Fee: Up to £2500

Deadline: 9th February 2026

b-side invites proposals from artists working in any medium for new, temporary, site-responsive commissions as part of b-side 2026.

Theme: Common Lands – That Other Place

The 2026 festival is part of our wider area of interest – Common Lands which considers the Isle of Portland as a microcosm through which to explore our connections to land, locality, and community. Under the Common Lands umbrella, previous festivals have explored – ‘This Land’ (the unique natural and built heritage of Portland), and ‘Who Do We Think We Are?’ (identity and migration). We are now inviting artists to explore another strand of Common Lands; ‘That Other Place’ — what happens when our current land isn’t working? How can we learn from otherness to create new lands where we might all better live together? One doorway to this 2026 playground of new imaginations will be…

That Other Place – A Portland Fair

Portland once had a Fair — a real one — full of colour, noise, sweets, rides, and the brief suspension of reality. We’ve been rummaging through local resident and Fairground owner David Palmer’s archive of photos and memories from the Fair, which ended in 2001, and it’s clear it meant a lot to the Island. The famous Portland Fair was a hugely popular event, an annual event for more than 200 years.

It was part childhood rite, part magical interruption to everyday life. But we’re not here to rebuild or reinstate the old Fair plank-by-plank.

In 2026, we want to reawaken the experience of it — in a stranger, twistier, sideways sort of way. Think of it as a Fair on a parallel Portland: familiar but off-kilter, a place where weird echoes, alternate histories and “what ifs” come out to play.

That Other Place is a mirror-Island, a near-twin, a parallel universe that looks like Portland… until it doesn’t.

We’re inviting artists to help us slip between these two worlds.

What We’re Looking For

We’re excited by proposals that:

• Stretch, twist, bend or lovingly prod reality
• Play with the idea of a parallel or “other” Portland
• Invite people in — to interact, wander, reminisce or get delightfully lost
• Respond to the Island’s stories, landscapes, communities and quirks
• Make imaginative use of site, space, or atmosphere
• We are open to work in any medium – visual artists, performers, sonic explorers, digital conjurers, community weavers, installation-builders — all welcome.

Who Can Apply? 
Anyone! We welcome proposals from artists at any stage in their career.  b-side values diversity and is working to make the application and commissioning process accessible to all and welcomes proposals from those currently underrepresented in the arts.

How to Apply 
What you will need to tell us:

1. A proposal describing your idea and how it plays with That Other Place – A Portland Fair
2. A little about your practice (portfolio, links, CV, online links)
3. Any early thoughts on site, participation or approach
4. A sense of what you’d need to make it happen (tech, scale, access, support)
5. An outline budget
6. Please apply via the Curatorspace portal, there is a straightforward application form which leads you though, asking all the questions above and an FAQ section which should answer any questions you might be thinking of.
7. If you would like to apply via video we can also accept proposals in this format (full info in the brief)

Download the full brief below

Apply on Curatorspace using this link https://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/bside-open-call/10148 (NB You will need a Curatorspace account to use this portal, this is free and can be set up very quickly).

Applications must be made via the Curatorspace portal, you can download the full brief below.

APPLY HERE