Time for (S) Heroes Open Call: Sustainable Design Residencies for Multidisciplinary Teams
About this call
Time for (S) Heroes is a European cooperation project supported by Creative Europe that invites emerging designers, artists and creators to rethink sustainable heroism through fashion, costume, art installation and performing arts. Proposals are developed by teams of three to five members, with one member acting as project owner, and are built around three core themes: sustainability understood as environmental, social, economic and cultural responsibility, heroism reimagined as collective, everyday, caring or vulnerable rather than conventional, and creative digitality using digital tools, interactive methods or speculative visualisation. Applicants choose one main category: costume design, fashion design, art installation with digital elements, or performing arts with digital elements. Ideas are first posted on the project's digital portal, where teams form and members with complementary skills can join, and are then submitted as a full application. Teams also choose a pathway: the residency pathway, which competes for the funded residencies, or the digital exhibition platform only. Up to five teams are selected directly after the October 2026 jury evaluation and the remaining residency places are chosen at the Design Wave Festival in Riga, Latvia in November 2026.
Who can apply
- Regional applicants
- Medium: Textile / Installation / New Media / Performance
- Free entry
- The submission deadline is September 20, 2026 at 23:59 EEST. Each proposal needs a team of 3 to 5 members with one designated project owner; teams are encouraged to be multidisciplinary and international, and members may meet through the project portal. The call targets emerging practitioners, including students, recent graduates, early career professionals and self taught creators; the suggested level is an ongoing Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent competence, and there is no age limit. Because the project is funded by Creative Europe, support can only go to participants and activities compatible with the programme's eligible countries, eligible activities, EU values, restrictive measures and cost eligibility rules, so applicants from countries not accepted under those rules cannot receive open call support. The application asks for a proposal description of at most one page, at most one page of visual material, short statements on sustainability fit and on the reinterpretation of heroism, a description of the digital dimension, a team motivation letter, one page resumes per member and a joint portfolio of at most three pages. Any use of AI must be declared.