Calls for Artists: May 2026

The Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans, 2025. Photograph by Tim Hursley, courtesy of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Calls for Entries: Arts SoutheastAmerican SouthDeadline: May 3, 2026 The human figure has been a subject for artists for thousands of years, grounding us in who we are individually and collectively. From ancient cave paintings to contemporary questions of identity, authorship and representation, documenting ourselves and capturing the likeness of others is deeply human. For this Supporter Call for Entry, artists are invited to submit figurative work in any medium. Whether you use traditional or alternative media, realism or abstraction, share work that contemplates the human form. Apply The Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary PhotographyNew Orleans, LouisianaDeadline: May 4, 2026 Created to honor the life and work of Michael P. Smith, the MPS Fund awards cash prizes and exhibition opportunities to Gulf Coast photographers (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) whose work combines artistic excellence and a sustained commitment to a cultural documentary project. This call has a $25 entry fee. Apply Center for Craft Teaching Artist CohortAsheville, North CarolinaDeadline: May 4, 2026 Thirty mid-career craft artists who teach will receive $10,000 grants and join a 6-month cohort experience that supports their artistic and teaching career development with programs, mentorship, and peer-to-peer learning creating an enriching impact on the communities they engage, developing a network of teaching craft artists. Apply The Hopper PrizeNationalDeadline: May 12, 2026 The Hopper Prize is accepting submissions for Spring 2026 individual artist grants. They will be providing six grants totaling $13,000 USD. Two artists will each receive $4,500 and four artists will each recieve $1,000. All visual art media is eligible. Additional exposure is available via a 30-artist shortlist, online journal, and Instagram currently reaching over 160k. This call has a $40 entry fee. Apply The Studios of Key West: Peyton Evans Artist ResidenciesKey West, FloridaDeadline: May 15, 2026 The Studios of Key West, the premier arts organization at the Southernmost Point of the United States, offers a residency program for emerging and established artists and writers from around the world. We provide residencies to visual artists, writers, composers, musicians, media artists, performers, and interdisciplinary artists. The program grants nearly 40 artists each year the time and space to imagine new artistic work, engage in valuable dialogue and explore island connections. The Studios’ residency program is community-based and built upon the hope that visiting artists will take inspiration from Key West’s rich artistic past and present, and will engage with—and be inspired by—the remarkable people and culture that surrounds them. Apply Trillium Arts: Fall 2026 Individual Artist ResidenciesMars Hill, North CarolinaDeadline: May 15, 2026 Trillium Arts residencies offer secluded space for rejuvenation and creating in a peaceful, remote setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our location is ideal for an individual artist to complete an existing work, or develop and incubate new material. Our facilities in the fall months are best suited to the disciplines of literary arts, photography, visual arts, and arts administration. Individual artists who do not require a rehearsal studio (such as writers and photographers) are encouraged to apply for a one week residency. Performing artists (such as choreographers and theater artists) are also welcome to apply, with the understanding that the Red Barn Studio is seasonal and availability is dependent on weather. There is ample land and outdoor space available for ideation and research. Apply Stove Works Artist ResidencyChattanooga, TennesseeApplications open May 15, 2026 From February through November of each year, Stove Works’ Artist Residency invites eight Artists to live/work for one to three months at a time. The residency serves as a moment away from the rigamarole of life and an opportunity for Artists to take advantage of the dedicated time, space, resources, and community it has to offer. Six of the studios will be dedicated to practicing visual artists, one will be devoted to non-object-based practices, and one studio for off-site (family or local) residents. Stove Works have no expectations for how Artists use their time during the residency. This open call closes on June 15. This call has a $10 entry fee between May 15 and May 31, before increasing. Apply National Performance Network Creation & Development FundNew Orleans, LouisianaDeadline: May 18, 2026 The Creation & Development Fund supports the creation, development and mobility of new artistic work that advances racial and cultural justice and results in live experiential exchange between artists and community. The fund provides a framework for relationships to develop, over time, among diverse artists, arts organizations, and communities. Through the investment of commissioning funds from arts organizations and NPN direct subsidies, each project is eligible for multi-level support. Apply Center for Craft 2026 Craft Archive FellowshipAsheville, North CarolinaDeadline: May 20, 2026 The 2026 Craft Archive Fellowship will foster archival research on underrepresented and non-dominant craft histories in the United States, such as feminist, intersectional, queer, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other communities and approaches that may not be specifically listed here. The fellowship will support a range of scholars, including independent, artists, emerging to established researchers. Four Center for Craft Archive Fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend to conduct research in an archive of their choosing. These Fellows may engage in both conventional and innovative approaches to archival research. Apply 1708 Gallery 2026-2027 Pilot Artist Residency ProgramRichmond,