Art can help repair what’s broken.
Mending can reveal strength.
Hope can be built – not just felt.
Imagination can be resilience.
Beauty can be a form of civic action.

With these convictions in mind, TED + POSCA are building a different kind of artist residency: a globally distributed cohort of artists working across different geographies, cultures, and communities, connected through a shared conceptual framework around repair, resilience, hope, beauty, and civic imagination.

There is no single location. No central studio. Instead, artists work within their own communities, developing projects that unfold in public space and invite participation, reflection, contribution, and collective imagination. Community engagement is structurally embedded into the work itself, and process matters as much as outcome.

At a time increasingly shaped by fragmentation, isolation, and diminishing shared spaces for reflection, we believe art can serve as a powerful tool: capable of revealing invisible experiences, transforming everyday environments, generating dialogue across differences, and creating forms of connection that conventional institutions often struggle to produce.

Rather than approaching art solely as an object of display, the residency supports artistic practices that engage directly with people, communities, local realities, and shared experience. Each intervention remains deeply rooted in its own context while contributing to a broader collective narrative about participation, imagination, repair, renewal, and the social possibilities of art.

The TED + POSCA Global Artist Residency ultimately exists to support artists who are actively engaging with the social fabric of their communities – artists whose work reminds us that collective imagination, visible acts of repair, and shared acts of meaning-making remain essential cultural forces.

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.

Artists do not need to submit fully resolved projects. Selected artists will further develop their proposals collaboratively with the curatorial team following selection.

June 2026
Global artist search launches

July 31 2026
Applications close

September–October 2026
Artists selected and announced

January 1–December 31st 2027
Residency projects developed, implemented, and documented (by end of year)

AGE & ELIGIBILITY

What are the minimum requirements for participation?
Applicants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of application. Applications from individuals located in countries subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions are ineligible. TED reserves the right to decline to enter into an agreement with any applicant where doing so would violate applicable law.

Artists may not be a current official, employee, or agent of any government, government-owned entity, or political party, and shall confirm that receipt of the artist fee will not violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1 et seq.) or any equivalent anti-bribery law in your jurisdiction.


DATA & PRIVACY

Who processes my personal information?
Your application information is processed by Fine Acts (as lead organizer of the application process) and TED Conferences, LLC. POSCA / uni Brands Corporation may receive general, non-personal program information but does not independently process your application data. Each organization handles your data in accordance with their own privacy policy, linked at the bottom of the application form.

Why might my data be transferred outside my country?
Because this is a global program organized by partners based in different countries, your application data may be stored and processed in the United States and other countries. These countries may have different data protection rules from your own. Where required by law — for example, if you're applying from the EU or UK — your data is transferred subject to appropriate legal safeguards.

How long do you keep my application data?
If your application is unsuccessful, your data is retained for 12 months after the close of the application cycle, then deleted — unless you opted in to be considered for future years, in which case it may be kept for up to four years (through the 2029 program cycle). Selected artists' data is retained for the duration of the residency and for a reasonable period afterward. You can request deletion at any time by contacting Fine Acts at [Fine Acts contact email] or TED at privacy@ted.com.

Can I ask for my data to be deleted?
Yes. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, or to withdraw your consent to processing. To make a request, contact Fine Acts at hello@fineacts.co or TED at privacy@ted.com. If you are in the EU or UK, you also have the right to raise a concern with your local data protection authority.


ARTIST SELECTION

How are artists selected?
Artists from around the world are welcome to apply regardless of whether they have previously collaborated with TED, POSCA, Fine Acts, or affiliated partners. All applications will be reviewed through the same curatorial selection process.

The USD $15,000 per artist honorarium is merit-basedis a merit-based artist honorarium, not a contest, lottery, sweepstakes, or promotion. Selection is made by a curatorial panel based solely on artistic merit, proposal quality, and programmatic fit. No purchase is required. No element of chance is involved in the selection process

How are payments handled?
Payments will be made by international wire transfer or other TED-approved method in two equal payments, in the beginning and towards the end, unless otherwise agreed. Selected U.S.-based artists will be required to complete IRS Form W-9 prior to receiving payment. International artists are responsible for complying with any applicable tax obligations in their country of residence. Additional payment or identity verification information may be requested if required to process payment.

The residency does not create an employment, agency, or ongoing service relationship between TED, POSCA, Fine Acts, and participating artists.

What support do selected artists receive beyond the honorarium?
Selected artists will participate in a shared international cohort facilitated by TED, POSCA and Fine Acts. Artists will also receive non-financial program support, including periodic curatorial check-ins, feedback sessions on project development, and collaboration on documentation/storytelling materials related to the residency.

Documentation is a central component of the residency, and selected artists will collaborate with the curatorial team to contribute to shared documentary and storytelling outputs across the cohort, to be amplified globally through TED, POSCA, and Fine Acts platforms and channels.


INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Do I keep the rights to my work?
Yes. You retain ownership of your artwork. TED, POSCA, and Fine Acts receive a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use documentation of the work — photographs, video, written materials — for purposes connected to the residency program, always with artist credit. The full IP terms will be set out in the residency agreement.

What about third-party content in my project?
You are responsible for ensuring that your proposal, final work, and any documentation submitted do not infringe the rights of others — including rights in music, images, or the likenesses of community members who participate in your project. If your project involves third-party content or identifiable individuals, you should make sure you have the appropriate permissions before submission and before the project is documented.

Who owns the created work?
Selected artists will retain ownership of their artwork. TED, POSCA and Fine Acts will receive a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, display, and distribute documentation of the work (including photographs, video, and written materials) for purposes connected to the residency program, with artist credit. Full IP terms will be set out in the residency agreement.


EMPLOYMENT & TAX

Does participating make me an employee of TED or POSCA?
No. The residency does not create an employment, agency, or ongoing service relationship with TED, POSCA, or Fine Acts. You participate as an independent artist. You are responsible for your own tax obligations, insurance, and legal compliance in your country. Selected U.S.-based artists will be asked to complete an IRS Form W-9 before payment. International artists should check their local tax rules.


PROGRAM CHANGES & CANCELLATION

Can the program be changed or cancelled?
TED and POSCA, reserve the right to modify or cancel the program — including timelines, the number of artists selected, or the honorarium amount — if circumstances require it. This is rare, but we want to be transparent about it. If you have already been selected and signed a residency agreement, the terms of that agreement will govern what happens. If no agreement has been signed, no compensation would be owed for the application itself.

What if I become ineligible after applying?
Eligibility must be maintained through the selection process. If a selected artist is found to have provided inaccurate information, becomes subject to sanctions, joins a government entity, or engages in conduct inconsistent with TED's values after applying, they may be disqualified. Where a residency agreement has already been signed, its terms will apply.