Calls for Artists
Invitations to submit work to exhibitions, prizes, publications and commissions. Fees and eligibility are shown before you start an application.
149 open listings · Updated 8 October 2026
What an open call is, and what it is not
An open call is an invitation to submit work for consideration, usually against a theme, a deadline and a set of eligibility rules. It differs from a residency, which offers time and space, and from a grant, which awards money against a proposed project. An open call is most often a route into an exhibition, a publication, a prize or a commission.
The organisers range from major institutions to artist-run spaces to commercial galleries, and the value of a call has much more to do with what it leads to than with the size of the organisation behind it. A small space with a well-regarded programme can matter more to your practice than a large open call with a thousand entrants.
Entry fees, and when they are reasonable
Entry fees are common and not inherently a bad sign. They cover jurying, installation and the administrative cost of handling submissions. What matters is the relationship between the fee and what is on offer. A modest fee for a juried exhibition with real installation costs is reasonable. A substantial fee for inclusion in an online listing with no selection process is not.
Before paying, check who is judging, what selected artists actually receive, and whether the organisation names the artists it has shown previously. If the answer to any of those is unavailable, treat the fee as a cost with no established return.
What to prepare before the deadline
Most calls ask for images of recent work with full captions, a CV, and a short statement connecting your practice to the call. Keep a current set of documentation ready so that applying is a matter of selection rather than production. The strongest applications are usually the ones that were not assembled the night before.
Read eligibility carefully. Age limits, geographic restrictions, medium restrictions and a requirement that work be unexhibited are the four conditions that most commonly disqualify otherwise strong applications.
