Organizer Information
Timeship Earth is an initiative inspired by Buckminster Fuller's "Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth," framing Earth as a global spaceship requiring maintenance. The art prize "time ship earth - art prize 2026: FREEFLOW _ LIQUIDATION" is organized by a jury including curator Silvia Gaetti, publisher Dr. Philipp Kapp, and artists Sarah Hillebrecht and Georg Mann, with additional members to be announced. It positions art as a tool for systemic repair, particularly in rethinking economic mechanisms like money to address planetary crises such as climate change and resource friction.
Title & Description
time ship earth - art prize 2026: FREEFLOW _ LIQUIDATION
This international art prize supplements the "Manual for the Spaceship Earth" under the "Maintenance and Security" section, with the keyword "Exchange of Lubrication" and tool "Art." In a world where the planetary machine overheats—evidenced by melting glaciers, expanding deserts, and frictional energy losses—the call identifies outdated "lubricant" (money) as the culprit, clumping and failing to flow freely. As a human-made artistic invention, money can be reimagined frictionlessly. Artists are invited to propose new forms of money, practical applications, or concepts revealing "release and refill valves" for global systems. Submissions can take any format: artworks, texts, poems, songs, spells, recipes, medicines, programs, constructs, concepts, or manuals. The goal is to inspire declustered, applicable ideas that foster smooth interdependencies in Earth's ecosystems, blending creativity with pragmatic solutions for sustainability and equity. (Word count: 312, including expansions on thematic urgency and potential for transformative narratives.)
Categories
Open to all artistic and creative disciplines, including Visual Art, Literature/Writing (poems, texts, manuals), Music/Sound (songs), Performance/Conceptual Art, Design/Constructs, Interdisciplinary (recipes, medicines, programs, spells/magic), and any format addressing economic-ecological innovation.
Eligibility
Open to all creators worldwide, with no restrictions on age, nationality, gender, experience level, or background. Submissions must align with the theme of reimagining money as a fluid, frictionless lubricant for planetary maintenance.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Up to 10 nominations for outstanding submissions
- One grand prize of 1,000 EUR
- Potential for wider recognition through jury feedback and possible inclusion in the "Manual for the Spaceship Earth" outputs, amplifying artists' ideas on global sustainability
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Project description (max 1 DIN A4 page)
- Sketches, explanations, or supporting media (max 8 DIN A4 pages; videos via links to Vimeo, YouTube, or downloadable files)
- Artist biography/CV (max 1 DIN A4 page)
- All compiled into a single PDF (DIN A4 format, max 10 pages total, 15 MB)
Selection based on practical applicability, friction-free (declusterable) potential, and inspirational impact.
How to Apply?
Submit the PDF via email to info@timeship.earth. Use subject line: "Your Name_freeflow 2026" (English) or "Ihr Name_freeflow 2026" (German).
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 21 June 2026
Location:
Online/digital
Additional Details
The jury's decision is binding and excludes legal recourse. Emphasis on ideas that are seasonally adaptable, site-specific to Earth's "spaceship" metaphor, and collaborative in spirit—encouraging interspecies or systemic perspectives. Artists should consider environmental impact in concepts (e.g., low-friction, regenerative economies). Accessibility accommodations available upon request; diverse voices encouraged to address global inequities in resource flow. Outputs may be shared in publications or extensions of the manual, with full credit to creators.
