Art Competition Open Calls

7th VH AWARD – Open Call for Media Artists Engaged with Asia

5 finalists each receive USD $30,000 production grant, Ars Electronica online residency with masterclasses, and international exhibitions at Vision Hall (Korea), HEK (Switzerland), Ars Electronica Festival (Austria), and Singapore Art Week 2028. Grand Prix winner receives an additional USD $30,000.

The 7th VH AWARD, presented by the Hyundai Motor Group, invites emerging and mid-career media artists worldwide to submit screen-based audiovisual work that engages with the cultural, historical, or emotional context of Asia. Eligible applicants include artists of Asian descent, those based in Asia, or members of the Asian diaspora globally. Works must be original, unpublished, and suitable for single-channel presentation, with accepted formats including video art, animation, motion graphics, and experimental film. Five finalists will receive substantial production funding to develop new commissioned works and participate in a structured online residency from September 2026 through June 2027. The competition has supported breakthrough artists since 2016 and offers one of the most significant production-to-exhibition pipelines in contemporary media art.

Southwest Photography Exhibition

Dusk Gallery (Santa Fe, New Mexico) seeks photography capturing the spirit of the American Southwest, including desert landscapes, indigenous cultures, borderlands, urban environments, and the region's distinctive light. Twenty-six images will be selected for exhibition from September 4 to 25, 2026. The gallery offers printing and framing for selected work and operates on a 50% sales commission.

All That's Pretty and Green (Botanical Art and Illustration)

All That's Pretty and Green is a botanical-themed juried exhibition from Las Laguna Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, California, seeking works that explore plants including flowers, trees, leaves, cactus, and succulents. Every artist who submits will be accepted and have at least one submitted work posted and promoted on the gallery website, with selected artists shown in the physical gallery.

Yesterday Once More: Scenes from the Past

Group exhibition at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery, Bankhead Theater (August 13 to October 10, 2026), with reception September 5. On sales, artists keep 70 percent (gallery 30 percent, plus 4 percent card processing fee).

Yesterday Once More: Scenes from the Past is a group exhibition at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery at the Bankhead Theater, presented by Livermore Valley Arts as a joint show with the City of Pleasanton's Harrington Gallery. It invites artists to explore the dialogue between nostalgia and personal history through evocative imagery of bygone moments. The exhibition runs August 13 to October 10, 2026.

Endless Summer Photo Exhibit

Endless Summer is a juried group photography exhibition at Decode Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, juried by conceptual fine art photographer and gallery founder Holly Hart. Twenty-six selected images will be printed and framed by the gallery at no cost to the artist and shown September 5 to 26, 2026. Photographers retain all rights to their work; the gallery takes a 50 percent commission only if a print sells.

26th Annual Wills Creek Exhibition of Fine Art

Best of Show $2,000; First Place $1,500; Second Place $1,000; Third Place $500; Honorable Mention $250; People's Choice $100

The Allegany Arts Council presents the 26th Annual Wills Creek Exhibition of Fine Art at the Allegany Museum in Cumberland, Maryland, on view August 29 through September 6. The national juried show is open to artists in all mediums and genres, with a $30 first-entry fee. More than $5,000 in awards is offered, led by a $2,000 Best of Show.

Mark: Contemporary Drawing

Cash or Value Awards (amounts not specified)

Artlink Contemporary Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana presents Mark: Contemporary Drawing, a national juried exhibition of works of drawing in any artistic style and any media related to the practice of drawing. The show is on view September 3 through 27, 2026. Entry is $12 per piece, up to 10 entries, and is open to U.S. residents age 18 and older.

I Hear Music

I Hear Music is a national exhibition at Tubac Center of the Arts in Tubac, Arizona, of works in all mediums (including video) that are inspired or influenced by music. Artists are invited to interpret the pulse of a song, the history of a melody, or the atmosphere of a soundscape. The exhibition runs September 25 to November 1, 2026 and is juried by Marianna Pegno.

NSULA Fine + Graphic Arts / Natchitoches Art Guild Juried Art Show

Best of Show $1,000; First Place $500; Second Place $250; Honorable Mention $100; Viewer's Choice certificate

Northwestern State University's Department of Fine and Graphic Arts and the Natchitoches Art Guild present a juried art show open to artists 18 and older living in the United States. All submissions must be two-dimensional work, with up to three entries per artist. The exhibition runs September 11 through October 9 in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

RP Drawing Prize: Revealing the Human 2026

Grand Prize: GBP 5,000 cash. Up to 120 works selected for exhibition at University of Hull Art Gallery (September 18 – October 18, 2026), with sales opportunity via dedicated online catalogue.

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) Drawing Prize 2026 invites UK and international artists of all ages and skill levels to submit drawings on the theme 'Revealing the Human.' Up to 120 works will be selected for a group exhibition at the University of Hull Art Gallery, running September 18 to October 18, 2026. Works may be sold through a dedicated online catalogue with a 30% + VAT commission. Young artists aged 35 and under benefit from a reduced entry fee of GBP 12 per work.

Wild

1st $500; 2nd $350; 3rd $150; online exhibition

Photo Artfolio invites photographers worldwide to submit work for Wild, an online exhibition celebrating the beauty and diversity of the natural world. From intimate wildlife portraits to sweeping landscapes and moments of ecological connection, the call welcomes all forms of nature photography including wildlife, landscape, conservation, macro, documentary, fine art, aerial, and experimental approaches. AI-generated imagery is not eligible. Selected images are awarded 1st Place $500, 2nd Place $350, and 3rd Place $150, with accepted work featured in the curated online exhibition.

Nomad Art Prize 2026 – International Open Call and Lisbon Art Residency

EUR 1,000 cash prize per winner (8 winners selected), plus an all-expenses-paid one-week residency in Lisbon with covered international travel and local accommodations, and group exhibition at LX Factory.

The Nomad Art Prize 2026 invites contemporary visual artists of all nationalities aged 16 and over to submit work on the theme of 'Displacement, travel, and the tension between roots and movement.' Eight artists will be selected to receive EUR 1,000 each and an all-expenses-paid week-long residency in Lisbon in October 2026, including international travel and accommodation. A group exhibition will be held at LX Factory in Alcantara district. Eligible media include painting, sculpture, photography, video art, installations, digital art, and mixed media.