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THE 2026-2027 TOMBOLO ARTIST RESIDENCY

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN. 

Apply Now!

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 unique Tombolo pieces from your work, from which you will receive royalty payments for each item sold. We will also provide a stipend and marketing exposure via Tombolo's channels, and mentorship from Tombolo's founders. 

The Tombolo Artist Residency is our love letter to emerging artists everywhere. We want to create something wonderful together.


This is the fifth year of the program. Our 2025-2026 Artist in Residence, Julian MacMillan, was selected from over 600 applicants. His exhibition was on display from April 2nd to May 3rd, with a shirt from the collaboration for sale. For inquiries about his show, reach out to contact@tombolocompany.com. Read more about the collaboration here.


Our 2024 Artist in Residence was Mary Ball; you can read more about the collaboration here. Our 2023 artist in residence was Jiannan Wu; you can read more about the collaboration here. Our first-ever artist in residence from 2022 was Alexis Zambrano: you can learn more about our inaugural artist in residence here.


THE 2026-2027 TOMBOLO ARTIST RESIDENCY APPLICATION CLOSES MAY 12TH, 2026.

RESIDENCY OVERVIEW

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 product designs created in collaboration with the Tombolo team:
  • One product 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 product 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 product 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 clothing item 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. 

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 and see our previous artist collaborations here.