Dora House Artist Residency | Royal Society of Sculptors

Entry Type

Members-only

Location

Dora House, South Kensington, London

About the prize

This year we mark 50 years at Dora House thanks to the generous gift of Cecil Thomas OBE FRBS who bequeathed his home and studio to the Society in 1976. The highlight will be completing our Creating a Home for Sculptors project which transforms the basement at Dora House into a self-contained one bedroom flat and studio for visiting artists. With work well under way now, we are delighted to open applications for you, our members, to join us in residence later this year.

The residencies are designed to support professional connection and exchange, providing residents with a strategic base in the city. As these are our first residencies at Dora House, we are keen to get your feedback on the experience.

Please note only applications made via the CuratorSpace online platform and submitted by the deadline will be considered.

Purpose of the residency

This residency is intended as a period of research, exploration, and idea development. We are particularly interested in how the artist uses their time to engage with the city — its people, organisations, histories, and spaces — as a catalyst for new thinking and future work.

Rather than prioritising a fully resolved final product, the focus is on process: building relationships, testing ideas, and responding to the context in meaningful and ambitious ways.

During the residency, we expect the artist to:

Undertake focused research informed by the city’s cultural, social, or physical landscape
Proactively connect with local organisations, creatives, and communities
Develop new concepts, proposals, or early-stage work inspired by these interactions
Share insights, works-in-progress, or research outcomes in an appropriate format (at the 3 week event point with a presentation, discussion or open studio)
Document learning, connections, and future directions emerging from the residency

The residency should lay strong foundations for future work, partnerships, and long-term impact beyond the residency period itself.

Please note this is a self-directed residency, all applicants must come with the understanding that they need to work independently.

Artist requirements:

Completion of an end-of-residency report - A form will be sent for completion once your stay has ended.
Instagram takeover / Zoom talk or similar during or after your time with us.
For the four week residency the artists will also be expected to host a public-facing event (for example in-conversation event) in week three of your residency - details to be agreed closer to the time

Renderings of Dora House residency space by Tigg Coll

Eligibility & Access

These inaugural residencies are open exclusively to current members & fellows of the Royal Society of Sculptors living outside the M25 ring
The residencies runs for a fixed period (either two weeks in October or four weeks in November)
One resident at a time: the residency is intended for single occupancy of the artist only. Artist duos are welcome to apply – the travel expenses and per diems will not increase in these instances.
The flat is accessed via steep, narrow steps; applicants should consider this when applying
Applications are welcomed from all Royal Society of Sculptors members and fellows provided they have not been awarded or participated in a Society residency in the 12 months prior to the applications opening.
Please note that for your application to be accepted, your annual membership fee must be paid in full by the submission deadline or an existing quarterly direct debit be in place.

As part of the support provided, the artist in residency will be eligible for:

Travel support with a contribution towards return economy travel to London (subject to receipts):
- Up to £150 for return travel within the UK
- Up to £300 for return travel from mainland Europe
- Up to £800 for return travel from the rest of the world
A per diem of £30
A materials budget of £300 (subject to receipts)
Administrative and pastoral support from the Awards & Residencies manager is available during office hours from 10am-5pm Monday-Friday but we expect residents to be self-motivated during their time with us
A weekly zone 1 and 2 Oyster card for London Travel.

We expect the accommodation will provide the artist with:

Access to the flat and studio space for research and the creation of artwork (no hot working in this space)
A self contained apartment with a functional kitchen with cooking utensils and kitchen essentials, a private bathroom and a bedroom with a double bed with duvet and pillows as well as linen, towels, basic essentials, hairdryer and iron
Lounge area
Wi-Fi

Current Winners

Current Winner

Claire Morgan FRSS

Claire Morgan is an Irish multidisciplinary artist based in Gateshead, UK, whose practice incorporates sculpture, drawing, installation, writing, and printmaking, to engage deeply with notions of transience and the human condition. Her international exhibition history spans 20 years and includes museum shows in Europe, Asia, Australia and the States.

’m over the moon to be the first artist to be offered the new flat and studio for sculptors at Dora House. Having dedicated time and a base from which to engage with London’s cultural ecosystem and meet or catch up with the brilliant curators and artists based in the capital is a privilege I look forward to greatly.

The Society supported my practice early on, just over 20 years ago, so it’s going to be lovely to return at a time when the society is celebrating this milestone too!

Claire Morgan FRSS

Current Winner

Tahira Noreen MRSS

I am a visual artist based in Islamabad, Pakistan, working with paper through cutting, carving, and reconstruction. My practice explores movement through lived routes, using repeated lines and fragments to build layered surfaces. Through a sustained process, I develop works where structure and density accumulate over time, shaped by memory, repetition, and experience.

I’m extremely grateful to have been selected for the residency at Dora House and very excited to spend time working in London for the first time. My practice often develops through slow processes of cutting, repetition, and reconstruction, so the opportunity to step away from the pressure of producing finished work and instead focus on research, experimentation, and reflection feels incredibly valuable. I’m especially looking forward to exploring the city, engaging with its artistic spaces and archives, and seeing how those experiences begin to shape new directions within my practice.

Tahira Noreen MRSS