aims to support a minimum of 40% Black, Brown, ethnically diverse and racialised identities, and 20% disabled lead artists. 
• We aim to support a geographical spread of artists to meet the project aims.
• We also aim to support a wide range of projects that represent the multiplicity of forms and disciplines live art takes and a range of themes and ideas.

Who will make the decision about which projects are funded?

DIT partner organisations with specific briefs will review the relevant proposal, and the partners that are ‘open to anything’ will review all of the applications, including those responding to a brief. The partners will shortlist the projects against the DIT criteria and LADA will match projects based on the shortlists and the balancing criteria.

Application process

Can I get advice about applying?

Come along to one of our free online information sessions. This is an open space for you to ask questions about any aspect of the process. However, please note that we can’t provide specific advice on your creative ideas.

Access

What formats can I apply in?

We accept written, video and audio applications.

Is there access support to help me apply?

We cannot provide or pay for access support to help with writing or preparing the application. 

Should you need support accessing or uploading the application or have a question about the application form, please email us or call us on 020 8985 2124 and we will be happy to offer further support

Is there access support for me to deliver the project?

Each project has a pot of £500 designated for reducing access barriers. 

This can be used for: 

• Personal access costs: Access support for the lead artist(s), for example 2 days with an access support worker.
• Participant access costs: Making the project more accessible, for example 2 days with an access support worker to accompany the project.

If you do not require access support yourself, you may want to decide how to spend this money once you know who the participating artists/practitioners are.

If you have questions which are not answered by the FAQs, or need the forms in any other format, please contact Willy at [email protected] or on 020 8985 2124.