Creative Incubator Programme

A year-long creative development opportunity for North West artists.

English National Opera and the Royal Northern College of Music are looking for North West-based artists and collectives to join our new Creative Incubator Programme.

Designed for artists who want to explore new ideas, develop their practice and experiment with different approaches to performance, storytelling and collaboration, the programme offers time, space and support to take creative risks in a supportive environment.

Whether you work in music, theatre, film, visual art, design, movement, socially engaged practice or another discipline, the Creative Incubator is an opportunity to connect with new ways of making work and new creative collaborators.

You do not need previous experience of making opera. We are interested in your artistic practice, your curiosity and your willingness to explore.

Through mentoring, workshops, R&D opportunities and access to artists and practitioners from ENO and RNCM, you'll be supported to discover how opera, music theatre and interdisciplinary performance might connect with your work.

Selected artists will receive paid development time, mentorship, rehearsal space, R&D opportunities and industry support.

If you're looking for space to experiment, develop new ideas and expand your practice, we'd love to hear from you.

Please see our recruitment pack for full details of the opportunity.

Access: We are committed to making this opportunity accessible to as many artists as possible. If you require this recruitment pack in an alternative format or adjustments to support you during the application process, please email workwithus@eno.org.

We’re also committed to supporting artists throughout the delivery of the programme. Reasonable access requirements will be accommodated throughout and we can provide guidance, equipment or adjustments to enable full participation.

Application deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 8 July 2026

Feedback: Due to the high volume of applications that we receive, we are only able to provide individual feedback to candidates who progress to the second stage.

English National Opera is an Equal Opportunities employer, and we strive to create an inclusive working environment that reflects the diverse communities we serve. As we work to address underrepresentation in our workforce, we particularly encourage potential candidates from underrepresented groups and communities to apply, including those from global majority backgrounds and/or with protected characteristics, including race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and religion and belief. We will provide appropriate support for candidates with access requirements if they identify as disabled. This includes during the application process and through candidate assessment stages.

Locations

Greater Manchester

Remote status

Hybrid