North Finchley’s artsdepot has revealed the nine artists and companies selected for its 10th annual Artist Residency Programme, running from autumn 2025 through summer 2026.
The programme supports creatives at all career stages, offering rehearsal space in the Creation Space, £1,000 seed funding, mentorship, and professional development. Artists also gain access to artsdepot’s alumni network, ensuring continued support beyond the residency.
This year, four artists are sponsored by Tsitsit, the Jewish Fringe Festival, which champions new work exploring Jewish identities through music, dance, comedy, and spoken word.
The selected artists and companies include:
- Rosamund Gravelle, Emma Copland, and Shaun Blaney, developing a piece on masculinity and leadership inspired by Macbeth’s Ross.
- Renu Arora, collaborating with Royal Shakespeare Director Erica Whyman on a digitally immersive musical based on her memoir The Burgundy Book.
- Seagull Productions (Lucy Havard and Conor Dumbrell), adapting their audio drama Wood Wide Web into a children’s theatre show about mushroom communication.
- Lilit Lesser, developing LILIT, a cabaret-ritual hybrid reanimating the Jewish demon Lilith.
- Farrell Cox, creating Don’t yuck my yum, a vibrant story inspired by her Jamaican grandparents’ garden.
- Armstrong and Lipski (Will Armstrong and Daniel Lipton), exploring haunted objects and cultural heritage through off-kilter comedy.
- Anna Sanderson, adapting Stempenyu, a Yiddish play by Sholem Aleichem, focusing on Ukrainian cultural memory.
- Nick Cassenbaum, with Emma Jude Harris, developing REBELLION: After the B’nei Mitzvahs, a play about Jewish teenage experiences at summer camps.
- John Livesey, working on FAGCENT, a multidisciplinary piece exploring the ‘gay voice’ through verbatim theatre and live cinema.
Monique Deletant, CEO/Creative Director of artsdepot, said:
“We are grateful to all artists and companies who applied to be part of this year’s intake. Choosing the shortlist was very difficult as the standard and breadth of ideas were not only brilliant but also highlighted to us that creative inspiration is thriving.
We are also committed to being ‘a home in London’ for artists outside of London who could benefit from developing their work and networks with us as Barnet’s go-to cultural hub.”
Alastair Falk, Director of Tsitsit, added:
“We are proud to support four exciting artists this year at artsdepot, who offer dynamic new creative responses to new Jewish identities. Together, we can create a wider conversation about our Jewish identities, celebrate the diversity within our communities and act as a cultural bridge between Jewish and other contemporary diaspora cultures.”
More information can be found here
