$2000 Virtual Artist Residency: Eyebeam AGENCY 2026

Eyebeam Offers Six US-Based Artists a 12-Week Virtual Residency With a $2,000 Stipend

Eyebeam has opened applications for its Fall/Winter 2026 virtual artist residency, a 12-week program for US-based artists working outside New York City. Six artists will receive a $2,000 stipend and participate in weekly programming focused on developing new work around Eyebeam’s 2026/2027 theme, AGENCY. The residency includes cohort sessions, independent project development, mentorship, technical consultation, work-in-progress feedback, a virtual process presentation, and a contribution to an end-of-year publication. Applications close October 11, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern. Join the Contemporary Performance newsletter to track artist opportunities, grants, fellowships, and residencies each week.

Eyebeam AGENCY 2026 Snapshot

What: A 12-week virtual residency supporting the development of new work around Eyebeam’s theme, AGENCY.
Who: US-based artists located outside New York City who meet the program’s eligibility requirements.
Where: Virtual. Applicants must remain US-based throughout the residency.
Award / Support: $2,000 stipend; weekly residency programming; mentorship with Eyebeam alumni and visiting professionals; technical consultation; cohort exchange and project-development support.
Application Fee: FREE
Residency Duration: November 4, 2026–February 12, 2027.
Deadline: October 11, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern.
Official Link: https://eyebeam.org/articles/agency-virtual-residency
Strategy Coach Notes: https://www.patreon.com/pformart/posts/eyebeam-agency-170453343?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Get The Application Strategy

The application asks artists to articulate a project in development, explain its relationship to AGENCY, identify concrete residency goals, and describe what they can contribute to a six-person cohort. Applicants also submit a short video introduction and two work samples. The structure creates several points where the written proposal, work samples, current artistic questions, and residency goals need to reinforce one another. Contemporary Performance’s Strategy Coach Notes break down the application questions, word limits, work-sample requirements, and residency structure to help applicants build a coherent submission. Join the network to access the full Strategy Coach Notes.

About the Opportunity

Eyebeam describes the Virtual Residency as a program for artists developing new work around AGENCY. The residency is especially suited to projects in early stages of development that can benefit from shared research, discussion, feedback, concept development, and prototyping. Six US-based artists will participate. Eyebeam’s AGENCY theme examines how artists respond to technological systems that increasingly shape individual and collective action. Applicants are asked directly how their proposed project relates to AGENCY and why the project is timely.

Residents commit a minimum of three to four hours each week. That commitment includes weekly cohort sessions and independent project-development time. Artists continue developing their projects across the 12-week period, share works in progress with peers and guest critics, participate in peer-to-peer mentorship, and present their research and process during a virtual event at the conclusion of the residency. Each resident also develops text, imagery, or other material for an end-of-year publication.

STAY AHEAD
OF THE FIELD.

New artist opportunities, grants, residencies, and open calls delivered to your inbox each week.

JOIN THE NETWORK →

What Is Offered

$2,000 stipend
12-week virtual residency
Weekly residency programming supporting project development
Mentorship with Eyebeam alumni and visiting professionals
Technical consultation
Weekly cohort sessions
Independent project-development time
Work-in-progress sharing with peers and guest critics
Peer-to-peer mentorship with fellow residents
Virtual process presentation at the residency’s conclusion
Contribution to an end-of-year publication

Eyebeam requires residents to commit at least three to four hours each week to the residency.

Who Should Apply

The residency is open to individual artists based in the United States outside New York City. Applicants must remain US-based throughout the residency period. Collectives and collaborative teams are ineligible for this cycle. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a full-time degree program, employed as full-time faculty at a higher-learning institution, or participating in or committed to another residency during the Eyebeam residency term.

The residency is structured around developing work. Eyebeam specifically identifies early-stage projects that can advance through research, discussion, feedback, concept development, and prototyping.

Timeline

Applications Open: September 21, 2026
Info Session: September 28, 2026, 1 PM Eastern
Deadline: October 11, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern
Interviews: October 26–28, 2026
Notifications: October 29, 2026
Residency: November 4, 2026–February 12, 2027

Why The Eyebeam AGENCY 2026 Matters

The residency provides a defined 12-week development period for artists whose projects can progress through research, experimentation, feedback, and exchange. Its virtual structure makes Eyebeam’s residency model available to US-based artists outside New York City. The six-person cohort creates a concentrated working group, while the weekly commitment leaves substantial project-development time outside scheduled sessions. The $2,000 stipend accompanies mentorship, technical consultation, peer exchange, public process sharing, and publication participation. There is no application fee.