Applications Invited for TED-POSCA Global Artist Search

About the Organization

We are a global creative studio for social impact that operates across issues and borders. We believe in the power of art and play. In our work, we think about ways to make people care and act, and we create novel avenues to empower activism. We:

• Nurture collaborations: We bring together activists, artists and techies from across the globe to work on collaborative projects.
• Produce powerful art: We create and commission art that raises awareness, triggers action, and fosters greater support for human rights campaigns.
• Create effective campaigns: We work with groundbreaking nonprofits from around the world, designing and implementing tailor-made creative campaigns for their needs.
• Boost innovation: We design and apply novel formats to explore the intersection of human rights, art and technology.
• Support organizations: We consult and train civil society organizations in creative thinking, utilizing art and embracing play as a tool for social change.
• Practice playtivism: We see the process of incorporating play and experimentation in activism as vital. We came up with the concept of playtivism – learn more about it from our founder’s TED talk.

About the Fellowship

TED, the global platform for ideas and storytelling, and POSCA, a creative brand by uni Brands Corporation, are launching a new kind of artist residency: a globally distributed cohort of artists working across different geographies, cultures, and communities, united by a shared drive to shape public life through art.

Fine Acts, the external curatorial partner selected by TED & POSCA, is leading the curation, creative direction, and coordination of the initiative.

Today, we are announcing a global artist search to identify the first participating artists.

There is no single location. No central studio. Instead:

• Selected artists work within their own communities
• They follow a shared creative constraint – a unifying conceptual framework around repair, hope, and beauty
• Projects unfold in public space
• Community participation is key part of the work
• Process matters as much as outcome

2026 theme: visible mending

• This year’s residency theme, Visible Mending, explores repair as a creative and civic act. Inspired in part by Kintsugi – the Japanese practice of repairing broken ceramics with gold – the theme invites artists to consider how wounds, ruptures, and imperfections can become sites of transformation rather than something to hide.
• Across communities around the world, people are finding ways to mend relationships, restore ecosystems, strengthen social bonds, and rebuild trust. We invite artists to investigate these processes of repair and make them visible through public interventions that spark reflection, dialogue, and collective imagination.
• In 2026, four artists will be selected to develop community-rooted public interventions to be implemented in 2027. Each selected artist will receive a total of USD $15,000 to cover artist fees, production costs/community activation, and documentation of the work.

​Who Should Apply

We are looking for artists from around the world whose practices engage directly with people, communities, public space, participation, storytelling, or collective experience.

We welcome applications from a wide range of artists, including:

• visual artists,
• muralists,
• interdisciplinary artists,
• designers,
• community-based practitioners,
• collectives,
• architects/spatial practitioners,
• and creatives working across disciplines.

Projects may take many forms, including:

• public installations,
• participatory interventions,
• collaborative processes,
• performances,
• temporary activations,
• workshops,
• story-based works,
• or hybrid approaches.

We are particularly interested in proposals that are:

• rooted in a specific local context;
• participatory or community-engaged;
• conceptually strong but logistically achievable;
• visually and emotionally compelling;
• open to documentation and storytelling collaboration.

How to Apply

July 31 2026: Applications close

Before submitting the application, please read the Program Terms. These Program Terms apply to all applicants to the TED & POSCA Global Artist Residency and supplement the FAQ. By submitting an application, you confirm that you have read and agree to these terms.

For more information please check the Link

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