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.
Deadline: November 1 This year’s Mt. Rainier Craft Fair will be an outside and virtual event, and you don’t have to live in the immediate area to participate. For more information click here.
Deadline: November 2 This contest is for artists age 60+ working in all traditional art media. Ten winners will receive cash prizes and their artwork will be published in the April 2021 issue of the magazine. Learn more here.
Deadline: November 15 In honor of VisArts patrons Fleur and Charles Bresler, VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a four month residency at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. This residency 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. Studio space is provided free of charge. For more information, click here.
Deadline: November 20 The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD is now accepting entries for both the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition (CVA) and the Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition (CVP). For more information, Click here.
Deadline: November 29 Be a part of The Phillips Collection’s ambitious community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. Everyone—no matter your skill level—is invited to submit a photo that captures a piece of your 2020. Show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience. Community in Focus aims to put together a collective portrait filled with bravery, humor, sadness, creativity, and kindness—human emotions that connect us all. Learn more and submit photos here.
Deadline: December 14 Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations – 14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.
Deadline: October 30 This annual project-based arts grant calls for proposals from arts organizations and individual artists who are residents of Maryland and whose programs or projects serve Maryland communities. Special consideration is given to projects that build skills, engage community and transform our built environment. Click here to apply.
Deadline: October 30 ArtsFairfax is making additional grant funding available to Fairfax County creatives who have lost income due to COVID-19. The new funding available through the Emergency Relief and Recovery Grant Program is specifically for individual artists. Learn more and apply here.
Deadline: November 1 The museum hosts a number of fellows each year through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP), and also awards its own named fellowships to candidates from this general pool. Only one application is necessary. For more information click here.
Deadline: November 6 The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship (VMFA) Program, a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia, is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 fellowship program. Click here to apply.
Deadline: November 15 Earth Celebrations’ – Ecological and Social Change through the Arts is now accepting proposals to create and present ecologically thematic work for Ecological City: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project engaging community on the Lower East Side of New York City. For more information, click here.
Deadline: November 15 The Art League’s juried open exhibits are not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. Artists must be a current exhibiting artist member of The Art League gallery, and may enter works made within the past five years. Learn how to become a member artist here. For more information on the open exhibit, click here.
Deadline: November 20 This open call is an opportunity to submit your work for consideration for a curated virtual group show. If chosen, your work will be included in a virtual exhibition through Create! Magazine and promoted to our broad audience of international readers, collectors, and followers. learn more here.
Deadline: November 30 Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.
Deadline December 1 Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.
Deadline: December 4 The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.
Deadline: December 14 Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.
Deadline: December 15 Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.
Deadline: December 20 Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.
Deadline: December 30 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.” Learn more here.
Deadline: December 31 Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.
Deadline, January 28, 2021 The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.
Deadline: August 25, 2021 Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show. A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show. A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.
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. For more information, click here.
This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.
The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis, from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.
The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.
The Howard County Arts Council 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. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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.
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.
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].
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