Artist Resources

The Dezi Art Prize

• Dezi Art Prize 2026 is a global juried art grant for emerging and early-career visual artists. Two winners each receive a $1,000 unrestricted grant plus a featured profile; ten finalists are named and featured. Open worldwide, all visual media, scored on merit by an independent jury.

  Deadline: September 10, 2026

Touchstone Art Film Festival | Washington, DC

• As part of Touchstone Gallery’s 50th Anniversary, we invite filmmakers and artists to submit short films and moving-image works for the Touchstone Art Film Festival, presented as part of our 50 for 50 exhibition program. Celebrating 50 years of artist-led creativity and community, the festival will showcase video art, film, and other moving image or sound works. Experimental, narrative, documentary, animation, and hybrid works are welcome.

  Deadline: September 12, 2026

Call for Artists, Functional Art, Sandy Spring Museum | Sandy Spring, MD

• Sandy Spring Museum is creating a growing collection of permanent functional artworks that will shape the visitor experience across our campus for years to come. We are seeking artists who are excited to create highly visible functional artworks that invite interaction while celebrating the people and traditions of Montgomery County. 

  Deadline: September 18, 2026

The Bennett Prize

• The Bennett Prize, created in 2018, awards $75,000 to a woman artist to create her own solo exhibition of figurative realist paintings, which then travels the country. The Prize propels the careers of women painters who have not yet realized full professional recognition, empowering new artists and those who have painted for many years. The Prize expands opportunities for the public, who may not be familiar with figurative realist painting, to learn more about the creative vision of talented women painters in this increasingly popular genre.

  Deadline: September 19, 2026

Touchstone 50 FOR 50 Open Call for Art | Washington, DC

• To celebrate our 50th anniversary, Touchstone Gallery honors its legacy as an artist-run, community-centered space. 50 for 50 is an open call for artists to present work throughout 2026. While our primary focus has been on the visual arts, this opportunity also seeks artists working with video, film, performance, music, and other interdisciplinary practices. App Fee: $25

  Deadline: September 21, 2026

CALL FOR ARTISTS - Athenaeum Solo or Group Show | Alexandria, Virginia

• The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals.

  Deadline: September 30, 2026 

Hoco Gallery: Exhibition Proposals| Ellicott City, MD

• HoCo Arts manages two galleries with over 1,600 square feet of exhibit space. Our gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. We present 10-12 exhibits per year of national, regional, and local artists, including two-person, small and large group, juried, curated, and community shows. We rarely present solo exhibits.

  Deadline: October 1, 2026

Call for Artists: “Paint Bethesda” Painting Competition | Bethesda, MD

• “Paint Bethesda” is an art contest and exhibition that will feature outdoor paintings of downtown Bethesda. Interested artists are asked to submit images of the buildings, icons, scenes, or landmarks of downtown Bethesda that they have painted, along with a selection of images of their past works. Artists are invited to come to downtown Bethesda at their convenience to paint plein air the scene or building of their choice. Artists may also take photographs of the Bethesda icon they’re painting and paint in studio.

  Deadline: October 9, 2026

Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum | Washington, DC

• The Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery offer one of the oldest and largest fellowship programs in American art, inviting scholars from any discipline whose research engages American art, craft, or visual culture. Fellowships are residential, supporting full-time research within the museum's extensive collections, archives, and library resources in Washington, D.C. Fellows benefit from regular workshops, seminars, and lectures fostering scholarly exchange and professional growth. The program encourages applicants from all backgrounds and disciplinary perspectives, including those introducing new methodologies or materials to the field of American art history.

  Deadline: October 15, 2026

Call to Artists: Art Benches | Fairfax, VA

• Open to all artists 18 and above with a preference to those residing in Northern Virginia. The City of Fairfax will install three Noblewins benches at parks across the city: Ashby Pond, Pat Rodio Park, and Ratcliffe Park. The Noblewins bench frames are made from retired wind turbine blades. We are seeking submissions for mural designs to be hand painted on the turbine/frame only. Benches come primed and ready for artists to apply their designs directly on site. Artists are responsible for all on-site planning and mural execution.

  Deadline: October 16, 2026

2027-28 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship | Richmond, VA

• The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline and, as such, has awarded more than $6.5 million in Fellowships to Virginians.

  Deadline: November 6, 2026 

Call to Artists, “Fusion” at Strathmore | North Bethesda, MD 

• “Fusion” mixes materials, genres, and ideas through artistic vision to spark creativity. Strathmore invites artists to explore the idea of fusion, using their own style to create original multi-medium work for this juried show. This call welcomes any combination of multiple mediums for both abstract and representational art. This can include but is not limited to: drawing, painting, mixed media, assemblage, sculpture, and everything in between to accomplish a work.

  Deadline: November 9, 2026 

Tomorrow, Imagined: 17th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition | Washington, DC

• Sitar Arts Center invites artists to submit original artwork for the 17th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: “Tomorrow, Imagined.” This exhibition asks artists to explore what’s ahead: the hopes, questions, and possibilities that shape where we’re headed as a community and a world. This isn’t about predicting what will happen. It’s about asking: What future are we imagining—and what future are we helping to create? Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly. All mediums and perspectives are welcome. Application Fee: $15 $25

  Deadline: November 15, 2026

2027 Artist Residency Open Call / Residencies | Manchester, NH

• A 12-week program designed to bring creative minds from around the world to Manchester, NH. Experience an environment that allows creative freedom to discover, define, and refine your creative practice.Selected applicants are provided a studio apartment with basic household amenities, heat, hot water, electricity & internet provided. Additionally, each artist is granted a $350 travel stipend and a $1600 stipend that covers food and art supplies.

  Deadline: November 30, 2026

Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets | Washington, DC

• Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. 

  Deadline: Rolling

Call for Art, Links Bridge Vineyards | Thurmont, MD

• Links Bridge Vineyards, a small artisan style winery located just outside of Frederick, Maryland, is looking to feature the artwork of various artists on the walls of their tasting barn for two weeks at a time. To learn more, call Joan Cartier 301-602-5733 or email her at linksbridgevineyards@gmail.com.

  Deadline: Rolling

Money for Women

• Money for Women especially encourages applications from writers and artists in the early and middle stages of their artistic development. To be successful, your application must be complete and follow the guidelines here.

  Deadline: Rolling

LA NAVE / OPEN CALL 2026 | Buenos Aires

• In partnership with Gachi Prieto gallery in Buenos Aires, LA NAVE is launching its call for artistic production, research, and exploration residences for the period of April to December 2026. LA NAVE is the art studio of the argentinean artist Andrés Waissman. A space where a variety of art forms, intellectual and creative activities, artistic research and aesthetic experimentation are promoted and celebrated.

  Deadline: Rolling

The Studios at MASS MoCA Residencies | NORTH ADAMS, MA

• The Studios at MASS MoCA runs year-round, hosts up to 10 artists at a time for stays of 2 or 4 weeks, and primarily seeks applications from visual artists and writers in all literary disciplines. Artists from around the world are encouraged to apply. Financial aid and fully-funded fellowships are available for two or four-week residencies. Residency Fees apply, full-ride fellowship and/or need-based financial aid available.

  Deadline: Rolling

Creativity Grants for Projects – Maryland State Arts Council

• The Creativity Grant for Projects is available to independent artists and arts organizations. There are two options to choose from: the Planning & Development grant is intended to support the early stages of research and development for a proposed project; the Implementation grant is intended to support the execution of a specific arts projects/event/program.

  Deadline: Rolling

ECRAC Essential Artist Award

• The East Central Regional Arts Council (ECRAC) Essential Artist Award program is designed with McKnight Foundation funding to recognize, reward, and encourage outstanding professional artists and culture bearers. The Council will fund artists at various stages in their professional careers.

  Deadline: Rolling

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants

• Emergency Grants is the only active, multidisciplinary program that offers immediate, project-based assistance of this kind to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad. Grants range from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is $2,300.

  Deadline: Rolling

Sarasvati Creative Space Residency | HOHENWALD, TN

• Venture to the rural rolling hills of Appalachia in the Western Highland Rim—one of the best light-pollution-free zones in the region. Explore the flora and fauna of the biodiverse region of midsouth Tennessee. You'll have access to seventeen acres with a variety of habitat, furnished housing, space to work, and interactions with the camp donkeys, chickens and roosters, camp cats, two farm dogs, and a peafowl couple.

  Deadline: Rolling

Belgrade Art Studio Residency

• Belgrade Art Studio Residency is a nonprofit international art program designed to bring artists, creative practitioners, researchers, and writers from around the world to experience a unique cultural environment dedicated to art. Selected artists are invited to live and work in a specially designed studio for a period of up to six months. By bringing artists into a unique setting, the program aims to situate art at the very heart of historical Belgrade.

  Deadline: Rolling

ECRAC Resiliency Grant for Individuals

• ECRAC Resiliency Grant - Supporting Artists Through Change The East Central Regional Arts Council (ECRAC) offers the Resiliency Grant to help artists, culture bearers, and arts organizations respond to unexpected challenges or seize sudden opportunities.

  Deadline: Rolling

Art Omi: Artists Residencies | Ghent, NY

• Art Omi supports a wide variety of artistic disciplines through five distinct residency programs. Their residencies include: visual/studio art (via Art Omi: Artists), architecture (via Art Omi: Architecture), dance / choreography (via Art Omi: Dance), music and composition (via Art Omi: Music), and writing & translation (via Art Omi: Writers).

  Deadline: Rolling

CERF+ Emergency Relief Grants

• Emergency financial assistance for U.S. craft artists following a recent, career-threatening emergency or disaster.

  Deadline: Rolling

My First Arquetopia Residency | Puebla, Mexico

• Arquetopia’s My First Arquetopia Residency supports emerging artists ages 20–25 in defining or reframing their creative foundations through contextual immersion and guided observation. Held in Puebla, Mexico between March and July, participants engage closely with local museum collections, deepen critical reflection through weekly meetings, and take part in field visits that situate artistic practice within wider social, historical, and material contexts.

  Deadline: Rolling

Anderson Ranch Arts Center Residency | Snowmass Village, CO

• Anderson Ranch’s Artists-in-Residence Program fosters creative, intellectual and professional growth for emerging and established visual artists. Residents have access to world-class facilities and studio time, free from everyday pressures. Residents can pursue interdisciplinary projects among a community of working artists, and gain feedback from prominent Visiting Artists and Critics. $30 application fee applies.

  Deadline: Rolling

Pollock-Krasner Foundation grants

• The Foundation welcomes applications from visual artists who are painters, sculptors, and artists who work on paper, including printmakers. Grants are intended for a one-year period of time. The Foundation will review expenditures relating to an artist’s professional work and personal expenses, and amounts range up to $50,000. Artists must be actively exhibiting their current work in professional artistic venues, such as gallery and museum spaces.

  Deadline: Rolling

Indigo Arts Alliance mentorship residency | Portland, ME

• Indigo Arts Alliance fosters mentorship by pairing two artists together during a residency period of 1-2 months to cultivate rich conversation, collaboration, and exchange experiences, knowledge, art industry information and technical skills. Housing, stipend, and 24-hour access to community studio provided. For Black and Brown artists.

  Deadline: Rolling

Alterwork Residency | Long Island City, NY

• This residency allows emerging contemporary artists time and space to create new work exploring their practice. The residency culminates in a solo closing reception that is promoted across an extensive network. Proposals should have a contemporary art focus showing experimentation and career reach for the artist. The program is especially interested in projects that involve conceptual art, practice or theory, or involve the public in their creative process.

  Deadline: Rolling

ART14 Residency | Patton, Pennsylvania

• During their stay, artists’ objectives are self-prescribed. The program welcomes all types of artists, writers, musicians, etc. of all skill levels, welcomes creators to explore new media and techniques, and encourages collaboration but does not require it. Residents are encouraged to explore and engage with the local community. 

  Deadline: Rolling

DC Arts Center Call for Curators | Washington DC

• Apply to curate and exhibition at the DC Arts Center, send your resume and cover letter/artist statement to info@dcartscenter.org

• Deadline: Rolling

DC Arts Center Open Call For Artists | Washington DC

• The DC Arts Center accepts applications to exhibit in their Main and Nano Galleries on a rolling basis.

• Deadline: Rolling

Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant

• The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program provides interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident. The maximum amount of this grant is $15,000; an award of $5,000 is typical.

• Deadline: Rolling

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants

• Emergency Grants is the only active, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate, project-based assistance of this kind to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad. Grants range in amount from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is $1,900.

  Deadline: Rolling

The Awesome Foundation

• The Awesome Foundation is a global community advancing the interest of awesome in the universe, $1000 at a time. Each fully autonomous chapter supports projects through micro-grants, usually given out monthly. Projects include initiatives in a wide range of areas including arts, technology, community development, and more. Many awesome projects are novel or experimental, and evoke surprise and delight.

  Deadline: Rolling

Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund

• The Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund provides support to creators during times of extraordinary hardship. Current Fund efforts are focused on supporting creators who have been directly impacted by the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. If selected, you will receive $10,000 from the Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund. 

  Deadline: Rolling

Awesome Foundation on the Water Grant

• This grant awards $1,000 per month to a water-focused project that brings creativity, culture, and inclusion to the water or provides a new way of thinking about the water. Applicants can be based anywhere in the world.

  Deadline: Rolling

Creative Capital Artist Lab

• Creative Capital Artist Lab is a new online professional development curriculum designed to help artists build thriving practices at any career stage and in any discipline. Free for individual use, courses are created by art professionals, industry experts, and fellow artists who share vital concepts, skills, and tools to help grow artists’ careers—including courses on crafting artist statements, grant proposals, managing multiple income streams, and more.

  Deadline: Rolling

Artist Communities Alliance Job Postings

• ACA is hiring for a wide variety of positions. Apply ASAP!

  Deadline: Rolling