Open Online Theatre Arts/Tech Residency 2026/27

Come with a question. Leave with a prototype.

Open Online Theatre Arts/Tech Residency 2026/27 Immersive Event - Main Image

Applications are now open for the sixth edition of IJAD's Open Online Theatre Arts/Tech Residency (November 2026 - April 2027), generously supported by Arts Council England. Is there something you’ve also wanted to make or explore, but you haven’t had access to the technology, the knowledge, or the space to experiment? This is an invitation for early and mid-career artists and creative technologists of all kinds: dancers, theatre-makers, circus performers, live artists, musicians, and multimedia artists. Our practice-led residency programme is an opportunity to develop your creative practice by experimenting with evolving technologies - such as VR, AI, volumetrics, motion capture, and multi-camera live streaming. It combines 11 in-person studio days in London and Nottingham, with 2 online workshops, 8 hours of personalised mentorship from industry-leading professionals, and opportunities to monetise your work through our Open Online Theatre platform. More than that, the residency invites artists and technologists to explore how live bodies and digital systems compose shared realities, rather than simply moving between them. For Joumana Mourad (Founder and Artistic Director of IJAD and OOT) the residency is built precisely around this idea. “We are not asking artists to adapt to a technology. We are asking what a body (live, present, particular) can compose when it is given the tools, the time, and the trust to find out.” Come with a question, leave with a prototype is our operating promise. Play, fail, adapt, and discover how each technology can expand your creative language. Apply here by Sunday 27 September - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnX9uP1jZNWPfWY_xnheE0QSVezXVMguJx9EEMdZGsTSuPWA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=102920382044311133804 Fees: £800 (we will refund £200 on completion of the full programme). Thanks to generous support from ACE, the £600 contribution from participating artists is a token gesture that amounts to only 8% of the programme's full costs. Find out more here - https://ijaddancecompany.com/whats-on/oot-residency-2026-27/ Read our FAQs here - https://openonlinetheatre.org/faqs/

Logo of IJAD

Organizer

IJAD

Venue

London, United Kingdom

Start date

November 9th, 2026

End date

December 4th, 2026

Audience Role

N/A

Ages: 18 +

Content Advisories

No sexual content
Use of mixed reality
Use of virtual reality

Interaction Advisories

No physical contact with performers

Mobility Advisories

Event is wheelchair accessible
Wear comfortable clothes

1

Events

1

Years on EI

About IJAD

IJAD works at the intersections of performing arts, science, and technology, elevating live hybrid performance—an emerging form that merges the physical and digital realms. This approach allows performances to inhabit multiple platforms simultaneously—stage, screen, and XR—transforming how artists create, audiences participate, and venues connect across distance. At the heart of IJAD’s work lies a belief that creativity and embodiment are as vital to our evolution as technology itself. As we navigate a rapidly changing landscape, IJAD positions human imagination not as a counterpoint to technology, but as its equal partner. By merging art and technology through embodied, participatory experiences, we ensure that innovation remains deeply human—driven by curiosity, empathy, and the body’s intelligence as much as by code and computation.