Opportunities for Artists and Curators
This page features a regularly updated list of high-quality artist opportunities, including open calls, exhibitions, artist residencies, art grants, and curatorial projects. All listings are reviewed to ensure they align with artist-centered values, professional standards, and are worth your time and energy. These resources are here to support artists' momentum and help build a practice that is not only creative, but professionally sustainable.
Opportunities listed may include:
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Open calls for contemporary artists and curators
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Artist residencies in the United States and internationally
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Art funding opportunities and artist grant deadlines
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Curatorial projects and exhibition proposal calls
Need Help Applying?
Each listing on this page is paired with free articles offering guidance and tools to help you prepare strong artist materials.
However, if you are an artist who:
• Doesn’t have time to manage applications
• Prefers to focus on studio work rather than admin
• Feels uncertain about how to apply or what’s expected
• Would benefit from expert support and accountability
I offer one-on-one consulting designed to meet you where you are. Whether you're navigating open calls, residencies, or institutional partnerships, I provide tailored support to help build systems, strengthen materials, and align your practice with the opportunities you're pursuing.
Learn more about consulting support
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Calls to Artists and Curators
MIT Museum Open Call
The MIT Museum is accepting proposals for innovative public programs connected to its OCEANS theme, launching in September 2026 and running through March 2027. The open call invites artists, scientists, designers, and other practitioners to propose participatory, short-term programs that connect art, science, technology, and design around ocean-related issues such as climate change, biodiversity, and exploration. Proposals are due by February 5, with selected programs receiving up to $1,000 in reimbursable expenses and final decisions announced by mid-March 2026. The call is open to a wide range of formats, but does not include exhibitions or installations.
Due February 5
I Like Your Work Podcast - Spring Exhibition Catalog Call for Art
Artists are invited to submit work for the 2025 Winter Exhibition Publication, with selected pieces featured in a full-color printed catalog and promoted across I Like Your Work Podcast’s platforms. The call is open to emerging and mid-career artists working in any medium, including painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. Selected artists will be included in the quarterly exhibition catalog and receive social media and digital visibility connected to the publication.
Due February 15
postcanon
Based in Chicago, USA, postcanon is an online gallery dedicated to promoting upcoming artists. Our mission is to help people discover current and emerging trends in the arts while providing artists with a meaningful platform to share their work. We aim to represent a diverse range of creatives who have had little exposure to the art world. We believe in supporting artists at the beginning of their careers and connecting them with people who can cherish their work.
Beginning April 2026, we will offer a monthly postcard-based service in which subscribers will be mailed a card featuring an artwork from an upcoming artist. Every month, a new artist will be highlighted, and their work will be available for purchase on our storefront for up to a year. We offer limited-edition prints and original work across various price points, so that everyone can have access to artwork they love.
Due February 15
Women Made Gallery Seeds of Resilience
Woman Made Gallery invites women and non-binary artists to submit work for Seeds of Resilience, an exhibition exploring ecological care, cultural preservation, and personal growth. We welcome artworks inspired by seeds as symbols of potential, survival, and continuity, as well as pieces that engage with eco-feminism and Indigenous wisdom. Artists addressing the intersections of environmental justice, gender, and traditional knowledge are especially encouraged to apply. Up to three works per entry; any medium. Curating Team: Monica J. Brown & Nora Moore Lloyd
Due February 22
West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce invites artists to apply for the juried, purchase award exhibition: Awareness/Conciencia. Four works will be selected and purchased from experienced artists for the design and execution of murals or large wall art, not exclusive of installation, large scale paintings and drawings that can be fixed to the wall, mixed media, relief work and photography will be considered as well as traditional mural techniques. The new center is a space for meetings, entrepreneurial conversations and gatherings. The purpose of the mural or wall art is to show a connection with the rich culture, materiality and design of modern Latin American art that incorporates and engages a contemporary and sophisticated theme and composition. Themes like nature, abstract art, interactive concepts focusing on identify, universal symbolism, archaeology, material as a point of departure and non-narrative story telling are encouraged.
Due February 28
BLOOM: Art of Flowers, Foliage & Fruit - Juried Exhibition 2026
We invite contemporary artists to explore the timeless, yet ever-evolving relationship between humanity and the botanical world in BLOOM: Art of Flowers & Foliage & Fruit. This juried exhibition celebrates the diverse ways artists interpret, reimagine, and respond to floral and botanical subjects through contemporary perspectives.
From intimate studies of botanical detail to abstract interpretations of natural forms, from environmental commentary to cultural symbolism, this exhibition seeks works that engage with flowers, foliage, and fruit as more than mere subject matter—as vessels for deeper artistic inquiry and expression.
Due April 30
Michigan Artist Series
Throughout its 100-year history, the Grand Rapids Art Museum has featured the work of Michigan artists in its exhibition program. If you are an artist or designer living in Michigan and would like to exhibit your work at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, we invite you to submit an exhibition proposal. GRAM welcomes submissions from artists for review. Prior to submitting your work we ask that you consider our current and past programming in order to determine whether your submission is appropriate to our mission. Digital submissions are preferred, though you may also send printed materials, if necessary. Please include examples of your work or a link to your website or portfolio, as well as any other information you think would aid us in understanding your work or career. Send submissions to Assistant Curator, Jennifer Wcisel at jwcisel@artmuseumgr.org. Please include “Michigan Artist Series submission” in the subject line of your email.
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Articles and Resources to Support with Calls
You can explore the articles to learn more, or reach out for individualized support!
Artist Residency Opportunities
CPW Artist in Residence Woodstock AIR 2026
Due January 31
Rabbit Island Artist Residency
Due February 22
Ellis Beauregard Foundation Residency Program
Due March 1
In Situ Polyculture Remote Residency
Due March 1
Interlude Residency
Due March 7
Fire Island Artist Residency
Due April 2
Articles and Resources to Support with Residencies
You can explore the articles to learn more, or reach out for individualized support!
Art Funding Opportunities
Terra Foundation Exhibition Grants
Due March 6
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts | Exhibition Support
Proposals are accepted for solo or two-person shows and thematic group exhibitions taking place between 6 months and 2 years after the grant notification date (July 1st and January 1st). We are interested in supporting artists whose work has been less celebrated than that of their peers, whose commitment to their practice has been under-recognized yet has had a significant impact on the current (and upcoming) generation of artists.
Grants range from $60,000-$100,000. The amount requested should be 25% of a project’s total direct costs or less.
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Application Fee: None
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Emergency Grants is a year-round, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate, project-based assistance to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad.
Each month FCA receives an average of 100 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 15-20 grants in the range of $500 to $3,000 each. Applicants may request any amount in that range and, if granted, may receive full or partial funding. The average grant is currently $2,200.
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Innovative Artist Grants: Rolling
Innovate Grant distributes two $1,800 grants each quarter, to one visual artist and one photographer. In addition, 12 honorable mentions (six in art and six in photo), will be featured on the website and join a growing community of vibrant and talented artists.
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Application Fee: $35
The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant
The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program is intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation.
Each grant is given as one-time assistance for a specific emergency, examples of which are fire, flood, or emergency medical need. The maximum amount of this grant is $15,000; an award of $5,000 is typical.
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No Application Fee
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation | Emergency Grant
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant is one of the most prestigious and substantial grants available to emerging figurative artists. It is one of the longest-standing foundations, with an illustrious history of recipients spanning more than half a century. It is also unique in its scope, in that it is available to students and artists around the world.
Applicants must work within a representational style of painting, drawing, sculpture, or printmaking. No other artistic activities or disciplines are funded.
Applicants must be in the early stage of their career, either as a student or as an emerging artist in the process of launching their career.
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Application Fee: None
Articles and Resources to Support with Funding Opportunities
You can explore the articles to learn more, or reach out for individualized support!
