Data Entrepreneurs and Artists Offered Residencies at 18th-Century Mansion

Call for Applications: Marchmont House Residency

Borders-based tech entrepreneur forms partnerships to support creativity in arts and enterprise in Marchmont’s Creative Spaces

A residency in a beautiful studio at Marchmont House and £12,000 in funding is on offer to support an entrepreneur to develop a project using data within the creative industries.

It is one of several residencies being offered at the restored 1750 Palladian mansion in Berwickshire which is in the process of creating a suite of Creative Spaces – high quality studios and workshops.

Marchmont House has also teamed up with Berwick Creative Guild, the newly established Marchmont Makers Foundation, and Charlie Poulsen and Pauline Burbidge to offer The SkyBoat Residencies in late 2021 (see below and attached PDF for details).

The entrepreneurial residency is a partnership with the Edinburgh based Creative Informatics programme and involves Marchmont House providing work space and two weeks accommodation.

It is part of Marchmont’s work to nurture all aspects of the creative industries and would provide support for a person, or small team, with fresh ideas that would use data to drive ground-breaking products, services or experiences.

The residency would also include mentoring from tech entrepreneur Hugo Burge, former CEO of global travel search enterprise, the Momondo Group, and founder of Marchmont Ventures, who is transforming Marchmont House into a home for creatives of all kinds.

Hugo said:

“My career has been based on the transformative power of data and I am constantly astounded by the vision and ingenuity of entrepreneurs in coming up with new and positive ways to use it to drive the creative industries.

“But people often need time, space and support to really work on their ideas and plans. That’s exactly what we want to provide through the Creative Informatics residency. Creativity – whether it’s in the arts, craft making or digital technology – is one of our country’s great strengths and something we want to support and build.

“This is the idea behind developing our Creative Spaces and offering a whole variety of residencies aimed at nurturing everyone from visual artists to aspiring tech entrepreneurs.

“And we also have a strong interest in helping provide opportunities, and strengthening the economies, of rural areas like ours.  So just as important to us is the partnership with Berwick Creative Guild to offer two SkyBoat Residencies later this year.”

More about the Creative Informatics residency

Creative Informatics has funded 36 Resident Entrepreneur projects so far, including one with new media artist Martin Disley. His residency with the National Libraries of Scotland, used AI to explore the library’s extensive map collection and generate new, fictional maps.

The programme has also supported Centrline, a pioneering software platform for Scotland’s performing arts sector, and High Tide, a creative production company working on a video toolkit to help clients better understand the production and commissioning process.

Liam Upton, Creative Informatics, Communications and Engagement Manager, said: “We are encouraging people to try new things with data in the creative industries, and to think about how data and new technologies can help them to develop new products or services and progress their own creative careers.

“We will be funding up to nine Resident Entrepreneur projects in this round, and are delighted to be able to offer one successful candidate a residency at Marchmont House. Its Creative Spaces at Marchmont are fantastic and the opportunity to have a residency in one of them will appeal to many of our applicants.”

Applicants for the Creative Informatics residency at Marchmont will be asked to demonstrate how their project could have a positive impact in the Scottish Borders.

The SkyBoat Residency project takes its name from a recent sculpture, created by Charlie Poulsen, that stands in the grounds of Marchmont House.

Charlie and his wife Pauline are supporting the residencies.

The SkyBoat is a symbol of active ongoing experimentation and a move into new artistic dimensions which is hoped will be reflected in the residencies.   

Applications are open to members of the Berwick Creative Guild and for any creative industries practitioners in the TD and NE66 to NE71 postcode areas.

Hugo Burge said:

“For the SkyBoat Residencies we are particularly grateful to local artist and benefactors Pauline Burbidge and Charles Poulsen.

“Charlie’s generosity in offering this residency through the Marchmont Makers Foundation, took my breath away. It was most unexpected, but offers you an insight into the artistic journey and values that he embodies.”

The idea is to give time, space and freedom for practitioners to concentrate on the development of their work, try out new ideas, be inspired by their surroundings and be part of a creative environment where they can connect and engage with others working in the arts.

There are two residencies – one is of four weeks and comes with funding of up to £1,680 and the other is for two weeks and has provides up to £840 in support.

Additional funding is provided to cover the cost of studio and on-site accommodation provided by Marchmont Farms Ltd, the owners of the Creative Spaces.

Full details and application

creativeinformatics.org/news/could-you-be-a-resident-entrepreneur-at-marchmont-house/