All competitions · Free to enter

Free art competitions

Prizes, open calls, residencies and grants that charge nothing to enter. Where an organiser does not state a fee, the listing says so; check their page before you apply.

187 opportunities not yet closed, soonest deadline first

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Anderson Center at Tower View – 2027 Artist Residencies

Anderson Center at Tower View · Red Wing, Minnesota

Deadline: Closes 12 Jan 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: Free residency with meals; Early Ca…

ResidencyPaintingDrawingPrintmaking+11

Open

Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation – Individual Support Grant 2027

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation · New York

Deadline: Closes 15 Jan 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: US$500,000 ≈ £390k

Grant / bursaryPaintingSculpturePrintmaking

Open

CONTACT Photography Festival 2027 – Open Call Exhibitions

Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival · Toronto

Deadline: Closes 18 Jan 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: Inclusion in the festival programme…

Fair / festivalPhotographyVideo & filmNew media, XR & generative

Open

Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize 2027

CARFAC Alberta with Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Community Foundation · Edmonton

Deadline: Closes 18 Jan 2027
Open to: Canada
Entry: Free
Prize: CA$25,000 ≈ £14k

Prize / award

Open

Pump House 2027-2028 Gallery Season Call to Artists

Pump House Regional Arts Center · La Crosse

Deadline: Closes 31 Jan 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: Exhibition slot in the 2027-2028 ga…

Open call / exhibitionPaintingSculpturePrintmaking+3

Open

SWELL Sculpture Festival 2027 – artist applications

SWELL Sculpture Festival · Gold Coast

Deadline: Closes 31 Jan 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: A$37,000 ≈ £19k

Open call / exhibitionSculptureInstallation

Open

Gasworks residency open call – artists based in the Baltics 2027

Gasworks · London

Deadline: Closes 2 Feb 2027
Open to: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
Entry: Free
Prize: £2,725

Residency

Open

Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) 2026/27

Creative Scotland with local authority and arts partners (e.g. Shetland Arts) · United Kingdom

Deadline: Closes 2 Feb 2027
Open to: United Kingdom
Entry: Free
Prize: £1,000

Grant / bursaryPaintingDrawingPrintmaking+8

Open

Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 13) / Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 14) - Applications

Storyvault Films for Sky Arts · London

Deadline: Closes 12 Feb 2027
Open to: UK & Ireland, United Kingdom, Ireland and 3 more
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: £10,000

CommissionPaintingDrawingMixed media+1

Open

2027 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA)

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) · Darwin

Deadline: Closes 22 Feb 2027
Open to: Australia
Entry: Free
Prize: A$190,000 ≈ £99k

Prize / award

Open

New York Open Call – Arrival Gallery (Brooklyn)

Arrival Gallery · New York

Deadline: Closes 25 Feb 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: Group exhibition in Brooklyn, physi…

Open call / exhibitionPaintingDrawingPhotography+9

Open

Alberta Foundation for the Arts – Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Funding

Alberta Foundation for the Arts · Edmonton

Deadline: Closes 1 Mar 2027
Open to: Canada
Entry: Free
Prize: CA$18,000 ≈ £10k

Grant / bursary

Open

Alberta Foundation for the Arts – Indigenous Arts Individual Project Funding

Alberta Foundation for the Arts · Edmonton

Deadline: Closes 1 Mar 2027
Open to: Canada
Entry: Free
Prize: CA$18,000 ≈ £10k

Grant / bursary

Open

Kala Art Institute Fellowship 2027–28

Kala Art Institute · Berkeley, California

Deadline: Closes 1 Mar 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: US$3,000 ≈ £2.3k

ResidencyPrintmakingPhotographyDigital art+3

Open

Winnipeg Arts Council – Individual Artist Grant 2027

Winnipeg Arts Council · Winnipeg

Deadline: Closes 2 Mar 2027
Open to: Canada
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: CA$7,000 ≈ £4k

Grant / bursaryPaintingDrawingPrintmaking+11

Open

Waterfowl Festival 2027: Exhibiting Artist Application

Waterfowl Festival · Easton

Deadline: Closes 15 Mar 2027
Open to: United States
Entry: Free

Fair / festivalPaintingSculpturePhotography+2

Open

Manitoba Arts Council – Create Grant

Manitoba Arts Council · Winnipeg

Deadline: Closes 20 Mar 2027
Open to: Canada
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: CA$15,000 ≈ £8.6k

Grant / bursaryPaintingDrawingPrintmaking+11

Open

XVI Florence Biennale 2027

Florence Biennale · Florence

Deadline: Closes 31 Mar 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Free
Prize: Lorenzo il Magnifico awards conferr…

Biennale

Open

International Mute Photo Festival 2027 (IMPhF) - Open Call

Photonisos Arts & Culture NPO · Samos

Deadline: Closes 30 Apr 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Free
Prize: Exhibition with 100% production and…

Open call / exhibitionPhotography

Open

Jing Shan Creative Art Awards 2026/2027

Xia Jing-Shan Arts and Culture Foundation · Taiwan

Deadline: Closes 30 Apr 2027
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Free
Prize: Per category: Gold up to NT$150,000…

Prize / awardSculptureDesign & craftDigital art+1

Open

Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst 2027 (Royal Award for Modern Painting)

Stichting Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam · Amsterdam

Deadline: Open, no deadline published
Open to: Netherlands
Entry: Free
Prize: €27,000 ≈ £23k

Prize / awardPainting

Open

Toronto Arts Council – Visual Artists Program: Creation

Toronto Arts Council · Toronto

Deadline: Open, no deadline published
Open to: Canada
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: CA$10,000 ≈ £5.7k

Grant / bursaryPaintingDrawingPrintmaking+8

Open

Mondriaan Fund – Artist Start grant

Mondriaan Fund (Mondriaan Fonds) · Amsterdam

Deadline: Open, no deadline published
Open to: Netherlands
Entry: Free
Prize: €24,900 ≈ £21k

Grant / bursary

Open

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for Artists

The Pollock-Krasner Foundation · New York

Deadline: Open, no deadline published
Open to: Worldwide
Entry: Fee not stated
Prize: Unrestricted grants; ArtRabbit list…

Grant / bursaryPaintingSculptureDrawing+2

Open