Not Dead Yet? Art exploration of incurable cancer

Aim

A three-day artist-lead residency exploring life with incurable cancer. Ten artists ask what it means to live, create, love, in uncertainty.

Why this project now?

Not Dead Yet? is a collaborative artistic exploration of what it means to live with incurable cancer.  Phase One takes form of an artist residency in September 2026, supported by the Lighthouse Poole through their Sanctuary 2026 programme. We are recruiting up to ten artists/creatives and collaborators with lived experience of incurable cancer, to create artworks that express the contradiction, vulnerability, rage, humour, beauty, intimacy, exhaustion, and endurance felt by people living with an incurable cancer diagnosis.

Rejecting narratives that reduce people to diagnoses, tragedies, or inspirational symbols, the project centres lived experience in all its complexity — messy, embodied, unfinished, and deeply human. We are currently taking steps to constitute as a Community Interest Company. Until that is achieved, there are costs associated with delivering the residency in September, such as participants' transport costs, food and drinks, art materials and compensating the artists and collaborators for their time and expertise.

How much do we need?

We believe the initial £2000 will pay for the costs associated with the residency, which is Phase One of the project. Any extra money raised through the crowdfunding campaign will be used to continue the next Phase Two which involves artwork production and development, logistics, exhibition production, insurance, marketing, space design, and stakeholder engagement. 

We have outlined each phase in this project foundations document.

How will the money be used?

As we seek to become a Community Interest Company (CIC), all of the money raised will be invested back into achieving the project's vision and objectives. This is a not-for-profit enterprise and will remain so until the full outcomes are delivered. We will initially develop work through the artist residency, establishing an artistic and organisational foundation for future public-facing programmes, initially based in Dorset and the Southwest, with an intention to develop national reach through partnerships, digital platforms and touring activity.

As a project (and eventually as a CIC) we will deliver:

• artist residencies
• collaborative creative workshops
• public exhibitions
• spoken word events
• participatory arts projects
• artist commissions
• creative research and documentation
• educational and awareness-building cultural programming

Any surplus generated will be reinvested into:

• artist fees
• project delivery
• accessibility provision
• community engagement activity
• development of future artistic programmes aligned with the company’s social purpose

No profits will be distributed for private gain beyond reasonable remuneration for work undertaken.

Values Statement

Not Dead Yet? exists to create ambitious artistic work rooted in lived experience, compassion and human connection. Our work is guided by the following values:

Collaboration

We believe meaningful work is created through relationships. We foster partnerships built on trust, mutual respect and shared learning, recognising the richness that diverse voices and experiences bring to creative practice.

Compassion

We approach one another with kindness, empathy and care, recognising that people may be navigating illness, grief, uncertainty and change. We seek to create spaces in which people feel seen, heard and respected.

Courage

We are willing to engage with difficult subjects and uncomfortable conversations. We believe that art has the power to illuminate, challenge and transform understanding, and we support honest expression with sensitivity and care.

Curiosity

We embrace creativity, experimentation and open conversation. We value questions over assumptions and encourage artistic exploration that challenges conventional narratives surrounding illness, survival and identity.

Dignity

We believe that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We reject narratives that reduce people to diagnoses and affirm the complexity, individuality and humanity of each person's experience.

Equity

We are committed to accessibility, fairness and inclusion. We seek to remove barriers to participation and to ensure that artists and contributors are valued and fairly compensated for their work.

Hope

We practise hope as an active and realistic commitment to possibility, connection and change, even in the presence of illness, uncertainty and loss. We reject false optimism and acknowledge the inequalities, stigma and isolation that can shape the experiences of people living with incurable cancer and those who care for them.

For us, hope is not the denial of suffering or the promise of certainty. It is rooted in creativity, solidarity, personal agency and community. We believe that people living with incurable cancer continue to live, love, create, dream and contribute, and that artistic practice can challenge dominant narratives, foster understanding and strengthen collective resilience.

Through our work, we create spaces where people can question, connect, imagine and contribute to cultural change. We understand hope as a shared commitment to one another and a belief that, even within complexity and contradiction, new possibilities can emerge.

Questions?

Please reach out we are happy to answer any questions or clarify anything you want to to know. And thank you so much for considering supporting us...

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 12th August 2026 at 1:16pm