Resources & Grants for Creatives
The cinéSPEAK Philly Cultural Critics Fellowship
The cinéSPEAK Philly Cultural Critics Fellowship is a paid learning opportunity geared toward Philadelphia-based cultural critics of color—especially those who are new and emerging in the industry. We are looking for voices that further amplify the spirit and magic of the Philadelphia film community. The fellowship provides local journalists with the opportunity to refine their skills, get more connected to the local film ecosystem, and be compensated for publishing work for the journal. Like cinéSPEAK Journal’s primary funder, Critical Minded, this fellowship aims to build the resources and visibility of cultural critics of color in Philadelphia.
Deadline: November 24th, 2025
Illuminate the Arts Grant 2025
The Illuminate the Arts Grant (ITAG) is designed to strengthen and financially uplift Philadelphia’s creative sector, especially artists and organizations rooted in communities that have been historically underfunded or excluded from traditional sources of arts support.
Deadline: November 30th, 2025
Curatorial Residency 2026 — An Endless Meeting (Part of Collective Futures)
Vox Populi is accepting applications for our Curatorial Residency, part of the citywide Collective Futures festival and Vox’s project An Endless Meeting: Collective Process, Artistic Labor, and the Politics of Working Together. We invite a curatorial pair, two artists/curators from a DIY space, artist-run initiative, or collective located at least 50 miles outside of Philadelphia, to participate in a one-and-a-half-month residency from August 24th –October 5th, 2026.
Deadline: December 31st, 2025
The International Black Theatre Festival Call for 2026 Submissions
The International Black Theatre Festival (IBTF) celebrates the power, diversity, and brilliance of Black theatre from around the world. We invite theatre companies, independent artists, and cultural organizations to submit their work for consideration in our 2026 festival—July 27 to August 1, 2026, in Winston-Salem, NC.
The festival showcases a range of performances, including plays, musicals, spoken word, and experimental theatre that center Black stories and voices.
Deadline: December 31st, 2025
Àrokò Anthology: Call for submissions
Call for Submissions! Àrokò invites writers from Africa & the diaspora to send us stories and poems that reimagine folklore, myth, and legend.
Deadline: December 31st, 2025
Black Lawrence Press Workshop Series
Calling all poets & writers! We're accepting proposals for the Black Lawrence Press Workshop Series! This is an opportunity for you to develop & facilitate a workshop in our well-attended series, where you'll have the chance to share your knowledge of and passion for writing.
Deadline: December 31st, 2025
Governors Island ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
The New York Latin American Art Triennial (NYLAAT) Artist Residency Program is process-based, with the expectation or promise of a final exhibition of the work. The program provides artists, designers, and creative thinkers time, space, and a supportive community in which to develop ideas and focus on their artistic direction. In addition to our time-honored studio residencies, a variety of innovative professional immersion programs provide opportunities for artists to explore new areas of social and technological practice and engage critically within their field. A unique combination of creative and professional resources provides a rich environment for growth and opportunity in the current, vibrant art scene.
Deadline: February 15th, 2025
Crafting the Future 2026 Craft Workshop Scholarship
Crafting the Future (CTF) provides emerging, mid-career, and established artists of color with opportunities that help plant their roots in the craft community and propel their careers. For 2026, we are excited to continue our Craft Workshop Scholarship program and we are accepting applications from Black and/or Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC)-identifying artists who seek to participate in a 2026 Summer craft workshop at Penland or Haystack.
5 full scholarships (including travel) are available for BIPOC artists to attend a 1-week or 2-week Summer craft workshop through CTF partnerships.
Deadline: December 1, 2025
City Employees Art Contest and Exhibit
Creative Philadelphia’s Art In City Hall program, in partnership with the National Arts Program Foundation, presents the 22nd Annual Philadelphia, PA Art Exhibit. This special exhibition for City government employees and family members is also an art contest where participants are judged in five different classifications: Professional, Intermediate, Amateur, Teens (13-19) and Youth (12 and Under). The National Arts Program Foundation sponsors exhibitions in over 30 states each year, supporting creativity in the workforce to help build community and connections through the arts.
Deadline: November 21, 2025
For the third consecutive year, sixteen (16) selected artists will have large pennant flags printed and produced by the DRWC Waterfront Arts Program. These flags will be hung as part of an outdoor exhibition in Spruce Street Harbor Park for the 2026 Spring and Summer seasons. DRWC will cover all production costs; each recipient will receive a $300 honorarium.
Deadline: December 1st, 2025
Bernheim’s 2026 Residency Program
Each year, artists are selected to live, create, and connect with nature across Bernheim’s 16,000-acre landscape. Through this immersive experience, artists explore new ways to tell the story of people and the planet through art.
Deadline: December 1st, 2025
2027 DAAD Artists In Berlin Residency
We are now accepting applications for the 2027 cycle of our residencies in the fields of film, literature and music & sound. The open call closes on December 15, 2025, 23:59 CET.
Deadline: December 15th, 2025
Jan van Eyck Academie Residency 2027
Artists and designers coming from all fields, architects, and other artistic researchers, curators, (literary) writers, and critical thinkers, including duos and collectives, are invited to apply for the residency program taking place in 2027 at the Jan van Eyck Academie.
Each selected participant receives the time and space to expand their artistic practice with the expert support of our advisers, the curator/resident liaison, the departments of Nature Research and Education & Development, as well as the library and the Jan van Eyck labs – Photography & Audiovisual, Material Matters, Food, Printing & Publishing, and Future Materials.
Deadline: December 4th, 2025
The Upstart Parent-Writers' Residency
This month-long residency includes dedicated access to our Granville Island studio, a $4,000 grant and an additional $1,000 in childcare support to help alleviate the practical and financial barriers parent-writers often face. For more information, guidelines and dates, click here. Our jurors look forward to reviewing your application!
Deadline: December 22nd, 2025
2026 NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship
The Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three writers to support revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way. In order to submit for this program, you must be logged into the website. If you do not already have a project hosted, you must be ready to upload one during the submission process.
Deadline: November 28th, 2025
Field Funds 2025: Artist-Led Gatherings
Field Funds supports both the public components of a project and the often unseen work that makes collaborative creative practice possible, such as research and relationship building. This program supports specific needs common to socially engaged art including artist-led gatherings, accessibility & translation, and documentation & archiving.
Deadline: November 30th, 2025
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is now accepting applications for the 2026 Margins Fellowship. Four emerging Asian American, Muslim, and Arab writers of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction based in New York City will receive $5,000, residency time at Millay Arts, mentorship, access to the AAWW writing space, and publication opportunities in our online magazine, The Margins.
Deadline: December 1st, 2025
2026 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
The upcoming 26th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will take place in-person at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto from June 2-7, 2026, and move to our online streaming and iNdigital platforms from June 8-14, 2026.
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is imagineNATIVE’s annual primary event hosted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We present artistic and industry programming over the six-day in-person Festival showcasing Film + Video, Digital + Interactive, and Audio media works created by Indigenous artists (directors, producers, writers, designers, and more) at all levels of experience. Since 2020, imagineNATIVE has further moved into a hybrid presentation of these works, with an online portion of the Festival. Artistic programming consists of works selected through the general call for submissions, guest-curated programs, partnership exhibitions, and special curated initiatives.
Deadline: January 9th, 2026
Arrowmont 2026-2027 Artists-in-Residence Program
We are searching for our next cohort of AIRs who are self-motivated early-career artists that embrace community and collaboration. It is important for applicants to be able to step out of their comfort zone and have a body of work that reflects a unique point-of-view.
Resident experiences are tailored to the individual’s goals and desired outcomes, with guaranteed exposure and professional development opportunities including – two gallery exhibitions, open-studio talks and demonstration, instruction experience through our ArtReach program, and funded networking resources.
Deadline: January 11th, 2026
Artist Submissions for BUTTER 2026
BUTTER is a curated fine art fair. Every artist featured in the fair is selected directly by our curators. We do not operate on an open call model—instead, we trust the vision and expertise of our curatorial team to shape the fair’s roster. The submission portal exists to equip our curators with a pool of artists to consider. By submitting your portfolio, you are making your work accessible to the curators. If you’re an artist interested in being part of BUTTER Indianapolis on Labor Day Weekend 2026, we invite you to submit your portfolio below. While submission does not guarantee inclusion, it ensures that your work is seen by the curatorial committee
Deadline: January 15th, 2026
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Brewerytown Paperboy Open for Proposals
Brewerytown Paperboy is seeking proposals from artists, community organizations, & beyond who are interested in hosting events with us! These events could include anything from exhibitions and workshops to talks, screenings, or gatherings that bring people together around art, history, and connection.
We’re interested in collaborating with our neighbors on projects that spark curiosity or showcase innovative approaches to community storytelling. Whether you’re looking to test an idea, showcase a body of work, or facilitate an engaging discussion, we’d love to hear from you.
Reach out to learn more about our space, available dates, and what’s possible for your project. Let’s imagine something great together. Contact us by reaching out at (610) 864-8714 or via email at brewerytownpaperboy@gmail.com
Touch Magazine Open Call to Black Women Writers
Torch Magazine is open to submissions from Black women writers. Whether you’re into Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Scripts (plays or screenplays), we’d love to read your work! Selected submissions will receive $150 and be showcased in our Friday Feature. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis year-round—no deadline!
Asian Arts Initiative's 2025 Community Fair Vendor Application
Asian Arts Initiative's Annual Community Fair is an all-ages arts & crafts market highlighting work by AAI's youth programs, the Youth Arts Workshop and Youth Leadership Initiative, and local artists and makers. We aim to provide a space for young and emerging artists to connect with other artists and an opportunity to showcase their work. We encourage all artists & makers to apply, no matter the experience!
*There is no tabling fee, and vendors keep 100% of sales.
Utility Works Call for Art Rolling Submissions
We are thrilled to announce that the Kiosk Gallery, operated by the LEDC, is now inviting applications for art-based exhibitions and creative pop-ups! We are searching for gifted local artists and entrepreneurs to display their work in our Kiosk Gallery on Baltimore Avenue in Lansdowne, PA. For art exhibitions, we are seeking proposals for solo or small group shows. Our art exhibitions are scheduled to run for 6 to 8 weeks and include an opening reception, granting ample exposure for the artist and opportunities to connect with visitors. While Utility Works is happy to assist administratively, we ask artists to be present for and to assist with the installation of their work. Limited pedestals are available for use.
NoName Gallery 2026/2027 Submission
We’re building our 2026/2027 lineup and looking for artists, makers, and creatives who want to do more than just hang their work on a wall!
Whether you:
Make original work and want to be part of a group or solo exhibition
Sell prints, zines, candles, jewelry, or other small items, and want to stock them in our shop
Want to teach a small, intimate art class or creative workshop
Love vending and want to be part of our pop-up markets and community events
There are opportunities at the gallery and off-site
The ART14 Residency was founded in 2023 in order to give artists a place to concentrate on projects in a comfortable, collaborative, and creative space. The ART14 Residency exists in conjunction with the L.a. Studio community’s art outreach and programming.
During their stay, artists’ objectives are self-prescribed. We welcome all types of artists, writers, musicians, etc. of all skill levels, welcome creators to explore new media and techniques, and encourage collaboration but do not require it. We also encourage residents to explore and engage with the local community. As many of our artists' stays are exploratory, we do not require artists to produce deliverables or final products as part of the residency, though many opt to participate in a small presentation to the L.a. Studio team, their fellow artists, and members of the local community at the end of their stay.
Our application for one-time financial assistance grants is open to professional musicians across all genres. If you are a professional musician in a specific time of need, please explore below to see if you might qualify for a financial grant to pay an essential bill.
POLLOCK-KRASNER FOUNDATION GRANT
Pollock-Krasner grants have enabled artists to create new work, purchase needed materials, and pay for studio rent, as well as their expenses. Past recipients of Pollock-Krasner grants acknowledge their critical impact in allowing concentrated time for studio work and in preparing for exhibitions and other professional opportunities, such as accepting a residency.
The Steel Yard Micro Residences
The Steel Yard’s micro-residency program can assist you in growing and strengthening your creative industrial art practice with flexible time commitments. Micro-residencies are an ideal opportunity for you to complete a specific project, commission, or prototype within a limited amount of time. Micro-residencies are available with a one-month minimum commitment and a three-month maximum commitment.
We host one ceramics and one metals micro-resident at a time. Micro-residents receive an all-access pass to our 10,000 square foot studio, tools, resources, and community. Take an online tour of the studio here!
Open Call Submission for Long Shot Performance at Vox Populi
Long Shot is looking for long-form (20–60 minute), never-before-seen performances that are comedic but not traditional stand-up. Think: character work, storytelling, satire, performance art, interactive pieces, multimedia, chaos, or something entirely new. Shows are on the last Thursday of every month from 7:30–10 PM.
All shows are pay-what-you-can, with 100% of ticket sales going directly to performers. They’re actively looking for performers for October & November of 2025 and performances in 2026
Have questions? email longshotphl@gmail.com
2025 Open Call at Cocodrie Collective
Interested in selling your art or indie brand with Cocodrie Collective? Send an email to management@artistcolette.com. Please include a portfolio, linesheet, or website, and if you are interested in wholesale, consignment, or both. Based in Lafayette, La