2026 Houston Artadia Awards

About this call

Artadia, a national non-profit, supports innovative visual artists with unrestricted, merit-based financial awards and connections to a network of opportunities. The 2026 Houston Artadia Awards are open to visual artists who have lived and worked in Harris County for at least the last two consecutive years, individuals and collaboratives in all visual media at any stage of their career. A preliminary panel reviews all submissions and selects six Finalists; a second panel of two curators, one based in Houston, holds virtual studio visits with the Finalists and designates three artists to receive $15,000 each, which they can use however they see fit. Artadia Awards are not project-based grants: artists apply with completed work. Awardees can also join the Artadia Network, and each Finalist not chosen receives an honorarium. Finalists are notified in mid-November, studio visits take place in late November, and the awardees are announced in early January.

Who can apply

• Regional applicants
• Medium: Painting / Sculpture / Photography / Installation / Video / Performance / Mixed Media
• Free entry
• Applicants must be contemporary visual artists (making work for a contemporary art context) who live and work in Harris County and have resided there for at least the last two consecutive years; artists in a long-term residency may apply only where they permanently reside. Not eligible: artists enrolled in, or planning to attend in the coming year, an art-related degree program (enrolment in a graduate program unrelated to your visual arts practice is fine); relatives of Artadia staff or directors; anyone who has received an Artadia or Art Council award of $10,000 or more (former finalists may apply). Filmmakers making films for cinematic distribution and choreography presented outside a contemporary art context are not funded. Collaboratives apply in one application with one contact person; every member must reside in Harris County and meet all requirements, and someone who is both a collective member and an individual artist may apply only once per cycle. Unless applying as a collaborative, you must be the sole conceptual author of the work, with any co-authors credited. Apply only through Submittable with completed work, no project proposals: up to 8 images (.jpg, max 2 MB each; the FAQ also accepts .png), or 8 images plus up to 3 minutes of video, or up to 6 minutes of video only (video art, animation and performance documentation, uploaded directly, no links); work details (title, year, medium, dimensions); a CV with exhibition history and bibliography; and an artist statement of 200 words or less. Work from the past three years is recommended. Generative AI may be a tool but must not replace human creativity: disclose it if AI is a primary contributor, and AI-generated images with minimal modification are not accepted. Finalists must be available for a 45-minute virtual studio visit. Staff do not answer questions after October 30, and no late applications are accepted.