Biodesign Challenge Summit 2026 Tickets
The Biodesign Challenge Summit returns to Parsons School of Design and the Museum of Modern Art between June 11-12, 2026! Join us as we celebrate cutting-edge biodesign projects from this year's student participants as they compete for special prizes and showcase their work at the 2026 gallery show, Convergent Life.
For a limited time only, we are offering the BDC community discounted "Early Bird" tickets, which can be accessed below. Tickets include access to all Summit events, including student presentations, keynote and panel talks, the final awards ceremony, and lunch at Parsons School of Design. We hope to see you this June!
Location
June 11, 8:30am – 6:00pm | The New School, University Center
63 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003
June 11, 6:00pm – 8:00pm | Summit Gallery exhibition - The New School, Arnhold Hall
55 W 13th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10011
June 12, 8:30am – 5:00pm | The Museum of Modern Art, Titus 1 Theater
11 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019
(Please check in at The Ronald S. and Jo Carole Lauder building entrance (MoMA Film entrance) east of the main entrance on W 53rd St.)
Schedule
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8:30am Registration
9:00am Welcome Address
9:20am Keynote Speaker // Rory O’Dea
10:00am Session One // Student Presentations
10:45am Break
11:00am Session Two // Student Presentations
11:45am Break
12:00pm Lunch
1:30pm Keynote Speaker // Lola Ben-Alon
2:00pm Break
2:15pm Session Three // Student Presentations3:00pm Break
3:15pm Session Four // Student Presentations
4:00pm Closing Address
6-8pm Gallery Show // Convergent Life // Arnhold Hall 55 W. 13th St.
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8:30am Registration
9:00am Welcome & Finalist Announcement
9:10am Performance // Wendi Yan
9:30am Student Presentations
10:30am Break
10:45am Student Presentations
11:45am Lunch and Digital Submissions
2:15pm Alumni Impact Award // Noemi Florea
2:30pm Keynote Speaker // Ray Nayler
3:10pm Outstanding Digital Submission Winner
3:20pm Awards Ceremony and Closing Remarks
4:00pm Photos in the Garden
Summit Speakers & Performers
Gallery Show – Convergent Life
When: Thursday June 11th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: Arnhold Hall - Theresa Lang Center, 55 W 13th St, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011
Life does not unfold in isolation: it evolves in a constant state of flux, with unique interactions between organisms, technologies, and environments informing its emergence. In an era of increasing complexity, these rapid transformations threaten our essential systems with unanticipated consequences. Biodesigners, however, are critically approaching this entangled network and guiding its trajectory towards biologically innovative paradigms. For the 11th annual Biodesign Challenge Gallery Show, Convergent Life, we are proud to present a collection of international student projects that reveal how microbial, ecological, anthropological, and technological systems intersect in ways as yet unforeseen.
In Convergent Life, familiar societal and material conventions are turned on their head. The works in this exhibition explore the interplay of agency across scales, seeking to understand the dynamics that shape our volatile reality. In doing so, these biodesign projects harness curiosity and wonder to lead our understanding of these strange yet vital connections toward reimagined systems that are configured for mutuality. From speculative futures to direct interventions in extractive infrastructures, these students are asking a deeper question: what new forms of convergence can emerge when we design with life?
Summit Judges
Beyond the Summit
Join the Biodesign Sprint: Biodigital Futures program!
Or first book is a compilation of projects and ideas that are influencing the emerging field of biodesign.
BDC 2026 Sponsors
Thank you to everyone who has made our BDC Summit so inspiring!
If you'd like to sponsor or support BDC to provide opportunities for our students, follow the link below to learn more about ways you can support us.
The Biodesign Challenge Summit 2026 is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.