Where are the strongest ceramics opportunities?

East Asia and Europe host the flagship ceramics competitions, several with major acquisition prizes, and many accept international entries judged first from images. Ceramics residencies are also distinctive, offering kilns, materials, and technical staff that are hard to access independently.

How does shipping work for ceramics shows?

Selection happens from images first, so you only ship if accepted. Professional crating for ceramics is expensive and most venues put shipping on the artist, though flagship competitions sometimes subsidize it. Factor breakage risk and insurance into any international entry.

Do ceramics calls separate functional and sculptural work?

Many do, with distinct categories or even separate prizes for vessels and sculptural clay. Entering the right category matters for how jurors read the work. Craft-oriented calls tend to reward technique and material command; contemporary art calls read clay through a conceptual lens.

Ceramics Open Calls & Competitions

Craft triennials, ceramics prizes, and residencies with kilns and clay studios. Verified and updated throughout the week.

Open now2822 added in 30 days3,100+ tracked since launch

✦ Editor’s picks

ARTHEAD hand-picked this week

Fellowship2days

State of the Arts Fellowship

“A year inside a New York State agency, working with its staff on real public problems, for $60,000. Open to artists of any discipline.”

New York State Council on the Arts

Closing this week8● URGENT

Residency

United States onlySpokane, Washington, United StatesFree entry

sƛ̓x̣etkʷ Artist-in-Residence Program, Round 3

Three stipend payments in the amount of $3,000.00 each, totalling $9,000, plus travel reimbursement not exceeding $800, furnished off-campus lodging for three months with kitchen, laundry and WiFi, and access to studio spaces and equipment in the sƛ̓x̣etkʷ Fine and Applied Arts Building.

Spokane Falls Community College hosts a three-month winter-quarter residency for one emerging Native American artist, running 5 January to 26 March 2027.

Spokane Falls Community College

Limited by country or regionScotland, United KingdomEntry fee See official site

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

Fixed bursaries of £500 or £1,000; disabled applicants and those with caring responsibilities can also request Personal Access Costs

The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) are small grant schemes funded by Creative Scotland through the National Lottery and managed locally by local authorities and arts organisations across Scotland.

Creative Scotland with local authority and arts organisation partners

United States onlyNew York, United StatesFree entry

State of the Arts Fellowship

$60,000 per artist fellow, inclusive of all project expenses

The State of the Arts Fellowship is a New York State initiative that embeds artists within state government agencies to develop creative solutions to real policy and community challenges.

New York State Council on the Arts

United States onlyPortland, Oregon, United StatesEntry fee See official site

Art as Power: Blind Insect Holiday Art Exhibition 2026

Up to 4 works shown in the holiday group exhibition, December 3, 2026 to January 18, 2027; sales split 50/50.

Blind Insect Gallery in Portland, Oregon invites U.S.-based artists to its sixth annual holiday exhibition, Art as Power, on art as a voice, a connection and a way to imagine transformation.

Limited by country or regionSurrey, CanadaFree entry

Crescent Beach Community Gallery Artist Call 2027

Free one-month gallery space at Crescent Beach. Artists retain 100% of sales revenue. Opportunity to host events and collaborative projects during the exhibition period.

The City of Surrey invites groups of two or more visual artists to apply for one-month exhibition opportunities at the Crescent Beach Community Gallery in 2027. The gallery aims to support Surrey artists and build connections with the local community.

United States onlyThe Bronx, New York City, United StatesFree entry

2027 AIM Fellowship

A nine-month professional development practicum for a cohort of 14 Fellows at The Bronx Museum; no application fee and no cost to participate.

The AIM Fellowship is The Bronx Museum's annual professional development and career accelerator program for rising visual artists based in New York City, United States, now in its 47th cycle. Fourteen Fellows are selected each year.

Any nationalityMissoula, Montana, United StatesEntry fee See official site

Indigenizing the ZACC 2026: Resistance, Resilience, Renewal

Exhibition in the ZACC galleries; 100% of sale proceeds go to the artist

Leaders in the Indigenous art community, in partnership with the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) in Missoula, Montana, United States, are seeking artwork on the theme 'Resistance, Resilience, Renewal' for the ZACC Main Gallery and the Blackfoot Communications Gallery.

Zootown Arts Community Center

Any nationalityTallaght, Dublin, IrelandEntry fee See official site

Rua Red Annual Open Call Exhibition 2026: Winter Open (Red)

Judges' Choice: a solo show in Rua Red's Gallery 2 within the following 12 months

Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre in Tallaght, holds an annual open call for graduates, emerging and established artists who live on the island of Ireland or identify Ireland as home; selected work is shown in a group exhibition.

Closing this month4

Any nationalityKiruna, SwedenFree entry

Kiruna 2029 European Capital of Culture: Artistic Projects and Early Ideas (Sweden)

Up to 50% of total project budget; no fixed amount specified. Communications and programme support included.

Kiruna 2029 European Capital of Culture is the title awarded to the Swedish Arctic municipality of Kiruna, and its organising team is now gathering proposals for the official artistic programme of that year. The call runs on two tracks.

Kiruna 2029 European Capital of Culture

Limited by country or regionPerth and Smiths Falls, Ontario, CanadaEntry fee See official site

Artists Call

Total project budget of $20,000 CAD for commissioned works installed in community spaces

Linden Housing Co-operative is seeking completed artworks and commission proposals for the interior and exterior community spaces of its residential development in Perth and Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Linden Housing Co-operative

Limited by country or regionCreative Europe programme countries (mobility grant, no fixed venue)Free entry

Culture Moves Europe: Call for Individual Mobility

Daily allowance of 85 EUR/day; travel costs 400 EUR (under 5,000 km) or 800 EUR (5,000+ km); optional top-ups: green mobility 400 EUR, overseas regions 175 EUR, family needs 200 EUR/child, visa costs 120 EUR; accessibility support available.

Culture Moves Europe is an EU-funded mobility grant programme supporting individual artists and cultural professionals in carrying out artistic or cultural projects in another Creative Europe country.

Creative Europe / Goethe-Institut

Any nationalityChicago, Illinois, United StatesEntry fee $15

Small Works 2026

Selected works featured in the Small Works 2026 group exhibition

Small Works 2026 is a juried group exhibition presented by Chicago Fine Art Salon, inviting artists to submit original works measuring under 16 inches in all directions.

Chicago Fine Art Salon

Closes in

days

1 Nov 2026

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Ceramics open calls, answered.

Ceramics runs on a strong international circuit: craft triennials, dedicated ceramics prizes in Europe and East Asia, museum acquisition awards, and residencies with kilns and dedicated clay studios.

This page collects every live call on Arthead tagged for ceramics, spanning functional ware, sculptural clay, and installation-scale work, each verified by hand before listing.

Where are the strongest ceramics opportunities?: East Asia and Europe host the flagship ceramics competitions, several with major acquisition prizes, and many accept international entries judged first from images. Ceramics residencies are also distinctive, offering kilns, materials, and technical staff that are hard to access independently.
How does shipping work for ceramics shows?: Selection happens from images first, so you only ship if accepted. Professional crating for ceramics is expensive and most venues put shipping on the artist, though flagship competitions sometimes subsidize it. Factor breakage risk and insurance into any international entry.
Do ceramics calls separate functional and sculptural work?: Many do, with distinct categories or even separate prizes for vessels and sculptural clay. Entering the right category matters for how jurors read the work. Craft-oriented calls tend to reward technique and material command; contemporary art calls read clay through a conceptual lens.