Organizer Information
Time for (S) Heroes is a European collaboration project led by South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk), bringing together six partner organizations from across Europe. The four-year project began in October 2024 with funding from the European Union's Creative Europe programme, and supports creative talents through design innovation, residencies, business incubation, and cultural exchange, building toward the Design Wave Festival, Residencies, and an international Symposium. Co-implementing partners include Espronceda – Institute of Art & Culture in Barcelona, Tallinn Creative Incubator, the Latvian Technological Centre, the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, and Kosmoskosmos, which built the project's digital portal. Xamk's role centers on project coordination and developing the digital and co-design components of the programme.
Title & Description
Time for (S) Heroes Open Call — Sustainable Heroism in Fashion, Costume, Installation and Performance
Time for (S) Heroes invites emerging designers, artists, and creators to develop new expressions of sustainable heroism through fashion, costume design, art installation, and performing arts. Applicants form teams of 3–5 through the project's digital portal, post an early project idea, and develop it collaboratively before submitting a final application. Selected teams can pursue a residency pathway — with up to 10 teams eligible for supported residencies in Kouvola, Finland, and Barcelona, Spain, in spring 2027 — or opt for a digital-exhibition-only pathway that doesn't compete for residency places. Proposals are expected to grow through mentoring, prototyping, and public exhibition rather than arrive as finished work.
Theme
Sustainable heroism, explored through three core threads: Sustainability (environmental, social, economic, and cultural responsibility, not material choice alone); Heroism reimagined (heroism as collective, everyday, caring, repair-oriented, quiet, embodied, critical, vulnerable, or transformative); and Creative digitality (digital tools, presentation, augmentation, or interaction used meaningfully in the design expression or its dissemination).
Categories
- Fashion
- Costume design (not in fixed taxonomy — closest match: Craft)
- Installation
- Performance
- Design
- Digital
- Interdisciplinary Arts
Eligibility
- Intended especially for emerging designers, artists, and creators — including students, recent graduates, early-career professionals, self-taught creators, and creative practitioners with equivalent skills
- No age restriction; suggested level is an ongoing Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent competencies and know-how
- Applicants must form a team of 3–5 members, with one designated project owner
- Teams are encouraged to be multidisciplinary and international
- Because the project is funded by Creative Europe, project-funded support can only go to participants, activities, and costs that are compatible with Creative Europe's eligible countries, EU values, EU restrictive measures, and cost eligibility rules — the project cannot provide open call support to participants from countries not accepted under those rules
- Eligible non-EU participating countries under the 2026 list include Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, and Tunisia (some only in specific strands)
Program Benefits & Awards
- Free learning materials and capacity-building support through the project's digital portal, covering sustainability, installation art, and digital/fashion integration
- Mentorship from 20+ experts for teams advancing through the Open Call
- Up to 10 teams selected for fully supported residencies: February 2027 in Barcelona (Espronceda), May 2027 in Kouvola, Finland (Xamk/Ankkapurha)
- Preparatory and production support for selected residency-pathway teams, estimated at approximately €300–600 per team, covering prototype materials, production materials, or needed technology/software licences
- Project coverage of agreed presentation and exhibition costs during and after residencies (e.g. a summer exhibition at Ankkapurha in Kouvola; other presentation locations planned in Tallinn and Barcelona)
- Opportunity to enter an Incubation Program
- Opportunity to showcase work at exhibitions across Europe
- Access to specialist facilities at the Kouvola residency, including a virtual production studio, holographic projection, and 3D printing with ecological materials
- Access to local circular-economy materials via Ekomaa Recycling Store (Parik Foundation) at the Kouvola residency
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 20 September 2026
- Jury evaluation: October 2026
- Design Wave Festival (further development / remaining residency selection): 27–29 November 2026, Riga, Latvia
- Residencies: February 2027 (Barcelona, Spain); May 2027 (Kouvola, Finland)
Location
Barcelona, Spain and Kouvola, Finland (residencies); Riga, Latvia (Design Wave Festival)
Additional Details
- Up to 5 teams may be selected directly for residencies after the October 2026 jury evaluation; the remaining residency places (toward a total of up to 10 teams) are selected through the Design Wave Festival in November 2026
- Teams applying only for the digital exhibition platform are not included in the residency competition
- The proposal must be the team's own work; third-party or AI-generated material may only be used with proper rights and disclosure
- Applicants should note themes needing trigger warnings or sensitive facilitation (violence, sexual content, trauma, cultural/religious sensitivity, etc.)
- As an EU-funded project, standard Creative Europe conditions apply: no double funding, no profit generation from grant support, only eligible/necessary costs are covered, volunteer costs are not eligible, and EU funding-visibility requirements must be respected in communications
- Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are not eligible to participate in any capacity
- Design Wave Festival participation for further-development teams may be on-site (at the team's own cost) or remote, depending on programme arrangements