Overview

In addition to our year-round open calls and grants, which support emerging and established artists working in contemporary art, below is a compiled list of reputable local, regional and international open calls, opportunities and residencies for artists and art practitioners. In keeping with Sharjah Art Foundation’s commitment to supporting the community, this reference tool, updated on a regular basis, includes grants, exhibitions and educational opportunities.

5/6 Initiative Open Call
Qatar Museums, Doha
Deadline: 30 May 2023

The 5/6 Initiative encourages artists to propose a public artwork that speaks to communities living in the GCC.

This opportunity is for artists residing in the GCC at any stage of their career. The successful applicants will receive a commission contract to execute the proposed public artwork.

https://qm.org.qa/en/calendar/56-initiative/

ART HERE 2023 – Transparencies
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Deadline: 31 May 2023

‘For the third edition of Art Here, Louvre Abu Dhabi is calling on contemporary artists from the GCC (nationals and residents) working in sculpture and audio-visual installations suitable for outdoor spaces, to become part of its universal story.

Artists are invited to propose new works that explore the dynamics of transparency – its material and perceptual significance. The exhibition will take place beneath the museum's intricate floating dome of light and shade, drawing on the interplay of shadows, liquid reflections, and flashes of permeating sunlight as a starting point.

https://www.louvreabudhabi.ae/en/Explore/art-here-2023

NYU Abu Dhabi Project Space Exhibition Application 2023-2024
NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi
Deadline: 31 May 2023

The NYUAD Art Gallery invites members of the community (of the UAE, and/or of NYUAD) to propose an exhibition in The Project Space. Located in The NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center, The Project Space is a non-commercial gallery supported by the museum-trained staff of The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery. The exhibition should be conceived as a complete exhibition, ideally one that has a curator or conceptual producer.

https://nyuad-artgallery.slideroom.com/#/login/program/70963

Open Call: Self Organizations
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 15 June 2023

Self Organizations is a program that offers support to projects where different arts practitioners take the initiative and join forces to define a mutual resource or interest that’s important for their work, and propose how to share or develop it. Arts practitioners from all disciplines and stages of their careers are welcome to apply. Priority will be given to proposals taking place within the Arab world.

https://mophradat.org/en/program/self-organizations/

Masaha Residency – Cycle 6
Misk Art Institute, Riyadh
Deadline: 30 June 2023

The sixth cycle of Misk Art Institute’s biannual Masaha Residency invites ten emerging visual artists and two Saudi Arabic writers to interpret the future of tradition through visual art, conceptualizing imagined futures of the Kingdom, the region, and the world.

https://miskartinstitute.org/Residencies/Details?q=aWQ9MTcw

Cinema Grant
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 July 2023

The Cinema grant is open to all kinds of fiction film projects. The program welcomes submissions of short and medium-length narrative films in production and post-production and feature narratives that are in development, production or post-production phases.

The program provides annual grants ranging from a few thousand U.S. dollars up to a maximum of ten thousand U.S. dollars for Development grants, up to fifty thousand U.S. dollars for Production and a maximum of twenty-five thousand U.S. dollars for Post-production grants.

Projects may be implemented anywhere as long as they are created by Arab filmmakers.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/12

Training and Regional Events Grant
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 July 2023

The Training and Regional Events grant supports trainings and workshops in the different cultural and artistic fields, in addition to residencies, symposiums, forums, and festivals (multidisciplinary, music, film, performing arts, visual arts, literature…).

The program provides annual grants ranging from a few thousand U.S. dollars up to a maximum of 25,000 U.S. dollars for individuals and teams and 35,000 U.S dollars for institutions and collectives.

AFAC is open to receive project applications from all Arab individuals working in arts and culture. AFAC also accepts proposals from local, regional and international institutions whose projects are related to Arab culture.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/16

Music Grant
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 4 July 2023

The Music grant supports production, performances, collaborations, album recordings and festivals.

The program provides annual grants ranging from a few thousand U.S. dollars up to a maximum of 25,000 U.S. dollars for individuals and teams, and 35,000 for institutions and collectives.

AFAC is open to receiving project applications from all Arab individuals working in arts and culture. AFAC also accepts proposals from local, regional and international institutions whose projects are related to Arab culture.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/15

Vantage Point Sharjah 11
Sharjah Art Foundation
Deadline: 10 June 2023

Sharjah Art Foundation announces its open call for the 2023 iteration of Vantage Point Sharjah (VPS), its annual photography exhibition. VPS11 will identify five talented emerging artists from, or based in, Africa and Asia who use photography as a central medium in their practice, exhibit their work and mentor them.

The five selected artists will get to present their work in a group exhibition, which will take place from 18 October 2023 to 10 March 2024 in Old Al Diwan Al Amiri in Al Hamriyah. They will be encouraged to present their work in creative formats, using a small amount of production funds provided by the Foundation. The artists will also be paired with a professional in their field, who will conduct a series of one-on-one mentoring sessions with them.

https://sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/exhibitions/vantage-point-sharjah-11

The information shared here has been sourced from the online platforms of the listed institutions.