2026 Craft Fellowship Awards
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APPLICATIONS OPEN
2026 Craft Fellowship Awards — APPLICATIONS OPEN
TEXTILESEEKERS | Craft FELLOWSHIP AWARDS
The TextileSeekers Craft Fellowship is a research-led programme conceived as a period of focused inquiry and curation. Designed for one selected creative, it offers time away from production cycles wherein you’re free to create space for observation, profound exchanges and the development of a single, considered object.
The fellowship unfolds through a six-day hosted immersion in Mai Chau; a landscape where material culture remains inseparable from daily life. The experience is shaped through proximity – you’re encouraged to dive deeply into shared time, conversation and direct engagement – allowing new ideas to emerge in response to the landscapes you encounter and the people and practices you meet.
Applicants are invited to propose a concept for one object – sculptural, functional, wearable or interpretive – developed through close attention to material, technique and environment. Evolving through dialogue with regional practices and tools, the object will be shaped by presence rather than prescription, arising from the experience and reflecting new inspirations uncovered.
At its core, the TextileSeekers Fellowship privileges attention over acceleration. It’s about creation as a form of listening; a process by which the resulting object stands not as an endpoint, but as a trace of encounter that endures beyond the fellowship itself.
What is new this year? – The Craft Fellowship
In this edition, the TextileSeekers Fellowship centres on the development of a single object. The emphasis shifts from broad exploration to a focused act of making – one work shaped through time, material attention, and context.
Applicants are invited to propose a concept for an object – sculptural, functional, wearable, or interpretive – approached as a site of inquiry rather than outcome. The selected fellow develops this work through sustained engagement and dialogue, allowing form and meaning to emerge through proximity, observation, and making, rather than predefined intent.
The object is not produced for the setting, but evolves within it – informed by shared time, material presence, and the conditions in which it takes shape.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications are welcome from designers, artists and makers proposing a single object shaped by material curiosity and cultural awareness.
To apply, please share:
A written proposal outlining your object concept (up to 500 words)
A visual reference, sketch, or moodboard
A CV or portfolio with relevant work
Optional: a brief note on materials or practices you feel drawn toward
The Fellowship is offered as an invitation – a moment to pause, consider direction and reflect on what you wish to explore next through making.
CLOSING NOTE
If this resonates, you are welcome to approach it in your own time. The TextileSeekers Fellowship is conceived as a space of attentiveness – where ideas are given room to settle, shift, and unfold through presence, dialogue, and shared experience.
