Organizer Information
Target Margin Theater (TMT) is an award-winning experimental theater company based in Brooklyn, New York, dedicated to creating innovative, interdisciplinary, and socially engaged performance. Founded in 1991, the organization has become one of New York City's leading experimental theater institutions, known for challenging traditional theatrical conventions through collaborative artistic processes and bold reinterpretations of classic and contemporary works. Beyond producing performances, Target Margin Theater actively supports artistic research, professional development, and creative experimentation through educational initiatives, fellowships, workshops, and community engagement programs. The TMT Institute reflects the organization's commitment to fostering artistic risk-taking by providing established artists with the time, resources, financial support, and collaborative environment needed to fundamentally rethink and transform their creative practices without the pressure of producing a finished work.
Title & Description
TMT Institute Fellowship 2026–2027 (Target Margin Theater)
The TMT Institute Fellowship 2026–2027 is a year-long experimental fellowship designed for established artists who are ready to radically disrupt, question, and reinvent their artistic practice. Rather than supporting the development of a specific project or performance, the Institute encourages participants to step away from product-oriented work and embrace open-ended experimentation, exploration, and creative uncertainty.
Hosted by Target Margin Theater in Brooklyn, New York, the fellowship welcomes artists from all artistic disciplines—including theater, visual arts, performance, music, design, literature, film, media arts, architecture, and interdisciplinary practices—as well as production, technical, and administrative professionals working within the arts. Fellows are encouraged to abandon familiar methods, explore entirely new artistic disciplines, and investigate unfamiliar creative processes without concern for producing a final outcome.
Each participant designs an individual path of exploration throughout the fellowship. Target Margin Theater supports these investigations by providing studio space, collaborators, materials, mentorship through peer exchange, and a $2,000 fellowship stipend. The emphasis is placed on experimentation, curiosity, failure, discovery, and artistic transformation rather than measurable outputs.
The Institute begins with three intensive in-person sessions held throughout the season in Brooklyn, followed by monthly breakfasts, community discussions, cultural excursions, and independent experimentation supported by the organization. During the fellowship, participants continually reflect on their evolving artistic questions while engaging in dialogue with fellow cohort members.
The fellowship concludes with an Open Studio Weekend in June 2027, where Fellows share their explorations with fellow artists, local community members, and the public. Instead of presenting a finished performance or exhibition, participants may choose to demonstrate ideas, discuss discoveries, present research notes, facilitate conversations, or share aspects of their ongoing creative investigations.
Unlike traditional artist residencies or development labs, the TMT Institute intentionally rejects project-based production models. It offers artists the rare opportunity to pursue creative inquiry without deadlines, production expectations, or commercial objectives, making it particularly valuable for experienced practitioners seeking long-term artistic renewal.
Categories
- Theater
- Performance
- Visual Arts
- Installation Art
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Media Arts
- Film & Video
- Design
- Literature
- Music
- Architecture
- Experimental Arts
- Creative Research
- Artistic Practice
- Arts Administration
- Technical Production
Eligibility
- Be established artists with an existing body of professional artistic work.
- Be committed to fundamentally changing or disrupting their current artistic practice.
- Be working in any artistic discipline, whether inside or outside theater.
- Production, technical, and administrative arts professionals are also eligible.
- Be available to attend all required in-person sessions in Brooklyn, New York.
- Be willing to participate in experimental, non-project-based artistic exploration.
- No formal academic degree is required.
- Artists who have only recently completed a training program are generally not considered suitable, as the fellowship is intended for practitioners with an established practice rather than emerging graduates.
- International applicants may apply, provided they can participate in all required in-person activities.
Program Benefits & Awards
- $2,000 fellowship stipend
- Access to Target Margin Theater's artistic community
- Studio and rehearsal space
- Material support for artistic experimentation
- Access to collaborators when appropriate
- Peer learning within a cohort of interdisciplinary artists
- Three intensive artistic laboratory sessions
- Monthly cohort breakfasts and discussions
- Organized cultural excursions and artistic events
- Individual support for self-directed experiments
- Opportunity to share research during the Open Studio Weekend
- A year-long environment dedicated entirely to artistic experimentation without production pressure
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Completed application form
- Personal and contact information
- Description of current artistic practice
- Statement explaining why they wish to disrupt or reinvent their practice
- Responses to application questions
- Professional background and artistic experience
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview with members of Target Margin Theater's staff and artistic community.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 22 July 2026
- Notification: October 2026.
- Fellowship Schedule
- October 20, 2026
- November 30, 2026
- January 4, 2027
- February 1, 2027
- March 8, 2027
- April 5, 2027
- May 3, 2027
- Intensive Sessions (Brooklyn, NY)
- First Intensive: November 5–8, 2026
- Second Intensive: January 8–10, 2027
- Third Intensive: March 19–21, 2027
- Open Studio Weekend: June 2027
Location
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Additional Details
- The fellowship is not intended for project development.
- Participants should not apply with a proposal for a specific artwork or production.
- There is no required final performance, exhibition, or completed artwork.
- Fellows pursue independent creative investigations throughout the year.
- Failure, experimentation, abandoned ideas, and unexpected discoveries are considered valuable outcomes.
- Participants are encouraged to explore entirely new artistic disciplines and methods beyond their established practice.
- The Open Studio is intended as an informal sharing of artistic inquiry rather than a public performance.
- Attendance at all intensive sessions is mandatory.
- The program emphasizes curiosity, artistic transformation, interdisciplinary exploration, and long-term creative growth over measurable results.