Black Makers and Designers Residency

Makerversity is launching the Black Designers and Makers Residency. A programme designed to offer long term support, space and resources to Black designers, makers, creatives and innovators. 

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You will receive:

• Full time 24/7 Hot-Desking membership for 12 months.
• A Grant of £100 per month for 12 months. This can be used to support any project, creative endeavour or go towards your personal living costs. It will be paid directly to you at the beginning of each month.

In return:

In return, we ask that you use Makerversity as your main workspace for at least 4 days per month. This helps ensure the opportunity is being actively used. If you're unable to meet this minimum, please update us, the grant will end the following month as we’ll reallocate the membership to another individual.

We’ll also ask you to contribute:

• 1 hour at the end of the programme.
• 30 minutes every three months.
  
  

This is simply to help us understand whether it's useful to you. Checking in every 3 months to make sure we're offering the right support and that you’re continuing to use the membership. Then at the end of the 12 months for an evaluation for any feedback.

Our goal is to make this free membership a permanent part of Makerversity’s offer and to open it up to applications and referrals going forward.

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Why are we doing this?

We are based in London and in our neighbouring local boroughs Black people make up 7-30% of the population. Yet as a membership organisation we have few Black members. We feel that our membership community should strive to reflect the demographics of our City, so we feel we can do better than we do now. 

Therefore, we have looked at the barriers to entry that exist for Black members to join and we have identified two areas we can work on. 

1.  Financial & racial inequities mean that in London if you come from a Black family, on average, you are less likely to be able to afford a membership with us.
2. There are fewer Black people doing University level study in the STEM, Art and Design subjects which our members tend to be drawn from. 

See the stats below:

• Racial inequalities in employment and wealth persist in the UK. Between 2014 and 2022, people aged 25–29 from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds were twice as likely to be unemployed compared to their White British peers, regardless of economic status (GOV.UK).

• The Runnymede Trust’s Colour of Money report (2020) highlighted the scale of racialised wealth disparities. Drawing on the Wealth and Assets Survey, the report revealed that for every £1 of wealth held by White British households, Black African households owned just 10p.

• In 2023, only 8% of the UK’s STEM workforce came from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with unemployment rates for graduates (BA and MA) in these communities twice as high. Representation in tech is even lower: only 4% of the UK’s tech workforce identifies as Black, and Black women make up just 0.7% of the IT workforce. You can find out more here.

These figures underscore the urgent need to address barriers and create opportunities for underrepresented communities in STEM and tech.‍‍

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How can I apply?

Please fill in the form below, or do send a proposal in the format you prefer to hello@makerversity.org with pictures or videos of your work.

‍Application Form

Deadline to apply is the 8th February 2026

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‍I want to nominate someone...

Please send an email to hello@makerversity.org with your nomination and any links to portfolio / website and a reason why you think they would benefit from the free membership.

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BEFORE YOU APPLY, PLEASE READ THE RESIDENCY DETAILS BELOW:

This is specifically for Black Makers, Designs and Inventors (those with Black heritage and identify as Black); not politically Black, not POC or BAME.

• you use Makerversity as your main workspace for at least 4 days per month.
• Recipients will be chosen anonymously every 6 months, for a 12 month residency. 
• Each resident will receive £100 every month, to spend how you like whether it’s on materials, training, transport, but of course any life expense- we don’t judge.

• Open to all creative making, design and inventor disciplines, eg. fashion designers, furniture makers, product designer, animators, sustainable designer, jewellers, set designers, digital designers, UX/UI, IoT,  sculptors, start up innovators,  etc etc.
• There will be a cohort every 6 months, 1st half starting Jan onwards and 2nd half from June onwards of each year. You can apply any time, and as many times.

• There is no age limit.
• Applicants must be based in the UK.
• Applicants will be informed if unsuccessful.

If you have any questions or queries please email hello@makerversity.org

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