Topsy Turvy is Theatre Porto’s outdoor arts festival for children and families, taking place from 7–9 August 2026 in Whitby Park.  

The outdoor arts programme celebrates shared experiences for children and adults based on the idea of ‘joyful encounters’, ‘playful disruption’ and ‘childlike curiosity over adult rules’.

For 2026, and as part of the Edge of Wonder place partnership programme, we are offering three micro-commissions focused on artistic play, experimentation and audience interaction across the festival weekend.

Join us on Makers Green

We are seeking 3 artists or creative practitioners to develop and deliver a playful interactive activity, game or creative encounter for children and families within an outdoor green space during the festival. 

These commissions are intended as light-touch R&D or scratch-style opportunities, a chance to test ideas, interact with audiences and explore playful artistic concepts in a live festival context.

We are particularly interested in:  

• R&D ideas that can evolve through audience interaction and engagement
• Simple, playful concepts where an artistic idea is embedded within the activity
• Activity which gives children agency within the experience
• Low-cost, durable and reusable materials, with sustainability in mind
• Activities that require minimal technical setup

Ideas could include: 

• Interactive game playing
• Collaborative making
• Environment building
• In-role or character-led interactions

While these are small commissions for Topsy Turvy 2026, we are interested in ideas which may have future development potential and are interested in hearing from artists who are open to building an ongoing relationship with Theatre Porto.

We will also be delivering Topsy Turvy in 2027 and are keen to hear from artists who may wish to be involved beyond this year’s festival. If you have an idea which could be developed quickly for 2026, we’d love to hear from you, but we are equally interested in hearing from artists with ideas that may need longer development time and could potentially be considered for future commissions.

We particularly welcome applications from artists currently underrepresented within the arts sector.

• Commission Details
• Each commission includes:
• A £1,000 artist fee
• A modest materials budget, to be agreed with Theatre Porto (anticipated to be up to approximately £300)

We anticipate artists spending approximately 1–2 days developing/preparing the work, alongside being present to deliver the activity across 2 festival days during Topsy Turvy. Exact delivery dates and times will be agreed with individual artists.

We are particularly interested in ideas which are practical, low-tech and achievable within the scale of this micro-commission.

Edge of Wonder is the first major phase of activity within the Gold & Green strategy. Supported by Arts Council England’s Place Partnership programme, it brings together schools, artists, families, cultural organisations, community groups and civic partners to co-create cultural activity across Ellesmere Port.

The programme includes creative partnerships in schools and communities, artist commissions, outdoor events and public activity in parks and town-centre spaces, alongside opportunities for local artists and grassroots organisations.

At the heart of the work is a belief that child centred creativity, based on the principles of playfulness, curiosity, presence and artistic enquiry can help shape how families and wider communities, experience their town and community.

Gold & Green is a new collaborative, cultural vision for Ellesmere Port, championed by the Ellesmere Port Cultural Learning Exchange (EPCLE). Developed through extensive engagement with local families, schools, artists and partners, the strategy explores how child-centred creativity can help shape a more connected, imaginative and confident place.

Expression of Interest Process

This is a two-stage process.

At this stage, we are inviting short Expressions of Interest which briefly tell us about:

• you and your practice
• examples of relevant work
• your early ideas or starting points
• how you imagine audiences interacting with the work

We are not expecting fully developed proposals at this stage.

Applications can be submitted in writing (up to 500 words) or via video/audio submission (up to 5 minutes).

Shortlisted artists may then be invited into further conversation or light-touch proposal development with Theatre Porto.

Timeline

• Expression of Interest Deadline: 22 June 2026
• Further timeline information will be shared with shortlisted artists.
• Email – admin@TheatrePorto.org