Cocoon Residencies
About the residencies
We have paid residencies available on the theme of moths and the viruses that affect them. We think there are lots of interesting and inspiring aspects to dig into for people from all sorts of backgrounds - in the past our residents have included an illustrator, chef, climate activist, designer, sound artist, ceramicist, occupational therapist, and others. You don't need to have any previous experience or education in science, our job is to help bridge any gaps.
Our residencies are a chance to step away from your usual situation, work in new surroundings, on a new topic, for a short period of time. You can use the time to develop risky new ideas or develop an existing project in a unique environment, with our support.
Previous residencies can be seen online, including Invisible Worlds 2018, Invisible Worlds 2019, Algorithmic Pattern 2023, and Social Microbes 2023.
More about the theme
We're running these residencies with Dr. Ben Longdon, an evolutionary biology researcher who is studying moths and their viruses. Ben uses genetics to see what viruses infect the moths, he's also using lots of data on moth behaviour, their habitats, and the climate to understand the whole ecosystem better. It will all be put together in a big research project to figure out how viruses are shared between different moth species - this type of fundamental research has implications for human health too. The research project and the residencies are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council - there is an abstract about the bigger research project, but please don't be put off by this as the language is quite specialist!
You can pick out aspects of the theme that interest you, or use the whole research project as your inspiration. How you interpret the theme is entirely up to you.
You'll be able to meet and work with Ben and his team, as well as being supported by us at Then Try This throughout your residency. We'll have an online call together once the residents have been selected, where we'll meet, tell you more about the research, and answer any remaining questions.
Who can apply
We don’t want to be prescriptive about who can apply. You might be an artist, designer, maker, musician, chef, writer, grower, scientist, poet, dancer… or something else. The residencies can be individual or shared by more than one person, for example a collective or family (however you want to define that). The lead applicant/s do need to be 18+ however.
Where the residencies are based
The residencies will be based at our studio in Cornwall. We are situated in a beautiful garden called Potager, which is not far from Falmouth, Penryn and Constantine. Our studio space is small, but you will have a dedicated desk space with lots of natural light (we have a friendly dog who's usually there too). On the site there is a lovely vegetarian cafe (usually open Thurs-Sun), a huge greenhouse for sitting and working or eating in, hammocks, gardens and a polytunnel, a substantial wood workshop, and other buildings that can be used. There are quiet walking routes around the area, and towns and beaches a short drive away.
Potager runs weekly volunteering days in the garden on Tuesdays that you'd be welcome to join, with free cake and lunch for those who put the labour in. There are also regular cooking and gardening events for pre-school children, young parents, carers, and people with dementia. If you are interested in developing a project for one of these groups, let us know and we can check if they would be open to that. As the garden and cafe are open to the public, there are also plentiful opportunities for running events, workshops or installations.
Outputs
Again we don’t want to be too prescriptive. You could make and exhibit something, try out a new workshop format, run an event, or something completely different. It would be a positive to have some aspect that is public facing, and to think about the legacy of your work - could it be exhibited elsewhere afterwards or put online for example?
The work produced during the residency must be made freely available using open-source methodologies (e.g. Public Domain or Creative Commons licences) - if you’re not sure what this means for you, get in touch and we can help!
At the end you'll need to produce a short blog post covering your time on the residency, and we'll publish this on our website.
Timeline
Application deadline - Friday 6 March 2026, 5pm UK time.
Shortlisting - completed by the end of March 2026.
The residencies can take place between late September and December 2026 - they can’t run over school holidays as we won’t all be on hand to support you.
Note - the moth field season is May-September, and the residencies are timed to fit with the tail-end of this, meaning residents may be able to join in with the field work if they begin in September. The field season is weather dependant and with climate change this is becoming less predictable, so we can not say exactly when it will start/end.
Fees
You will receive £2300 for a 2-4 week residency. You can choose the length of your residency, and we anticipate this will be dependent on your career stage and travel costs that need covering within the fee. If you would prefer a shorter residency you could also apply for £1150 for a 1-2 week residency. (We have enough funding for two of the longer residencies or four shorter ones - we'll shortlist based on the projects and people not the length of the residencies).
You can work full or part time, in-person or remotely.
You can use the budget however you like - you can take it as a fee and/or use it for materials, travel), accommodation, childcare or anything else you might need. The only thing that we require is that the budget is not used for flights.
You’ll need to invoice us, half up front and half at the end, and we can help if you’ve never made an invoice before. We pay quickly, so don’t worry about it taking ages to come through.
Travel and Accommodation
We can help you organise travel and accommodation if needed. Please note that this is a fairly remote and rural part of the world (which is why we love it!).
Our studio and the university campus where Dr. Ben Longdon works are about a 15 minute drive apart.
Cycling is possible, the roads around the area are tiny and have no bike lanes so they can be a bit alarming - it is also hilly so e-bikes are popular.
There is the possibility of camping in the gardens by the studio, but this depends on various things so we can't make any up-front promises.
Public transport info can be found on the Potager website together with a video that shows the accessibility of various parts of the site - this is also great for getting an idea of what it's like.
Accessibility
The main accessibility issue is the location of the site, as there are no bike lanes and the public transport is extremely limited. There is a parking area for staff (including residents) and anyone with disabilities which is level with our studio, and we have a large level-access toilet. We are also used to working with people with limited or no sight. It is usually a very quiet and calm place, especially once the schools go back and the fair-weather tourists have left Cornwall.
How to apply
We would like you to provide the following in a single pdf document (max 2 pages long!), emailed to us by 5pm on 6 March 2026.
- An outline of who you are, what you would like to do, and how it fits with the theme (up to 500 words, images are ok too)
- What the outcomes might be, including any public facing aspects, and how you might make your work available to people after your residency (up to 200 words)
- Preferred length and budget (either £2300 for a 2-4 week residency, or £1150 for a 1-2 week residency) and dates for when your residency would take place (these don’t need to be precise yet, and if you have no preference that is OK just write a note to tell us that)
- Whether you’d like to do the residency in person, online or hybrid.
- Link/s to your work online (personal website, social media, anything you like that will show us what you do)
If you’d prefer to send a video application, just include the same things and email us a link to your video (max 6 mins long). If you have any questions for us before applying, do get in touch - we’ll also do our best to accommodate any adjustments to the application or residency format that you need, so let us know if we can help in any way.
During shortlisting we may need to get in touch with you to check information before making a final decision - please make sure you check your spam (especially if you’re a gmail user, as gmail is particularly bad with this). We always reply to every applicant to let them know the outcome, so if you don’t hear from us, it’ll be in your spam.
Good luck!