CREATE CHANGE 2026

About the Open Call

The Laundromat Project is an arts organization that advances artists and neighbors as change agents in their own communities. We make art and culture in community while fostering leadership among our neighbors through our celebrated Create Change artist development programs, and our creative community-building initiatives across New York City. The Laundromat Project invites all NYC-based artists, activists, neighbors, designers, organizers, healers, storytellers, and cultural producers to apply for the 2026 Create Change program as we explore social practices through a community engagement lens. The 2026 Open Call marks a milestone: 20 years of community-rooted visioning and the launch of a new two-year residency. This moment invites us to reconsider how we understand time—not as linear, but as symmetrical, layered, and reciprocal. The theme for this milestone year is Resonant Futures: Time as Echo, Memory, and Motion. Drawing inspiration from African diasporic temporalities, quantum physics, and oral tradition, throughout the program we will explore time as a relational field where memory, ritual, cosmology, and imagination converge. Fellows and Artists-in-Residence will be invited to investigate how their artistic practices engage with concepts of deep time, speculative time, and community memory. The Create Change 2026 Program has 3 opportunities: The Create Change Fellowship, The Create Change Residency, and The Bed-Stuy Residency. The Create Change Fellowship is a six-month incubator for multiracial artists and cultural producers committed to art for social transformation. The program is grounded in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, though Fellows are not required to live there. Fellows receive training on working in community as a practice, cultural organizing, policy advocacy, and project planning. They work in small interdisciplinary groups, each paired with a community partner aligned with priority neighborhood concerns. This is a process-forward program focused on providing transformative and supportive experiences, workshops, and mentorships that foster intentional community creation. Fellows are supported with a stipend of $1,500, production budget, and access to The Laundromat Project’s intergenerational alumni network. The Create Change Artist-in-Residence (AiR) program supports the development of participatory and community-attuned creative projects by artists of color working within their communities. Projects may take place anywhere in the five boroughs, either in person or virtually, across various community sites. AiRs develop and execute detailed art projects that address relevant issues and engage the community. The program includes workshop sessions, monthly cohort coaching sessions, and professional development mentorship. AiRs will receive a total honorarium of $40,000 ($20,000 per year), a production budget of up to $20,000 ($10,000 per year), and access to in-depth resources. Starting in 2026, the AiR program operates on a 2-year cycle. The Create Change Bed-Stuy Residency program supports the development of participatory and community-attuned creative projects by artists of color who live, work, or are otherwise invested in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Projects may take place anywhere in Bed-Stuy, either in person or virtually, across various community sites. Bed-Stuy AiRs develop and execute detailed art projects that address relevant issues and engage the community. The program includes workshop sessions, monthly cohort coaching sessions, and professional development mentorship. AiRs will receive a total honorarium of $40,000 ($20,000 per year), a production budget of up to $20,000 ($10,000 per year), and access to in-depth resources. Starting in 2026, the Bed-Stuy AiR program operates on a 2-year cycle. ELIGIBILITY: The Laundromat Project accepts applications from artists who are 21 years or older; live in one of the five NYC boroughs; are not enrolled in a degree-seeking program; are in alignment with The Laundromat Project’s values and POC-centered principles; demonstrate a practice or deep interest in socially and community engaged art; are familiar with the cultural history and local issues impacting communities of color. We value applications with diverse backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and expertise, while encouraging age diversity, multilingual folks, and practitioners without formal arts education to apply.

What is Offered

Selected artists receive stipends or honorariums ranging from $1,500 to $40,000, production budgets up to $20,000, professional development training, mentorship, and access to extensive networks and resources.

Requirements

Applicants must be 21 years or older, live in one of the five NYC boroughs, and not be enrolled in a degree-seeking program. They must align with The Laundromat Project’s values and POC-centered principles, demonstrate a practice or deep interest in socially and community engaged art, and be familiar with the cultural history and local issues impacting communities of color. Ideal candidates have experience with collaborative or community-based projects; for residencies, a background in community organizing and outreach strategies is valued, and Bed-Stuy residents must be invested in the area.

How to Apply

Review the Guidelines and FAQs documents. Begin your application online via the Submittable platform. Applicants can save their progress and return to the application at any point until the deadline passes. Contact apply@laundromatproject.org for questions or accommodations.