Art+Science

At NCEAS, we believe Art and Science play key roles in nurturing the innovative thinking we need to deal with the complex changes we are currently experiencing across the globe.

While they each communicate the complexity of our world differently - science with data and facts, art with the imagination and feelings - both entail a process of asking new questions and exposing possible answers

Our Art + Science initiatives connect research, creativity, and community, fostering dialogue, collaboration, and new forms of expression.

Applications Now Open!

We are excited to launch a new annual Art + Science Fellowship: Dialogues in Science thru Art & Music. Each year, NCEAS will invite one visual artist and one musician/composer to Santa Barbara for a weeklong Ideas Summit, where they will collaborate with leading environmental scientists around a shared theme.

The inaugural 2026 theme is Extinction & Persistence - exploring disappearance, survival, adaptation, and the emotional and ecological dimensions of change.

During the summit, Fellows will engage in:

• Deep conversation with scientists and scholars
• Field excursions and ecological site visits
• Collaborative experimentation and exchange

Over the following year, Fellows and scientists will continue to connect through quarterly virtual dialogues, culminating in a public exhibition and performance series in Santa Barbara the following fall.

Fellowship Support

• Stipend: $10,000
• Travel, lodging, and per diem for both the Summit and final public program
• Access to NCEAS research community and resources

Eligibility: Open to U.S.-based visual artists and musicians/composers with a strong body of work and interest in interdisciplinary inquiry.

Application Deadline: April 1, 2026

How to Apply:
Submit application materials as a single PDF to air@nceas.ucsb.edu.
Full details and application guidelines are available in the program call.

Since 2018, NCEAS has hosted artists in residence with the goal of unleashing new levels of creativity and innovation in the ways we think about, communicate, and solve the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. These collaborations have supported exhibitions, installations, recorded works, and community engagements throughout Santa Barbara and beyond.