Open calls and opportunities for artists and art practitioners

Overview:

Along with announcements of our year-round open calls and grants, which support emerging and established artists working in contemporary art, Sharjah Art Foundation has compiled a list of reputable local, regional and international open calls, educational opportunities, grants and residencies in other institutions. In keeping with the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the art community, this reference tool is updated on a regular basis.

International Open Call 2024–2025
apexart, New York
Deadline: 1 March 2024

apexart's open calls are opportunities for artists, curators and other professionals from any region of the world to turn a curatorial idea into an apexart exhibition. Winning proposals become part of apexart’s next exhibition season and receive funding and staff support. apexart is not a granting organisation; all exhibitions are part of apexart’s programming.

https://apexart.org/opencalls.php

Residency in Switzerland
Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Zurich
Deadline: 1 March 2024

Residency opportunities are available for cultural practitioners from regions covered by Pro Helvetia liaison offices (Arab region, East Asia, South America, South Asia, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa). Applications from both individuals and artist duos who are active in any of the disciplines supported by Pro Helvetia are accepted for three-month residencies at a partner institution in Switzerland.

Pro Helvetia will provide accommodation, travel costs, daily allowances, professional support, workstations and a contribution towards production and material costs. In addition, parents can apply for financial support of up to 1,000 CHF per month towards childcare or travel expenses for their children and, if applicable, a caregiver.

https://prohelvetia.ch/en/find-support/residency-in-switzerland/#acc-arab-region

Onassis AiR Open Call 2024/25
Onassis Foundation, Athens
Deadline: 4 March 2024

Onassis AiR invites artists, curators, designers, dance and theatre makers, chefs, activists, writers, educators, performers, architects, creative coders, filmmakers and other practitioners from any discipline anywhere in the world to select and apply for an Onassis AiR programme, which will take place in Athens, Greece, between September 2024 and July 2025. By bringing together creative practitioners from different strands of life and practice through its various programmes, Onassis AiR has become a meeting point for cross-disciplinary thinking and the exchange of ideas.

Selected participants will receive an artist’s fee, a research budget, housing, travel to/from Athens, and access to mentoring and audiovisual equipment. A collective budget is available for group site visits and research trips as well as opportunities to engage with the art scene in Athens through networking events.

https://www.onassis.org/open-calls/onassis-air-open-call-2024-25

Residency Open Call for Artists Based in Pakistan
Gasworks, London
Deadline: 4 March 2024

This opportunity for an early-career artist based in Pakistan offers a fully funded 11-week residency at Gasworks in London from 1 July to 16 September 2024. Gasworks residencies are opportunities for self-led professional development, artistic exchange and experimentation.

https://www.gasworks.org.uk/opportunities/residency-open-call-for-artists-based-in-pakistan-2024

The North Africa Cultural Program | Cycle II
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 5 March 2024

The North Africa Cultural Program (NACP) | Cycle II (2024–2027), dedicated to five countries in North Africa (namely, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), comprises two support schemes: the National Cultural Opportunities Fund and the Regional Competitive Creativity Fund.

Both funds aim to strengthen independent arts and culture entities, including institutions, collectives, networks and spaces, with an emphasis on regional partnerships. There is also a particular focus on engaging young audiences and extending outreach to underserved or remote areas beyond urban centres. Furthermore, NACP provides tailored capacity-building, training and mentorship opportunities to organisations and projects it supports within the programme.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/66

‘Once Upon a Rain’ Artist Exchange
Dastaangoi, Islamabad, and Bayt AlMamzar, Dubai
Deadline: 10 March 2024

Dastaangoi and Bayt AlMamzar invite Pakistan- and UAE-based artists to apply to the inaugural artist exchange between the two platforms. A Pakistan-based artist will undertake a residency in Dubai, and a UAE-based artist will travel to Islamabad.

The theme, ‘Once Upon a Rain’, opens a dialogue for artists to delve into the interconnectedness of water, life and the human experience rooted in both geographies.

Invited artists will be provided with accommodation, studio space and curatorial assistance as well as assistance in applying for funding to cover travel and production costs. The residencies in both Islamabad and Dubai will run from 1 to 30 April 2024.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsjLkny9eFA2o7nxrzJDMJjLpqJdYHd2K8tG6iTFlYR2LgKQ/viewform

Residency Open Call for Artists Based in India
Gasworks, London
Deadline: 11 March 2024

This opportunity for an early-career artist based in India offers a fully funded 11-week residency at Gasworks in London from 1 July to 16 September 2024. Gasworks provides significant pastoral and curatorial support throughout the residency; however, artists are expected to be proactive and self-motivated and lead the research and production of their work while in London.

https://www.gasworks.org.uk/opportunities/residency-open-call-for-artists-based-in-india-2024

Misk Art Grant 2024
Misk Art Institute, Riyadh
Deadline: 15 March 2024

The 2024 Misk Art Grant invites emerging and mid-career artists from the Middle East and North Africa to explore phenomena shaped by modern technologies, such as constant connectivity, data analytics and algorithmic systems. How have these technologies reconfigured human experiences and engagements with the world?

The selected artworks will shed light on the interplay between technological progress and underlying social dimensions while encouraging critical reflection on the tools and processes that shape perception today.

https://miskartinstitute.org/ArtGrants/Details?q=aWQ9MjQ1

Visual Arts Grant
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 April 2024

AFAC’s Visual Arts grant supports painting, sculpture, photography, installations, audiovisual arts, publications concerned with visual arts (artist books or other) and multimedia works. The grant also supports exhibitions and art production. This programme provides annual grants of up to 20,000 USD for individuals and teams and up to 35,000 USD for collectives and institutions.

AFAC is open to receiving project applications from all individuals from the Arab region who work in arts and culture, irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence (the Arab region or the diaspora), race, ethnicity, gender or religion. The opportunity is also open to proposals from local, regional and international institutions whose projects are related to arts and culture from the Arab region.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/22

Performing Arts Grant
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 April 2024

AFAC’s Performing Arts grant supports traditional, folk and experimental theatre for all age groups; dance performances; art interventions; street art; live art; interactive and site-specific installations; documentary theatre; and festivals. It also supports playwriting, acting, directing, dancing and choreography workshops. This programme provides annual grants of up to 25,000 USD for individuals and teams and up to 35,000 USD for collectives and institutions.

AFAC is open to receiving project applications from all individuals from the Arab region who work in arts and culture, irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence (the Arab region or the diaspora), race, ethnicity, gender or religion. The opportunity is also open to local, regional and international institutions whose projects are related to arts and culture from the Arab region.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/23

Creative and Critical Writings Grant
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 April 2024

AFAC’s Creative and Critical Writings grant provides support to critical arts and culture writing, theatrical writing, children’s and youth literature (including both adaptation and original work), graphic novels, short stories, and poetry, in addition to analogue and digital publishing platforms. The final product must be in Arabic. The program provides annual grants of up to 20,000 USD for individuals and teams and 35,000 USD for institutions and collectives.

AFAC is open to receiving project applications from all individuals from the Arab region working in arts and culture irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence (the Arab region or the diaspora), race, ethnicity, gender or religion. The opportunity is also open to local, regional and international institutions whose projects are related to arts and culture from the Arab region.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/14

AFAC Documentary Film Program
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 April 2024

The AFAC Documentary Program supports creative documentary films in the Arab region. The AFAC Documentary grant welcomes submissions of feature-length documentary film projects that are in development, production or post-production as well as short and medium-length documentaries in production and post-production.

The program provides annual grants of up to 10,000 USD for development, up to 50,000 USD for production for feature-length films and 20,000 USD for short and medium-length documentaries, and up to 25,000 USD for post-production for feature-length films and 10,000 USD for short and medium-length documentaries.

This opportunity is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or the diaspora. A non-Arab producer can apply for a grant provided that the film director is Arab. Project applications are accepted irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence, ethnicity, gender or religion.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/7

Call for Submissions: Arab Film Festival 2024
Mizna, Saint Paul, USA
Deadline: 11 May 2024

Mizna seeks films for their upcoming Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, scheduled for 25 to 29 September 2024. Mizna accepts narrative, documentary, experimental and animated films, both features and shorts. The platform seeks films made by filmmakers from the SWANA region and beyond as well as films relevant to the social realities of the SWANA region.

https://mizna.org/event/call-for-subs-aff2024/

The information shared here has been sourced from the online platforms of the listed institutions.