Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.
Even during difficult times, creativity persists. Throughout this period of social distancing, we will begin our listing with opportunities that uniquely address the coronavirus pandemic—be they calls for art that specifically speaks to it, or virtual exhibits that are cropping up as a result of it. Some have definitive deadlines and others are more flexible, so be sure to check guidelines carefully. We encourage you to share these and other opportunities with your creative circle.
Opportunities in Response to COVID-19
Bloom + Grow Brilliant Botanicals Call For Artists
Deadline: May 8 Bloom & Grow is a lush, colorful, and wide-ranging celebration of floral and botanical art. From biblical depictions of the Garden of Eden, to the plein air art of the Impressionists, to the bold stylized motifs in pop culture, depictions of flowers are plentiful throughout art history and visual culture. Due to the current COVID-19 pubic closures, we have altered our schedule and developed a two-part plan. We will start with an online show on our website and social media accounts, and then move to a physical gallery show once the public gathering restrictions have been lifted. Learn more here.
Athenaeum Call For Entries for A Very Weird Time
Deadline: August 14 Artists are invited to submit works that represent the full gamut of how the global coronavirus pandemic and its associated social distancing has affected them. Fear, uncertainty, anger and doubt are certainly typical responses but we are also interested in evidence of the creative benefits of solitude and reflection and the time to process them. For more information click here.
Las Laguna Gallery
Deadline: September 31 In response to COVID-19, Las Laguna Gallery has launched its first online exhibition of art in all media, “A Light in the Darkness.” All submissions will be accepted and posted in an online gallery. Click here to learn more.
Downtown Baltimore Partnership Call For Artists – Baltimore
The #ArtOfBaltimore campaign was launched to help support local artists and spark positive energy as we adjust to the economic and cultural impact of the COVID-19 virus. Selected works by local artists will appear on digital signage throughout Downtown Baltimore, and artist will receive a licensing fee and additional promotion of their work on DPOB social media channels. For more information click here.
Insider Art Fair Call For Submissions
In response to our extraordinary circumstances, the Willow Street Gallery is seeking artwork from local artists to showcase on our digital platforms for an online exhibition titled “Insider Art Fair.” This exhibition allows us at the WSG to continue our mission to provide a platform for local and emerging artists, and make meaningful connections while the community remains indoors and isolated. Click here to learn more.
Social Distance Gallery For Thesis Exhibitions
Social Distance Gallery is posting BFA and MFA thesis exhibitions that are canceled or limited in access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital exhibitions will be hosted on Instagram at @socialdistancegallery. Click here for submission instructions.
Amplifier’s Global Open Call For Art
In response to COVID-19, Amplifier is launching an emergency campaign with top art curators and public-health advisors from around the world. They are looking for public health and safety messages that can help flatten the curve through education, and symbols that help promote mental health, well-being, and social change work during these stressful times. Click here for more information.
Other Opportunities
Washington Sculptor’s Group Call For Entry – Sandy Spring, MD
Deadline: April 20 For LIGHT: A Sculptural Solar Dance, artists will use renewable energy sculptures to represent a need for better environmental responsibility. Work proposed for this exhibition will re-imagine solar energy as an art form. For more information click here.
Call For VisArts Studio Fellowship – Rockville, MD
Deadline: April 22 VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six-month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Learn more here.
OCA Mocha Call to Artists: Non-Figurative Portraiture – Arbutus, MD
Deadline: April 22 Portraiture is a way of studying others, whether it focuses on the fleeting moments we share of encapsulating people’s essence whole. This online exhibit highlights portraiture through a non-figurative lens that depicts subjects through means other than physical features, forms, or visage. Learn more here.
Call For Mural Proposals, Baltimore County Public Library – Towson, MD
Deadline: April 30 The Towson Chamber of Commerce, working with The Towson Creative Partnership, seeks proposals for the design and production of a large scale mural to cover the west facing facade of the Baltimore County Library located in Towson MD. The mural is a unique opportunity for an artist to merge creative vision into classic modern architectural elements. To apply click here.
Call For Women Artists: Why I Vote – Gaithersburg, MD
Deadline: April 30 The City of Gaithersburg and the Washington Women’s Art Caucus invite women artists to submit work for a juried exhibition titled “Why I Vote.” This exhibit commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary ratification of the Constitution’s 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, while exploring the contemporary topics that galvanize women voters and drive them to the polls. For more information click here.
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Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
15th ARC Salon Call For Entries
Deadline: April 14 The Art Renewal Center is now accepting entries to the 15th International ARC Salon Competition. Categories include: figurative, portraiture, imaginative realism, landscape, still life, drawing, sculpture, fully from life, plein air painting, animals, and a special category for teens. For more information click here.
Filmmakers, Video, and Projection Artists Call For Concepts – Alexandria, VA
Deadline: April 17 The Alexandria Film Festival and the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra are partnering to produce “Homegrown: American Stories in Music and Film,” a unique blend of orchestral music and original film. Both organizations will commission five new films to be screened “live to picture” with American orchestral pieces performed by the symphony at its November 7 and 8 concerts, and then screened during the 14th annual film festival November 12–15. For more information click here.
Call For Graffiti and Aerosol Muralists – DC
Deadline: April 17 The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with the DC Department of Public Works (DPW), seeks graffiti and aerosol mural artists and artist teams to design, create and install aerosol murals as part of the MuralsDC program. Selected artists will be expected to engage designated youth (ages 14-18) to help them understand the art of aerosol graffiti mural painting and provide youth with opportunities to assist in activities such as site preparation and mural outlining. This is an International Call for Graffiti and Aerosol Mural Art Artists and Artist Teams (selection preference will be given to artists that are residents of the District of Columbia). Click here to learn more.
The Harpo Foundation Grants For Visual Artists
Deadline: April 17 The Harpo Foundation seeks to stimulate creative inquiry and to encourage new modes of thinking about art. Applications are evaluated on the basis of the quality of the artist’s work, the potential to expand aesthetic inquiry, and its relationship to the foundation’s priority to provide support to visual artists who are under-recognized by the field. To apply click here.
Contemporary Art Gallery Online 2020 Art Competition
Deadline: April 19 Contemporary Art Gallery Online is proud to announce their 2nd Annual “ALL Planet Earth Theme” Online Art Competition for 2020. Contemporary Art Gallery Online encourages entries from all 2D and 3D artists regardless of their experience, education in the art field or where they may reside. Learn more here.
Doylestown Art Festival Call for Submissions – Doylestown, PA
Deadline: April 24 In its 29th year, the Doylestown Arts Festival, September 12th-13th, is a vibrant scene of art and creativity that attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Submissions are reviewed by a volunteer jury of artists, curators, and local residents.To learn more and apply, click here.
Target Gallery Call For Artists
Deadline: April 26 Target Gallery invites artists working in all visual media to apply to Mythos, an all- media group exhibition that presents work by artists who illustrate contemporary interpretations of mythology, folklore, and legends. This exhibition takes the symbolism and allegory of mythology and recontextualizes them in terms of current perspectives. For more information click here.
2020 Aperture Summer Open – New York
Deadline: April 29 The curators of the 2020 Aperture Summer Open, Information, seek new bodies of work by photographers and lens-based artists who seek to portray experiences of globalization, technology, and politics, and the dynamic changes to personal and social identity charted by mass media today. Inspired by the Museum of Modern Art’s 1970 exhibition Information, in which artists directly engaged with pressing global issues, this year’s Summer Open seeks exciting works that broadcast new ways of viewing our present—and our future. Click here for more information.
The Beacon Celebration of the Arts 2020
Deadline: April 30 The Beacon invites new and veteran artists over age 50 to submit works in our online art competition “Celebration of the Arts.” Categories include painting, drawing, sculpture/carving, ceramics,/pottery, mixed media/textile, stained glass/jewelry, and film and digital photography. Learn more here.
Create! Magazine Open Call
Deadline: April 30 Artists, 21 and older, from any country are welcome to apply with works that include painting, sculpture, digital, printmaking, fiber, photography, mixed media, installation and more. Learn more here.
Women’s Jewelry Association 2020 Student Scholarship
Deadline: April 30 (apply by April 10th and your application fee will be waived)
The Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation provides scholarships to female and female-identifying students enrolled in jewelry or metalsmithing programs at an accredited college, university, or training school between August 1, 2020 and July 31, 2021. Recipients are awarded scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $7,000. Learn more here.
2020 Project for Empty Space 2020 Artist in Residence Program – Newark, NJ
Deadline: May 1 The PES Artist In Residence Program is an annual initiative that invites four visual or multidisciplinary artists to Newark, NJ, to create work around social impact. The mission of the program is multifaceted and is intended to benefit both artists-in-residence and a larger audience or public. Additional details can be found here.
2020 Hamilton Artists Fellowship
Deadline: May 15 The Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship serves as a steppingstone for visual artists who have an active studio practice and are seeking assistance in creating a sustainable professional art career. The fellowship program seeks to create a stimulating environment for continued artistic and professional growth. Click here to apply.
Women’s Studio Workshop Residency – Rosendale, NY
Deadline: June 1 The Studio Workspace Residency is an opportunity for artists to create new work and fully immerse themselves in WSW’s supportive environment. We invite applications from artists at any stage of their careers. This residency gives artists the gift of time, an uninterrupted period to live and work away from the stresses of daily life. Artists may choose to work in any one or more of our studios: intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, darkroom photography, or ceramics. For more information click here.
MPAartfest Call For Submissions – McLean, Virginia
Deadline: June 15 McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) currently seeks submissions for MPAartfest. Artists from throughout the mid-Atlantic region are encouraged to apply. Artists retain 100 percent of sales. Additional details can be found here.
Sculpture Center 2021 In Practice Call for Artist Proposals – New York
Deadline: June 15 The Sculpture Center invites artists to submit proposals each spring for new projects to be presented in January 2021. Artists selected for the In Practice exhibition will receive an honorarium and production support. The level of production support will depend on the scope of accepted works and available funding. Click here for more information.
Sea of Change Mid-Atlantic 2020 Call For Submissions Extension Virginia Beach, VA
Deadline: August 3 There is beauty in all the waterways that surround us, but our climate is changing and perhaps our lives as well. The Virginia Beach Art Center invites artists from South Carolina to Pennsylvania to submit to our a showcase of all media artwork from the Mid-Atlantic that celebrates our present and warns of our future. For more information click here.
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Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.
Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD
The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.
Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA
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. For more information, visit https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=6876.
The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)
Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.
Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine
Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.
The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects
Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.
Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)
Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.
Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication
Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.
Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)
Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].
The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)
Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, clickhere.
Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)
Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.
Residency: Maryland
Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.
Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)
Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.
Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)
Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].