artist–scientist ideas summit & fellowship

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.