Organizer Information
The Future of Money Award (FOM) is an interdisciplinary initiative that has operated since 2009, created to build bridges between the financial industry, creative practitioners, and speculative designers worldwide. Its core mission is to investigate and challenge prevailing assumptions about money, the systems that govern value exchange, and how these structures intersect with culture, society, and creativity. Over the past decade and a half, FOM has pushed boundaries by inviting artists, designers, musicians, critics, thinkers, and economic innovators to reimagine monetary systems, propose alternative paradigms, and present thought-provoking visions that disrupt conventional economic narratives. The Award has been historically associated with major financial and innovation forums, including Money2020, the Museum of London, and other global industry events where winners and shortlisted participants engage with professionals, industry leaders, and audiences interested in financial innovation and creative speculation.
FOM’s platform nurtures speculative, conceptual, and interdisciplinary work that combines artistic inquiry with critical design thinking about financial systems and social value creation. By inviting broad participation—from established practitioners to students and emerging thinkers—the organization fosters a global dialogue on the cultural and imaginative dimensions of “money” beyond profit and commerce.
Title & Description
Future of Money Design Awards 2026 – Musical Notes & Sound Money
The Future of Money Design Awards 2026 is an open call inviting creatives to explore and reinvent the relationship between music and money through speculative, artistic, and visionary work. Under the theme “Musical Notes & Sound Money”, the opportunity challenges participants to think beyond traditional economic frameworks and imagine new interfaces, narratives, and meanings where monetary systems and musical expression intersect. This call seeks inspirational and innovative ideas—concepts that question how we value music, how creative economies might function in alternative monetary futures, and how sound and finance might coalesce into new cultural logics or systems.
Participants are encouraged to submit conceptual designs that communicate their ideas clearly, whether through narrative frameworks, visual prototypes, sound experiments, or hybrid interdisciplinary approaches. The competition values speculative intellect and creative imagination over commercially developed or proprietary technological solutions.
Categories
Opportunity is multidisciplinary, including (but not limited to):
- Visual Arts – conceptual visualization of ideas
- Design – speculative system design, interfaces, economic imaginaries
- Sound/Music – exploration of musical money concepts
- Multimedia – audio-visual, interactive proposals
- Critical/Conceptual Art – speculative economics as cultural intervention
- Creative Economy Theory – conceptual frameworks and proposals
This competition explicitly welcomes work at the intersection of culture, design, economics, and speculative thinking.
Eligibility
This open call is broadly inclusive and open to:
- Creatives of all kinds, including Designers, Artists, Musicians, Creative Economists, speculative thinkers, students, professionals, and retirees.
- Individuals with conceptual, speculative, or artistic approaches to the theme.
- Global participants—no geographic restrictions.
- Interdisciplinary collaborators, including social scientists, economists, and designers working together.
Participants of any experience level are welcome, but entries must be speculative, idea-driven, and communicated effectively (through visual, textual, or hybrid documentation). Commercially sensitive or patentable technologies are not encouraged for this particular call.
Program Benefits & Awards
Selected participants receive:
- £750 prize for the winning entrant.
- Travel support to London for finalists.
- An opportunity to present work at the Pay360 event in London (taking place 26 March 2026), where finalists and winners share their ideas with financial experts, creatives, and industry delegates.
- Exhibition and promotion via the Future of Money website and affiliated networks.
- A physical award for winners.
In addition to financial and travel support, participants gain critical exposure at a high-profile industry event, connecting speculative creative work with an audience of professionals, decision-makers, and cultural institutions.
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- A PDF concept overview (max 3 pages) that communicates the speculative idea clearly.
- Illustrations or sketches supporting the concept (embedded or included in the PDF).
- Examples of previous work (optional but recommended) via portfolio link or included attachments.
- Contact information (name, email, institutional affiliation if any).
Entries must focus on the idea and narrative rather than fully developed commercial products or proprietary systems—this is a speculative and conceptual competition.
How to Apply?
Submit your entry by emailing the concept PDF to: enter@futuremoneyaward.com
Key Dates
- Submission Deadline: 6 March 2026
- Exhibition & Presentation Event: 26 March 2026 at Pay360 event in London
Location
London, United Kingdom
Additional Details
- Entries should be speculative in nature and not focused on commercial viability or patentable technologies.
- Finalists’ concepts will be physically exhibited, and winners will gain presentation opportunities with professionals in finance and design.
- Copyright remains with the submitter; by entering, applicants grant FOM a non-exclusive license to use submitted materials for promotion.
- This award is particularly suited for creators at the intersection of cultural critique, economic speculation, and artistic paradigm-shifting inquiry.