IOU50
A two-year programme celebrating IOU’s pioneering legacy in experimental art and performance.
IOU50 – a two-year programme celebrating IOU’s pioneering legacy in experimental art and performance, while acting as a springboard for the future of the IOU Creation Centre, a place where artists collaborate, experiment and present new work.
At the heart of the programme is the creation of the IOU Archive: a new physical and digital resource bringing together materials, props, films and images that document the origins and evolution of IOU and its founding artists.
Over the next two years, IOU Labs will commission contemporary artists to respond to the archive, using it as a catalyst to generate ambitious new work across multiple disciplines, spanning art, performance, engineering, technology and environment.
The archive will function as a living space for past, present and future productions, activating stories and memories from artists and audiences through workshops that capture the lived experiences of those connected to IOU.
The programme culminates in a major exhibition that brings together archives, new commissions and contemporary practice, celebrating IOU’s legacy while confirming what comes next.
Events & News
Cultural Ecologies In Practice - Workshop Day
16 July 2026. Join us for a series of experiential workshops based at IOU Hostel and surrounding landscape, working with a range of creative facilitators, makers, artists and exploring the connection between creative practice and nature. Participants will explore a range of creative disciplines including movement, visual art and music, but also have the opportunity to deepen their personal practice.
A Curious Tapestry: Crafting New Cultural Ecologies
15 July 2026. The IOU Symposium returns in July to consider what an effective cultural ecosystem can be. The one-day symposium with panels and workshops for artists, researchers, and policymakers at the IOU Hostel in partnership with the University of Huddersfield.
IOU Artist in Residence 2026
Delighted to welcome Nat Whitney as our new Artist in Residence at the IOU Hostel. Nat is an audio-visual participatory artist working with creative technologies and tactile materials to construct interactive, sensory objects and environments inviting curiosity and play. IOU invited applications for a unique 6-month live-in artist residency. The fully funded residency provides rent free accommodation, access to IOU’s Creation Centre studios and workshops, creative mentorship, and a £3,000 production budget to develop a new commission that is inspired by the IOU archive.
IOU50 Triptych: Body, Land & Lens Residency and Commission Opportunity
Commission for artists working body-based performance, durational practice, movement/land art to create new performance-to-camera or film works in collaboration with MA Cinematography students at Leeds Beckett University. Applications now closed