Application DeskOctober 2026

October 2026 Art Opportunities: Prizes, Grants & Residencies

Five prizes, grants, and funded residencies worth a closer look, followed by more October deadlines from the Art Goat directory.

By Charles BeamanOctober 1, 20266 min read

Stone-weighted tile roofs overlooking the sea and a small rocky island in the Matsu Islands — Stone-weighted roofs in Qinbi Village on Beigan Island, with Turtle Island beyond, as pictured in the Matsu Biennial open call listing.

October brings a €50,000 craft prize, a free-to-enter photography award with three £10,000 winners, a production grant for new work on a remote island chain, and a funded residency in a Swiss castle. This month’s selection also includes an open call for exhibition ideas in New York.

The five calls below ask for very different things. Two are prizes judged on work you have already made, one funds new work made for a specific place, one is a residency with a fixed festival deadline, and one asks for an idea rather than a portfolio. Read what each one actually requires before deciding whether the headline amount fits the way you work.

Terms and deadlines were reviewed against the organizers’ current pages on October 1, 2026. Programs can change, and a few organizers do not state a closing time, so confirm the official call before beginning an application.

What is on offer this October?

The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize carries the largest single award, €50,000, and is open to makers of any nationality working across the applied arts. The Wellcome Photography Prize is the most open: anyone can enter for free, and its three category winners each receive £10,000. Both are judged on finished work.

The Matsu Biennial and Schlossmediale are for new work made on site. Matsu offers a production grant of up to NT$800,000 for projects responding to the island chain’s culture, Cold War history, and ocean ecology, while Schlossmediale gives three artists a five-week stay and a grant toward a work shown during its festival. apexart is the outlier: its $10,000 pays for an exhibition you propose, so the support is for the show rather than for an individual artist’s practice.

Five opportunities

October picks worth a closer look

LOEWE FOUNDATION

LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027

Support: €50,000 for the winning work + €5,000 for Special Mentions
Deadline: Closed · October 15 at 11:59 PM CET

Professional artisans age 18 or older, of any nationality, entering as individuals or collectives.

The winning entry can be a single piece or a series, and prizes are subject to Spanish income tax withholding. Up to 30 finalists appear in a 2027 exhibition and catalogue in Europe; LOEWE covers their transport to Madrid, with works due there before February 1, 2027. Registration is online in English and asks for two to five photographs, a short conceptual statement, and a copy of your passport or ID. Neither the call page nor the rules of entry list a fee.

Read the official call

Schlossmediale, Werdenberg, Switzerland

Schlossmediale Werdenberg Art Residency 2027

Support: CHF 4,000 grant + CHF 1,000 for travel and meals + up to CHF 1,000 for materials
Deadline: October 18

Three qualified solo artists (no duos or groups) with academic degrees in different fields, representing disciplines such as sound art, audiovisual art, visual art, installation, sculpture, land art, and performance.

The five-week residency runs May 17 to June 27, 2027 at Werdenberg castle, with a private room in a shared historic house. Artists respond to the 2027 festival motto, “Klatsch” (rumor, applause), and the work must be finished by the festival’s opening day. Sound installations without a visual dimension are not considered, and the call lists no application fee.

Read the official call

Wellcome

Wellcome Photography Prize 2027

Support: £10,000 for each of three category winners + 22 awards of £1,000
Deadline: October 21

Anyone, at any level, from anywhere in the world. Entry is free.

Entries explore health and science across three categories: striking solo photography, a storytelling series of three to five photographs, and scientific and medical imaging. Images must be at least 15 MB uncompressed, use the Adobe RGB (1998) profile, and have been taken after December 31, 2021. Entrants keep full copyright to their work.

Read the official call

Matsu Biennial, Taiwan

Matsu Biennial 2027 International Open Call

Support: Production grant of up to NT$800,000 (tax included) per selected proposal
Deadline: October 30 at 5 PM GMT+8

Artists and creators from around the world, proposing site-specific installations or participatory projects (interdisciplinary actions, immersive experiences, or community interactions) for the 4th Matsu Biennial.

There is no single theme: proposals can explore the island (its culture and stone houses), the outpost (Cold War history and memory), or the ocean (ecology and marine debris). Projects must be completed before August 10, 2027, for an exhibition running August 20 to November 7, 2027, and results are announced by the end of November. Age limits, team rules, and application requirements are in the official guidelines, so confirm them there.

Read the official call

apexart

apexart NYC Open Call

Support: $10,000 exhibition budget, including up to a $2,000 organizer honorarium
Deadline: October 31 (proposals accepted October 1 to 31)

Anyone, from anywhere: artists, curators, writers, and other creative people at any level of experience. There are no fees at any level.

This is a call for exhibition ideas rather than an individual grant. You submit a 500-word proposal for a focused group exhibition at apexart’s New York space for the 2027-28 season, and an anonymous international jury of more than 600 people votes on the proposals. Of the $10,000, $8,000 covers costs such as curator travel, artwork shipping, artist honorariums, equipment, and installation.

Read the official call

From the Art Goat directory

More October 2026 art opportunities

New October calls are added through October 31. Opportunities remain in this article after their deadlines and are marked Closed, preserving the month as a permanent archive.

Friends of IFCC

Friends of IFCC Artist Grant & Residency Program — Residencies

Portland, OR

Closing soon: OCT 16, 2026

residencyDetails

Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture

Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture Residency

Madison, ME

Closing soon: OCT 16, 2026

residencyDetails

Friends of IFCC

Friends of IFCC Artist Grant & Residency Program — Project Grants

Portland, OR

Closing soon: OCT 16, 2026

What is on offer this October?

October picks worth a closer look

LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027

Schlossmediale Werdenberg Art Residency 2027

Wellcome Photography Prize 2027

Matsu Biennial 2027 International Open Call

apexart NYC Open Call

More October 2026 art opportunities

Friends of IFCC Artist Grant & Residency Program — Residencies

Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture Residency

Friends of IFCC Artist Grant & Residency Program — Project Grants

Nordic Culture Fund ENTER

Villa Medici Concours des pensionnaires (12-Month Rome Residency)

City of Glendale Creative Crosswalk Murals – Request for Proposals (Glendale Sister Cities)

Town of Basalt Willits Town Center Roundabout Sculpture Commission

City of Burbank Community Arts Grant Program

Jack Myers Memorial Public Art Commission (Freeport Art Museum)

Commissioned Artwork for the Angel's Path: Sculpture Walk

Heritage Crafts Endangered Crafts Fund

Graco Park Tunnel Public Art Project (City of Minneapolis)

The Elephant Trust Main Fund

Trame – Cité internationale des arts Residency for Francophone Artists

Indy Arts Council DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award

Welcome Race Fans 2027 – Indy Arts Council & Indianapolis Motor Speedway Artist Commission

Forecast Public Art Mid-Career Project Grants

Forecast Public Art Early-Career Artist Project Grant

Forecast Public Art Early-Career Artist Research + Development Grant

The College of Education Children's Writer in Residence

City of Orlando Monumental Public Art Sculpture (Lake Nona Community Park)

La Nueva Fábrica Residency 2027–2028 (Antigua, Guatemala)

Forecast Public Art Mid-Career Professional Development Grant

European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) Artist-in-Residence: Decoding Depression

K.F. Hein Fonds Grensverlegger Travel Grant 2026 (Utrecht)

PEI Arts Grants: Create (Creation Grant)

Ireland Wilson Sargeson Fellowships

Culture Resource (Al Mawred) Production Awards 2027

PEI Arts Grants: Share (Dissemination Grant)

Australian Cultural Fund (Creative Australia) ACF Boost 2027

City of Rochester Creative Wayfinding Public Art RFQ

Palm Beach County Art in Public Places: Aqua Crest Aquatic Complex Tile Artwork Commission

Alex J. Ettl Grant

PEI Arts Grants: Learn (Professional Development Grant)

Creative Scotland Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA)

Glasgow Life Visual Artist and Craft Makers Awards (VACMA)

Nocturne: Photography After Dark

Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA): Dundee – Leisure & Culture Dundee / Creative Scotland

Shetland Arts Visual Artist & Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) 2026/27

Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA): Highland, Moray and Na h-Eileanan Siar – High Life Highland / Creative Scotland

Churchill Fellowship

Live Borders Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award (VACMA)

Brooks International Fellowship Programme 2027 (Tate and Delfina Foundation)

Illinois Capital Development Board Art-in-Architecture – Artwork Purchases for Western Illinois University Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts

Northwest Film Forum Collective Power Fund 2026

Conseil des arts de Montréal Temporary Public Art Competition

City of Ottawa Public Art RFQ: Riverside South Community Centre and Library

City of Ottawa Equity and Inclusion in the Arts Fund: Seed Award and Grow Grant for Individuals

City of Rancho Cucamonga Mini Mural Project 2026-2027

Arts Council Film Artist in Residence at University College Cork 2027

4Culture: King County Wastewater Treatment, Elliott West Wet Weather Treatment Station Upgrade

New Music Single funding (Whai Pūtea mō te waiata hou)

Cultural Council for Palm Beach County Emerging Artist Prize

Rita Angus Cottage Residency 2027

Arts, Culture & Creativity Month 2027 Grant Opportunity (City of Escondido)

Sustainable Darkroom Futures Residency - Open Call

Nixon Road Roundabout Public Art (City of Ann Arbor)

Glasgow Sculpture Studios / Triangle-Astérides Exchange Residency 2027

New Zealand Writer in Residence

Public Art at Minnesota Street Project (Downtown Skyways) – City of Saint Paul RFP

Arts Council Digital Artist in Residence at University of Limerick

Stroom Den Haag PRO Art Programme Grant (PRO Kunstprogramma)

City of Gainesville Regional Transit System Public Art RFQ (Eastside Bus Transfer Facility)

Idylwood Park Asphalt Art Design Call

40 West Arts Artist in Residence 2027

Stroom Den Haag PRO Onderzoek (Research)

Salt Lake City Arts Council Project Support Grants

Center for Art and Advocacy Fellowship

CNY Arts Statewide Community Regrants: Artist Commissions

Stroom Den Haag PRO Invest

Stroom Den Haag PRO Kunstprojecten (Art Projects)

Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360

Nomura Foundation Art Division Individual Activity Grant — Domestic (美術部門個人(活動助成金国内))