By Andrea K. Hammer
Are you searching for innovation inspiration? Would you like to learn about incubators and accelerators to advance your ideas? Here is the latest news to help creators keep their wheels spinning:
FAST COMPANY INNOVATION FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 14-17, 2026
As a professional writer who has covered this exciting event, I highly recommend this festival for jump-starting creativity and moving innovative ideas forward. This year’s four-day festival in New York has an overflowing list of engaging speakers from the design, entertainment and business worlds. Just a few include Leslie Odom Jr., vocalist, songwriter, author and actor; Billy Parks, head of Fox Creators Studio, Fox Entertainment; Asahi Pompey, global head of corporate engagement, Goldman Sachs; and Grace Prince, founder and CEO of Grace Farms Foundation.
To see the entire list and learn more about the Fast Company Innovation Festival, visit https://events.fastcompany.com/innovation-festival/speakers
NEW INC, New Museum’s Cultural Incubator, September 2026 to June 2027
NEW INC, the New Museum’s cultural incubator, recently announced its 13th annual cohort for the September 2026 to June 2027 program cycle. The cohort of 83 new members working at the intersection of art, design, technology and entrepreneurship will participate in NEW INC’s yearlong program, which includes a values-centered business education curriculum, mentorship. Opportunities to showcase their work to the public include NEW INC’s annual festival, DEMO, at the close of the program year.
New members include individual practitioners, collectives, studios, nonprofits and startups. The participants in five tracks are Art & Code, redefining cultural and digital landscapes in collaboration with Rhizome; Creative Science, employing modes of scientific inquiry to advance creativity and storytelling; Extended Realities, expanding the artistic potential for technology to blur physical and digital worlds, supported by EY Intelligent Realities Lab and Onassis ONX; Social Architecture, reconstructing social and public space through design and architecture; and Launchpad, a new track supporting products and services ready to go to market. In addition to the five core tracks, NEW INC will introduce Bound, a focused sandbox of nine members exploring how independent publishers and graphic designers are circulating ideas and building community.
For more information, see https://www.newmuseum.org/new-inc/
FourthWave, a Non-Profit Accelerator for Women-Led Tech Businesses
FourthWave, a non-profit accelerator for women-led tech businesses, has announced the selection of 14 U.S. women founders for its 2026 accelerator program. The 16-week program provides founders with one-on-one mentorship, leadership development and fundraising preparation. Now in its eighth year, FourthWave has mentored 90 female founders, with alumni companies going on to raise more than $180 million in venture funding. The alumni have also won notable awards including Nala Membrane’s being selected as a top 17 semi- finalist in Water Desalinization for the 2026 Global X Prize Awards to be announced later this year and ExpertIEP winner of the National Black Ambition Award.
To learn more about FourthWave and future accelerator opportunities, visit www.fourthwave.io.
Copyright 2026 Andrea K. Hammer