Tombolo Artist Residency Program

The Tombolo Artist Residency is your opportunity to collaborate with Tombolo: we will design shirts based on your artwork as you work towards a solo exhibition that we host in New York City. The residency culminates in a solo show in New York City where Tombolo will take 0% commission; along the way, we will create at least two unique Tombolo shirts from your work, from which you will receive royalty payments for each shirt sold. We will also provide a stipend and marketing exposure via Tombolo's channels, and mentorship from Tombolo's founders. 

The Artist will be provided with a stipend of $3500 for the ~7 months of the residency from May to December; while presence in New York City is encouraged, the residency can be done remotely. The Artist will use this time to create work for a solo show to take place in New York City in January or early February 2026. During the residency, we will design a minimum of two shirts together. The Artist will receive royalties from every shirt sold. 

What You Can Expect from Tombolo

• $3500 stipend for materials and other expenses 
• A solo exhibition show in Manhattan with an opening event, hosted and paid for by Tombolo as the gallerist with 0% commission taken
• Mentorship from the Tombolo Founders and direct collaboration with the Tombolo team
• Tombolo will spearhead creative development of the shirts and handle all production, marketing, photoshoot, etc.
• Exposure and promotion of the collaboration at the exhibition, on social, and website
• Tombolo’s PR team will help promote the collaboration
• Royalties from each shirt sold 

What Tombolo Can Expect from You

• Artist to showcase a body of work at the exhibition at the end of the residency
• Artist to deliver two shirt designs created in collaboration with the Tombolo team:
• One shirt design will be completed in the first month based on an existing work by the artist. This shirt will proceed to production immediately and be available for sale at the time of the exhibition.
• The second shirt will likely be designed from scratch based on a new artwork that features in the exhibition. The shirt may or may not be physically available at the solo show depending on the timing; more likely, it will be a made-to-order preorder at the time of the solo show. That new artwork will be displayed alongside a sample of the matching shirt at the exhibition. 
• Tombolo will have the right to use these artworks to make these clothing items and the rights to sell these items. 
• Artist to assist in creating a small installment in a section of the Tombolo NYC retail store to accompany the shirts sold on site 
• Artist to self-install works at exhibition and is expected to collaborate on the event planning, invitations, and be present in New York for the duration of the show (approx. 7 days), as well as leading up to the show to help prepare.
• The artist's body of work must be present in NYC for the show; if an artist is conducting the residency remotely, they will have to handle logistics and costs of getting their work to NYC for the show.

Who Tombolo Is Looking For

• The Tombolo artist has a unique creative vision and the strong work ethic needed to bring it to life. 
• The artist’s medium and work must be translatable onto a shirt and this will be a key determinant in choosing the winning applicant.
• Social following is nice to have, but not mandatory. But artist must have Instagram and should be comfortable creating content for social media including documenting their creative process.
• Artist's presence in NYC is a plus but is not required. Presence in NYC for the 5 days leading up to the solo show and the show itself (approx. 7 days) is required. While Tombolo is providing a stipend and 100% of sales from the exhibition, Tombolo does not currently offer housing. Applicants from outside of New York City would need to secure and finance their own housing solution.
• Artist should enjoy the Tombolo aesthetic: playful, nostalgic, kinky and vibrant. Loose, breezy, and soft to the touch. Our clothing is designed to transport the wearer to a different time, place or state of mind. 

KEY DEADLINES 

February 6: Application opens

March 31, 11:59pm: Application closes

April 1- April 12: Finalists have been chosen and contacted

April 20: Winner has been chosen by this date

Week of April 21: Kickoff Meeting

Mid May: First Mock Ups for Shirt 1 based on existing work / Initial Concepts for artwork for Shirt 2 Delivered

End of May / Beginning of June: Deadline for delivery of final artwork for Shirt 2

June to November: Continued stipend as resident completes body of work; collaboration to finalize shirt designs and proceed to production; preparation for solo exhibition (event planning, exhibition curation, logistics, etc.)

Winter 2025 / 2026: Solo Exhibition (Most likely in the second half of January)

 CLICK HERE TO APPLY

03/31/2025