THE TOMBOLO ARTIST RESIDENCY 2023 IS NOW OPEN!

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 7-month residency culminates in a solo show in New York City where Tombolo will take 0% commission; along the way, we will create two unique Tombolo shirts from your work and provide a stipend and marketing exposure via Tombolo's channels.

The Tombolo Artist Residency is our love letter to emerging artists everywhere. We want to create something wonderful together. This is the second year of the program: in 2022, Alexis Zambrano was chosen from nearly 200 applicants and we collaborated on two shirts. One is now in our evergreen collection and the other was a made-to-order limited edition preorder that sold out within 24 hours.

The application for the 2023 Residency opened February 1 and closes February 21st at midnight. APPLICATION DETAILS AND SUBMISSION AT BOTTOM OF PAGE.

RESIDENCY OVERVIEW

The Artist will be provided with a stipend of $500 per month for the 7 months of the residency from mid-March through mid-October; 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 late Oct / early Nov 2023. During the residency, we will design two shirts together (one based on an existing artwork and one newly commissioned that will likely be a made-to-order preorder).

What you can expect from Tombolo: 

• $500 stipend per month (for 7 months)
• 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

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 (seven months after residency start date).
• The second shirt will be designed from scratch based on a new artwork. 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 (TBC pending site specifics and space available). 
• 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. 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION LINK 

MORE ABOUT TOMBOLO 

Tombolo is a NYC-based brand that launched in 2018 that makes escapewear for everywhere. With original artwork and kinky, nostalgic flair, we want our clothing to be the ultimate wearable form of self-expression. For everyone: male or female, beach or bar, rain or shine. And everything in between. Tombolo has enjoyed working with a roster of talented roster artists since day one and is excited to formalize this collaborative approach and elevate emerging artists more than ever before.

You can learn more about Tombolo across this website or the 2022 Artist Residency collaboration with Alexis Zambrano here. 

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So what are you waiting for? Apply here! We hope to see you in March!