Description

This is a call for visual artists to apply for a four week virtual artist residency, resulting in four art installations which will transform the outdoor footprint in the city of Columbia MO, USA in a celebration of film, music, and art for True/False Film Fest 2026.
We are looking for emerging and mid-career artists and encourage applications from artists who may identify as underrepresented in the traditional art world (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and parents/caregivers).
The virtual residency will provide our visual artists a platform for cultural exchange, networking, and creative exploration, allowing artists to connect and collaborate regardless of geographical constraints, culminating in an in-person exhibition of their art installations during the 2026 True/False Film Fest.
We welcome questions at any and all points during the application process; please feel free to contact our Art Installations Curator at sarahn@truefalse.org
THE RESIDENCY
The four selected artists will meet online for a weekly two hour group session (Tuesdays, 6-8PM CST) in November 2025. These sessions will focus on developing community and connection, adding to your knowledge about the current art world, and supporting the fabrication (if needed) and delivery of your art installation for True/False. Artists will meet with our Art Curator and Production Team. We will have professional artists and curators join our weekly sessions to speak to you about the art world as they know it. This platform provides a space for you to share about your own practice and making of your art installation for True/False.
The residency ends with the exhibition/installation of proposed art installations at True/False on March 5-8 2026.
Accepted artists/residents are not required to attend True/False in person.
The goals of the residency:
Community and connection with the other residents and the True/False Art Curation Team.
Providing information and opportunities to meet Curators and other professional Artists during the weekly meetings.
Final Exhibition of completed proposed Art Installations at the Fest.
What we offer our residents:
An accessible artist residency, weekly online sessions which include professional artists and curator speakers, professional practice tips, information specifically about True/False Film Fest, and additional individual meetings with the True/False Curation and Production teams.This will be a space to connect and share your practice with other artists exhibiting at True/False.
A public Exhibition/Art Installation for the duration of the Fest.
$1000 Artist Stipend.
Additional shipping/travel and/or material costs up to $500. Costs beyond $500 will be covered by the artist.
Artist Pass to the Festival (valued at ~$1000) if you are attending (in person attendance during the Fest is not mandatory for acceptance for your installation or attending the residency).
Assistance if needed, from our Curation and Production Teams in the construction and/or alterations that may be required to exhibit your art installation at True/False.
Local Press and spotlight on our website and social media.
Expectation of our residents:
Attendance is required at each weekly virtual group meeting and one to two additional independent meetings with the Curation and Production Team (you must have access to a computer and ability to take part in weekly zoom meetings).
Active participation during group discussions and individual meetings. You will be asked to share your work that you are proposing for True/False and your artistic practice.
Completion of Art Installation (ready for install and delivered) by February 20, 2026; installation will occur no later than Thursday, March 5th, 2026 (install dates will depend on location) and deinstall will occur on March 9th, 2026.
SUBMISSIONS AND PROPOSAL MATERIALS
Proposals must include:
Completed online application including resume, artist statement, contact information, artist website, art installation proposal, and social media links.
Art Installation proposal includes a proposal outline, images, and estimated installation/deinstallation needs for your Art Installation to be exhibited at the 2026 True/False Film Fest.
Incomplete proposals will not be accepted.
Artists must arrange for the shipping and delivery of their work to and from the Fest. We have a highly skilled art curatorial team to install and deinstall the installations. We encourage artwork that is shippable and can be installed by our T/F team, if the artist can not be present to lead the installation.
Art Installations:
True/False is looking for dynamic, original large-scale, fit for all weather (rain, snow, ice, sun) art installations that have the flexibility to be modified to work on our 9th street enclosure. We encourage interactive art installations. The location does have access to power. Generally, we do not show outdoor projections as our Festival runs during the day as well as night and we want our art installations to be visible during the daytime. Artists must supply their own media (projectors, laptops, media players, screens, etc) equipment.
True/False art installations are temporary. All of the art installations we exhibit are located in spaces that large groups of people move through or spend time in; this knowledge should inform your construction plans and design. All artwork is open to the public. As True/False takes every measure to secure and care for the work, some work may be damaged due to the weather and public interference with the work.
To view examples of past installs on 9th St: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRiQjDxjCzNgKaA1JY2D-EB2UfoFogssB6YVvPQGynGRm1ZGeSg9RE3uo1X5oM70mBVlleQ7f9oRR6c/pub
Once your proposal is accepted for the first round, we will interview you to determine (and prepare) any additional information, permissions, or considerations needed to install your piece. To view past work created for True/False, please see our Instagram feed (@truefalseart) which showcases a variety of pieces both in progress and installed and visit our archives.
Feel free to submit multiple proposals. We will accept proposals from anywhere in the world. We have provided a sample proposal.
2026 THEME
In 2026, the theme for True/False is Lost & Found.
This year’s theme focuses on the idea of searching - seeking meaning, probing the path forward and reframing the reality in front of us. Acknowledging that for every up, there is a down, we look to the cyclical nature of loss and recovery and celebrate the process of discarding and discovering, the finding-in-losing. The Fest is a space for curiosity as we forage for the previously unknown and pursue the evolution of our understanding together, shedding the old to make way for the new. In uncertain times, the search for what we’ve lost may feel fruitless but with this theme, we hold on to the hope of reclamation and making way for something we didn’t even realise we were looking for.

All the things we leave behind
Hide and seek
Finders Keepers
Mazes/Labyrinths
Out of print
Repurposed/recycled
It’s always in the last place you look
Time capsule
Scavenger hunt
The value of objects
Answer the call
New meaning
Archive Forever
Chosen Family
Cut outs/Erasures
Call and response
When you close a door, you open a window
Missed connections

TIMING AND DEADLINES
For True/False 2026, the Open Call for our Artist Residency opens July 1st 2025.
All Proposals are due no later than midnight CST on September 15th, 2025. We welcome early submissions.
Individual meetings with artists will be held from September 16th -30th.
Applicants will be notified of final acceptance by October 1st, 2026.
Virtual Residency Dates: November (on Tuesday evenings from 6-8PM CST)
November 4th, 2025
November 11th,2025 November 18th, 2025 November 25th, 2025
Install/ Exhibition/Deinstallation: The Fest will be held March 5 – 8th, 2026.
All accepted work will need to be completed (ready for install and delivered) by February 20, 2026; installation will occur no later than March 5th, 2026 (install dates will depend on location) and deinstall will occur on March 9th, 2026.