[SGx] Art Residency Scholarship

Art Residency Scholarship – SGx 2026

Calling all creatives! SGAC invites artists from all walks of life to share their vision of space through art. Whether you’re a painter, sculptor, photographer, or other type of visual artist, we want your help in inspiring the next generation of space leaders through your work.

Thanks to the generous donation of a SGAC Alumnus, SGAC will bring one (1) young professional or student to attend our very own SGx and ASCEND, both held in Washington D.C., USA, as an embedded artist-in-residence. The artwork must be created during the event period and completed on-site or shortly thereafter.

SGx is a fast-paced, content-rich conference modeled on the TEDx “lightning talk” format, creating an environment where young professionals, industry experts, and government executives gather to network, share insights, and inspire each other.

Application Deadline: 21 of April 2026 23:59 MST (UTC-4)

Award

The award will support 1 artist with $3,000 USD to attend the following events in Washington D.C., USA:

• SGx: 17 – 18 May, 2026
• ASCEND: 19 – 21 May, 2026

The $3,000 USD award will be provided as total or partial reimbursement to cover:

• Round trip travel costs to Washington D.C., a via economy airfare
• Lodging at a hotel or equivalent
• Visa costs (if any)
• SGx registration fee
• ASCEND registration fee

How to Apply

The SGAC Art Residency Scholarship supports emerging and established artists to attend SGx 2026 and ASCEND 2026, where the selected artist will create an original physical artwork during the event, inspired by the theme: Building Our Off-World Future Together

The final artwork will become part of SGAC’s permanent collection and be displayed at the SGAC US Office.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit:

1. Artist Statement: 1-minute video on explaining why you should be selected for this scholarship and describing your artistic practice, interests, and how your work connects to space, science, humanity, or future-building.
   
2. Residency Proposal: 1-minute video outlining your concept responding to the theme “Building Our Off-World Future Together”, how you plan to develop and create the artwork during the event; and the medium, scale, and materials you plan to use.
   
3. Portfolio (1–5 works): Images or documentation of recent or relevant work demonstrating your artistic style and technical approach.
   
4. CV or Bio: max 2 pages
   
5. Logistical Needs: Brief description of materials, space, or setup requirements to complete the work onsite. Please note the artist will be responsible for sourcing, covering the cost of, and transporting all materials required for their artwork, as SGAC does not provide or reimburse art supplies (max 100 words).

Selection Criteria

The proposal for the art residency will be evaluated based on:

• Relevance to the theme
• Artistic impact and originality
• Thoughtfulness of the artist statement
• Creative storytelling and emotional connection

We can’t wait to see how you interpret space through your eyes, hands, and heart. Join us in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future in space—one brushstroke, note, or click at a time.

Guidelines

Eligibility

• This application is strictly open to young professionals and students between the ages of 18 and 35 at the time of the events (17-21 May, 2026)
• Open to all artists worldwide — you do not need a career or background in the space industry (in fact, we’d love to win you over!).
• This residency supports physical visual art only (painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, etc.) — purely digital or metaverse-based works are not eligible
• Applicants should be comfortable creating work live or on-site during the event period and engaging with the space community as part of their creative process.
• The concept can have been previously submitted to another SGAC competition and can have won previous competitions, except SGAC art competitions. 
• All submissions shall be original creations.
• Limited to one artistic contribution created by a single artist. 
• All submissions shall be made using the online form provided. Any submissions after the deadline will not be considered. The Selection Committee reserves the right to extend the competition deadline.
• If you plan to use AI tools in any part of the creative process, please declare it and include a brief explanation of how AI will be used.
• By submitting your artwork you are affirming your availability to attend SGx and ASCEND 2026 in person. 
• The language of all submissions must be in English.
• Each submission should include the following:
  • Video description of the concept. Include the medium of the planed artwork. (maximum length: 1-minute video)
  • Previous artwork examples as a (printable) high-quality file (.png or .pdf for example)

In the interest of spreading opportunities to more members, SGAC reserves the right to prioritize applicants who have not recently received another SGAC scholarship of a similar nature. “Recently” is defined as having received a travel grant in the past 2 years, in the same category (either international or regional/national) as this posted award. 

Responsibilities of the Winner

Be aware! This scholarship is meant to mainly support attendants to the SGC. Paper presentations, or any other commitments for IAC are not a requirement.  

Responsibilities

• Attend the entire SGx and ASCEND
• Support the running of the SGx if required
• Contribute to the SGx 2026 final report
• Submit a short video (1 min) and 1-page report (excluding pictures) describing their experience at SGx for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners. Example of content: speakers that were particularly interesting, group discussions that stood out or other event highlights.

Reimbursement

• The award will be paid out after SGx and ASCEND, no later than 30 days after fulfillment of all responsibilities.
• The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the scholarship requirements not later than June 21st, 2026.
• In case the winner receives funding for SGx or ASCEND by any other organisation, the Scholarships Coordinators shall be informed. If the applicants don’t inform the Scholarships Coordinators, SGAC holds the right to not reimburse the winning author. SGAC aims to reduce the number of double scholarships and will work with the winners to develop a solution in these cases.
• Applicants are advised to not engage any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the competition has been awarded. The SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where a competition is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.
• Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring in expenses. Please, note that on top of the items mentioned in the SGAC Scholarships Reimbursement guidelines, this scholarship also covers local transport and meals.

Please visit SGAC scholarships Reimbursement Form for the reimbursement form and additional information on the reimbursement process.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

1. By submitting your work, you agree to grant the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License. This confirms that you hold the copyrights to your work, with SGAC being allowed to display your work on its website, social media, and other web, digital, and print related platforms, on which you will be attributed.
2. By submitting your work, you confirm that you have read and understood the SGAC Code of Conduct, and that your work is in line with the spirit of all SGAC Governance Policies.
3. By submitting your work, you guarantee the originality of your work, confirm that you hold all the copyrights to this work, and confirm that your work does not breach any copyrights held by any other parties. You additionally agree to indemnify SGAC in the case of any copyright claims against your submitted piece of work by any other parties.

You agree that SGAC reserves the exclusive right to determine the works which are displayed on its platforms. SGAC shall also be the sole determiner of the amount of time a work shall be displayed.

Liability

1. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that SGx and/or ASCEND 2026 is cancelled. 
2. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend SGx and/or ASCEND 2026 or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in such a case the award offer shall become void.
3. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents (visas, insurance, or other). If such required documents are not obtained prior to planned travel, the award shall become void.
4. The award is non-transferable and not valid for another event or individual.
5. Following the Reimbursement Guidelines, in the event that event or travel cannot take place due to unforeseeable circumstances (force majeure), including but not limited to illness, death, or weather, the Scholarship Holder will be responsible to try to recover costs through any available travel insurance or trip cancellation insurance. SGAC may reimburse the remaining amount not covered by insurance.

Schedule

Contact

For any questions, please refer to SGAC Scholarships Team ([email protected]).