Guide to the Best Artist Grants and Opportunities in the Midwestern U.S.
The Artwork Archive team set out to find the best art opportunities, artist grants, and calls for entry for visual artists in the Midwestern United States.
Below you will find a list of the top artist residencies, international open calls, artist grants, exhibition opportunities and art competitions that we believe will benefit artists, specifically in the Midwest.
Remember, you can now save the important deadlines for your favorite opportunities right in your Artwork Archive account.
When you find a call that interests you, simply click ‘Add to Schedule' and the call's deadline will be automatically added to your Schedule. You'll also receive weekly reminders to keep you on top of your game.
We will be updating this list throughout the year, so make sure to bookmark the page, check back often, and let us know if there is an opportunity that should be listed!
November 9, 2025 26 days left
Storied: Narrative Art
Exhibition
- Submission Deadline: November 9, 2025
- Entry Fee: $12.00
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Storied is a juried group exhibition open to all narrative art! Any medium is welcome and all artists 18+ years of age residing in the United States are eligible. Narrative artwork is that which tells a story. Whether it be a personal experience, a historical happening, or an imagined tale… narrative artwork brings people together in a shared experience of curiosity and interpretation. It allows artists to communicate directly to the viewer, pulling them in to a moment in time or a sequence of events.
November 9, 2025 26 days left
Public Art, Sunset Park, City of Petoskey, Michigan
Public Art & Proposals
- Submission Deadline: November 9, 2025
- Award Info: Budget: $40,000-$60,000
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Sculpture
- Location: Michigan, United States
The City of Petoskey, located in Northern Michigan, is seeking submissions from individual artists or teams for a public artwork for Sunset Park, located on the shores of Little Traverse Bay, in Petoskey, Michigan, featuring spectacular views of the sunset. Images of the Sunset Park are attached to the call.
November 9, 2025 26 days left
Artlink Midwest Regional 2026
Exhibition
- Submission Deadline: November 9, 2025
- Entry Fee: $12.00
- Award Info: Cash awards
- Eligibility: Regional
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Artlink Contemporary Gallery is a non-profit creative art space and gallery supporting artists through exhibition, education and community engagement in Fort Wayne, IN since 1978. Held annually, Artlink's Midwest Regional is a juried group exhibition open to Midwest artists working in any medium. This exhibition celebrates the incredible work being created right here in the Midwest and offers 3 cash awards! Midwest states include Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.
November 10, 2025 27 days left
America250-Ohio Tuskegee Airmen Multi-City Murals - Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Public Art & Proposals
- Submission Deadline: November 10, 2025
- Award Info: Budget: A design fee of $3,000 ($500 per portrait) to be paid to each artist if selected as a finalist following the RFQ
- Eligibility: Regional
- Categories: Painting
- Location: Ohio, United States
Exceptional portraiture and eye-catching colors are critical elements that will simultaneously draw attention to the artwork and communicate the personality and essence of each featured Airman. Each design should consider the role of visual storytelling as a foundational component of this project and how the installation as a whole aims to be celebratory and illuminating in nature. Upon advancing to the Request for Proposal/Designs (RFP) phase, selected artists should consider the unique characteristics of their assigned Airmen while also understanding and artfully illustrating the unifying aspects between each Airman through his service. Successful artwork will weave together historical references with contemporary design elements, and it should consider how it can stand out among a group of portraits/designs. Each selected artist will receive a creative brief that includes reference imagery and background information on each assigned Airman.
November 13, 2025 30 days left
Request for Qualifications for UNMC Residence Hall - Omaha
Public Art & Proposals
- Organization: Nebraska 1% for Public Art
- Submission Deadline: November 13, 2025
- Award Info: A maximum of $300,000.00 is allocated for this project. All expenses for the selected design and commission are the responsibility of the artist/team, including but not limited to: travel/lodging, fabrication and supplies, installation expenses (as needed: engineering, rigging, equipment rental, etc). The Residence Hall Selection Committee, in consultation with the NAC, has full oversight for the selection of an artist for this project. Professional public artists/teams within the U.S. are eligible. The Committee reviews RFQ submissions on SlideRoom. Finalists will receive a presentation honorarium ($3000) and a travel stipend ($2000), if applicable. Finalist presentations should include concept, design, detailed budget for the available funds, installation method, projected maintenance.
- Eligibility: National
- Location: Omaha, Nebraska 68102, United States
This Request for Qualifications is for an exterior artwork site on the west side of the new Residence Hall.
A variety of health professions students will call this building home. The Committee’s goal is to create a vibrant environment that welcomes people with an artwork that is refined, yet adds character and unique qualities to the building. The Committee would like the artwork to help the building stand apart from other buildings in Omaha, as a lively location that is clearly where health professions students study, play, relax, and most importantly, call home. Imagine, after a long day of clinical training, biomedical labwork, public health practicums, etc., arriving home to joyful artwork that invites residents and guests to use the other side of their brain.
The UNMC Campus is home to the Healing Arts Collection: https://healingarts.unmc.edu/permanent-collection/
Project renderings, site plans, as well as full RFQ for this project: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1f1iGXMnHGzmz1QlGpMP-1hK2hqJ2AAlj?usp=sharing
November 15, 2025 32 days left
Fine Art Quilts
Exhibition
- Submission Deadline: November 15, 2025
- Event Dates: January 31, 2026 - March 7, 2026
- Entry Fee: $45.00
- Award Info: The People's Choice award is $500. This will be voted on by in person gallery visitors.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts
- Location: Williamston, Michigan 48895, United States
They invite artists working in the medium of quilt making to submit work for the inaugural Fine Arts Quilts exhibition celebrating the artistic and expressive potential of quilts. This juried show seeks quilts that demonstrate originality, strong design and the visual impact of fine art–beauty for its own sake. Whether abstract or representational, minimalist or intricate, entries should showcase quilting as a serious art form. Traditional techniques are welcome if presented in innovative ways. All entries must be original compositions and may include mixed media, surface design, or unconventional materials. Best of Show may be presented the opportunity to have a future solo show at the Loewen Studio & Gallery.
November 16, 2025 33 days left
Anything but... New Materials
Exhibition
- Organization: Riverside Arts Center
- Submission Deadline: November 16, 2025
- Event Dates: December 5, 2025 - January 9, 2026
- Eligibility: Regional
- Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197, United States
Anything But… is an annual exhibition series at Riverside Arts Center that invites artists to challenge assumptions about art materials and processes. Each year, the series sets aside a common material or convention, asking artists to explore alternative approaches. The goal is to spark experimentation, highlight innovation, and celebrate the many ways artists expand the language of contemporary art.
Riverside Arts Center invites artists to submit work for Anything But…New Materials, the second installment in our annual “Anything But…” exhibition series.
This exhibition will highlight works made primarily from recycled, reused, or repurposed materials, encouraging artists to step away from traditional, relied-upon art supplies and experiment with new ways of making. We’re looking for inventive approaches of working with familiar objects and work that shows how creativity can transform disparate materials into masterpieces!
Both 2D and 3D works are eligible.
Key Dates:
- Call closes: 11/16/2025
- Artist Notification: 11/21/2025
- Drop off Dates: 12/1/2025
- Opening Reception: 12/5/2025
- Exhibition dates: 12/5/2025 - 1/9/2026
- Pick Up Dates: 1/11 & 1/12/2026
November 17, 2025 34 days left
2026 Individual Artist Fellowship in Performing Arts - Theater/Playwright
Grants & Fellowships
- Organization: Nebraska 1% for Public Art
- Submission Deadline: November 17, 2025
- Award Info: The Individual Artist Fellowship program recognizes artists in Nebraska. Fellowship recipients are chosen by a professional panel according to the merit of their work. The awarded funds, between $1000 and $5000, must be used for the creation of new art, presentations, training, and/or research.The fellowship program rotates among three umbrella categories of artistic achievement: literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry); filmmaking and performing arts (choreography, playwriting, composition, interdisciplinary performance); and visual arts (painting/drawing, photography, ceramics, installation, mixed media, printmaking, glass, sculpture, textiles, video).
- Eligibility: State
- Location: Omaha, Nebraska 68102, United States
November 17, 2025 34 days left
2026 Individual Artist Fellowship in Performing Arts - Music/sound
Grants & Fellowships
- Organization: Nebraska 1% for Public Art
- Submission Deadline: November 17, 2025
- Award Info: The Individual Artist Fellowship program recognizes artists in Nebraska. Fellowship recipients are chosen by a professional panel according to the merit of their work. The awarded funds, between $1000 and $5000, must be used for the creation of new art, presentations, training, and/or research. The fellowship program rotates among three umbrella categories of artistic achievement: literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry); filmmaking and performing arts (choreography, playwriting, composition, interdisciplinary performance); and visual arts (painting/drawing, photography, ceramics, installation, mixed media, printmaking, glass, sculpture, textiles, video).
- Eligibility: State
- Location: Omaha, Nebraska 68102, United States
November 17, 2025 34 days left
2026 Individual Artist Fellowship in Performing Arts - Filmmaking/Screenwriting
Grants & Fellowships
- Organization: Nebraska 1% for Public Art
- Submission Deadline: November 17, 2025
- Award Info: The Individual Artist Fellowship program recognizes artists in Nebraska. Fellowship recipients are chosen by a professional panel according to the merit of their work. The awarded funds, between $1000 and $5000, must be used for the creation of new art, presentations, training, and/or research.The fellowship program rotates among three umbrella categories of artistic achievement: literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry); filmmaking and performing arts (choreography, playwriting, composition, interdisciplinary performance); and visual arts (painting/drawing, photography, ceramics, installation, mixed media, printmaking, glass, sculpture, textiles, video).
- Eligibility: State
- Location: Omaha, Nebraska 68102, United States