Artadia Awards 2026 – $15,000 Unrestricted Award for Visual Artists

Overview

Artadia Awards is an annual, merit-based, unrestricted cash award program for contemporary visual artists. Open-call applications are accepted in seven U.S. program cities, plus a roving award. A jury of curators reviews applications, selects six Finalists per city, and conducts virtual studio visits before designating three Awardees per cycle.

Eligibility

• Must be a contemporary visual artist making work for presentation in a contemporary art context (museum, galleries, arts nonprofits, public art realm)
• Must currently live and work within the eligible counties of the city applied to, with at least two consecutive years of residency prior to the application deadline
• Must not be currently enrolled in an art-related degree program, nor planning to enroll in the coming year
• Must not be related to Artadia staff or directors
• Must never have received an Artadia award of $10,000 or more (former Finalists remain eligible to reapply)
• Artadia does not fund filmmakers making films for cinematic distribution, or choreographers whose work is presented outside a contemporary art context

Awards

• Three Awardees per city per cycle receive $15,000 each in unrestricted funds
• The Marciano Artadia Award (Los Angeles only) provides $25,000 to one artist
• Honorariums provided to each Finalist not ultimately selected as an Awardee
• Access to the Artadia Network for professional connections and resource sharing
• Dedicated webpage on Artadia's online Artist Registry

Application Requirements

Submit digital images and/or time-based media of your work. Applicants must be the sole conceptual author unless applying as a collaborative; collaborators must be clearly identified and credited. Applicants may log in and out of the online application as many times as needed before the deadline. During first-round review, submitted images and videos are reviewed one at a time, in succession. Applicants must read and acknowledge Artadia's organizational AI policy when submitting.

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: September 15, 2026

Application Fee

None

Review Process

First-round jury of three curators (including one locally based) reviews all applications and selects six Finalists per city. Second-round jury (one carryover juror plus one new juror) conducts 45-minute virtual studio visits with each Finalist. Second-round jury designates three Awardees at its sole discretion.

Contact & Submit

Apply online at https://artadia.org/awards/