SBYD.SPACE explores new climate-neutral and resource-light ways of living and production. It transfers knowledge from sustainability research into society and the economy through design. The capability of design in making theories and abstract concepts tangible – and transferring them into everyday life – is used to explore, discuss, and test these theories and ideas in practice.
SBYD.SPACE engages with diverse audiences and collaborators through a range of formats, including workshops, international symposia, exhibitions, an artist / designer in residence program and support for entrepreneurial endeavours. It is located at Folkwang University of the Arts’ North Campus at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein, a former coal mine in Germany’s Ruhr region – a location that could not be more symbolic for the transformation of industries, ways of life, and entire regions.
SBYD.SPACE awards Artist / Designer in Residence scholarships each year.
From 1 March 2026 to 31 May 2026, Folkwang University of the Arts, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Mexico, is offering two Artist/Designer in Residence scholarships on the subjects of »Food« and »Textile« for Mexican artists or designers. The application deadline for this Open Call is 15 December 2025. Details of the programme and the application procedure can be found in the PDF here.
Innovative Citizen: make — fab — grow — repair — cycle
SBYD at Innovative Citizen in the SANAA Building
Two days full of workshops, talks and activities all about textiles:
Which techniques and practices do we want to explore, strengthen or reinvent?
How can textiles protect, reveal or conceal – and should they at all?
What materials do we use, where do they come from, and how can we produce sustainably?
Folkwang University of the Arts, SANAA Building
Gelsenkirchener Straße 209, 45309 Essen
On 11 December, the results of this year’s residency will be presented at Museum Folkwang. Li Actuallee presents a work on the topic of Textiles, Vinay Khare shows a project in the field of Tech.
Museum Folkwang, Museumsplatz 1, 45128 Essen
Further information will follow shortly.