Programming at SMH
St Margaret’s House supports emerging artists across different artforms to refine their work and take creative risks, offering opportunities to deliver activities, performances and events across our non-traditional venues. We are currently accepting programming proposals.
Our key programming areas are:
Performances and sharings - We host performances at all stages of development, from rehearsed readings to touring productions. Our Mulberry Hall is a fully accessible 60-seater, perfect for theatre pieces, whilst our Chapel works well for intimate music gigs and film screenings. Find our tech specs here.
Arts Workshops - From fibre arts to special interest groups, woodworking to poetry, we support artists to run workshops from our Create Place, a small arts studio suitable for groups of up to 12 participants.
Wellbeing Sessions - We host wellbeing sessions including yoga, sound baths, dance and more from The Canvas, our wellbeing studio. Sessions are low-cost and adaptable for different mobilities, for up to 8 participants.
Exhibitions - Our Exhibitions team support both emerging and established artists as part of our exhibitions programme, with a focus on supporting artists who are exhibiting for the first time. Longer-term exhibitions are held in the Gallery Cafe, whilst weekend-length shows are hosted in the Chapel. Find out more about our exhibitions and register your interest in exhibiting here.
Community Projects - We also collaborate with artists and collectives who are hoping to deliver full-scale projects and would like us to partner with them. This may be a workshop series culminating in an exhibition, or a series of open rehearsals with different community groups, ending in a small performance sharing.
We prioritise programming work that is:
Made by emerging artists and groups - We support artists who are at the beginning of their careers, and who are establishing their practice. The work you propose might be your first workshop, the first performance of your new theatre company, or the screening of your first professionally-made film.
Socially-engaged - Perhaps your artwork was made in collaboration with a school group, or you have made a verbatim theatre piece with voices from a particular community. Your work should have some engagement with others, and speak to matters that are relevant to culture today.
Affordable - We operate a three-tier pricing structure for the majority of our workshops and events, and subsidise a large number of our activities to ensure there is always a low-cost option. Please bear this in mind when proposing work to us - you should ensure the cost of your time and experience is covered, but we cannot support activities that are unaffordable for our local communities.
We support you through:
Producing support - A member of our team will be allocated as the first point of contact and lead support throughout the delivery of your activity. They will provide insight and guidance during the development of your idea, and will arrange the booking of your activity, inducting you into the space (including overseeing technical requirements) and venue support.
Marketing support - We will help to promote your work by listing it on our website, promoting it via our social media channels and newsletters, and local listing sites. We will also provide box office support for tickets using our ticketing platform, Ticket Tailor.
Venue support - Depending on the nature and scale of your event, you may be provided with specific venue support, such as a member of front of house staff on the day. On occasion we may also be able to provide additional space in-kind for rehearsal or preparation, subject to availability.
A fair financial model - Our aim is to support emerging artists to bring their work to new audiences and participants, or to take creative risks. We programme activities in good faith and on the basis of a collaborative effort between both parties, and therefore do not ask for a financial guarantee.
If your work fits within our programming scope and priorities, please fill in the proposal form using the button below. If you have any problems accessing the form, please email Laura at laura@stmargaretshouse.org.uk.
Once you have submitted a proposal form, our team will review it to see if it is a good fit for our programme. If your proposal is suitable, we may ask for further information, and will arrange to meet you in person or online. If your proposal is not quite the right fit, we may suggest you take a look at hiring our spaces instead.
Please note it may take up to two weeks for a member of our Arts and Wellbeing team to respond to your proposal.