Guide to the Best Artist Grants and Opportunities in the Southeastern 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 Southeastern 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 Southeast.
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!
MORE COMING SOON: Our team is currently hard at work searching for opportunities in this region!
October 23, 2026 Ends today
16th Annual National Juried Exhibition
Exhibition
- Organization: Marshall University's School of Art & Design
- Submission Deadline: October 23, 2026
- Event Dates: November 3, 2026 - November 14, 2026
- Entry Fee: $30
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Huntington, WV
Marshall University's School of Art & Design is pleased to invite artists to submit entries for the 16th Annual National Juried Exhibition. Accepted works will be exhibited at the Charles W. & Norma C. Carroll Gallery in the Visual Arts Center in Huntington, WV. This year’s juror is Rachel Rearick, Executive Director of Contemporary Craft and adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching courses in museum operations and public art. Rearick is an artist member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Print Group.
October 23, 2026 Ends today
Art Battle at ArtCrawl, hosted by Notta Gallery
Competition
- Organization: Notta Gallery
- Submission Deadline: October 23, 2026
- Event Dates: November 8, 2026 - November 8, 2026
- Award Info: 1st Place — $750 2nd Place — $500 3rd Place — $250 Crowd Favorite — $250
- Eligibility: State
- Location: Lakeland, Florida 33801, United States
Art Crawl 2026 | Downtown Lakeland | November 8, 2026
Notta Gallery is selecting 10 artists for this year’s Notta Art Wars.
The challenge:
MAKE A "NOTTA SWAN"
Each selected artist will find their own existing painting — thrift-store art, discarded décor, an old landscape, portrait, floral, or other previously created work and transform it into an original Notta Swan.
WHAT IS A NOTTA SWAN?
It should still have a recognizable connection to Lakeland's swan culture, but it should push beyond a traditional depiction into something strange, funny, beautiful, surreal, dark, absurd, or completely unexpected.
Show us what a swan could or couldn't become, show off your wit and cunning.
The found painting should remain part of the story.
THE COMPETITION
10 artists. 10 found paintings. 10 local sponsors.
Each artist will:
- Find their own painting to transform
- Receive a $100 artist stipend
- Be paired with a local sponsor
- Compete live at Art Crawl
- Be featured in a short exhibition at Notta Gallery
- Have their finished work displayed afterward at their sponsor’s establishment
October 25, 2026 2 days left
Re-Issue RFQ City of Gainesville Regional Transit System - Public Art
Public Art & Proposals
- Organization: City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs
- Submission Deadline: October 25, 2026
- Event Dates: September 25, 2026 - October 1, 2027
- Award Info: The City of Gainesville's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, The Gainesville Art in Public Places Trust and Gainesville Regional Transit System is re-issuing this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) due to an increase in available project funding.The project is located at the Regional Transit System (RTS) Eastside Bus Transfer Station, 614 SE 20th Street, Gainesville, Florida. The opportunity seeks professional artists or artist teams to create functional, site-specific public art integrated into the transit infrastructure. Potential elements include shade structures, bike racks, benches, decorative fencing, and tree guards.The revised RFQ includes an increased project budget of $48,915 and an expanded scope. The top three artists or artist teams selected to move forward to the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase will each receive a $1,000 honorarium.Artists should review the revised project description, budget, requirements, and submission guidelines in their entirety before submitting qualifications.Artists who previously submitted qualifications must submit a new application to be considered under the re-issued RFQ.
- Eligibility: National
- Location: Gainesville, Florida 32601, United States
October 30, 2026 7 days left
The Quest For Allyship - Call to Artists (RFQ)
Public Art & Proposals
- Organization: BLDG
- Submission Deadline: October 30, 2026
- Award Info: The total budget for the commissioned artwork is $100,000.00 inclusive of all artist fees, design, engineering, fabrication, transportation, installation, insurance, community engagement, and applicable taxes.
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Sculpture
- Location: Covington, KY 41011-2994, United States
Project Overview
Artists or Artist Teams are invited to submit qualifications for a permanent public sculpture or installation
that celebrates the concept of the quest for allyship — the active, intentional, and ongoing practice of
supporting, advocating for, and standing in solidarity with communities different from one’s own.
The commissioned artwork will serve as a symbol of unity, reminding those who encounter it that lasting
change and meaningful progress are built when diverse groups come together in mutual respect,
empathy, and action.
This initiative is driven by a coalition of mission-aligned organizations who believe that diverse cultural
experiences are wanted and valued in their community.
Covington, Kentucky
November 1, 2026 9 days left
MOCA GA Gathered VII
Exhibition
- Submission Deadline: November 1, 2026
- Event Dates: January 23, 2027 - March 27, 2027
- Entry Fee: USD $35
- Award Info: Up to USD $5,000 in awards
- Eligibility: State
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
A biennial open call to Georgia artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, with Georgia artists serving as jurors. Selected work will be shown in the museum's new building. Artists submit three recent works representing their practice.
November 15, 2026 23 days left
Tomorrow, Imagined: 17th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition
Exhibition
- Organization: Sitar Arts Center
- Submission Deadline: November 15, 2026
- Event Dates: February 8, 2027 - March 13, 2027
- Entry Fee: $0-25
- Award Info: 1st place adult $450, 2nd place adult $250, 1st place young adult $250, 2nd place young adult $150, People's Choice $100
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Washington, DC 20009, United States
“Tomorrow, Imagined” invites artists to explore what’s ahead: the hopes, questions, and possibilities that shape where people are headed as a community and a world. This isn’t about predicting what will happen. It's about asking: What future is one imagining—and what future is one helping to create? Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly. All mediums and perspectives are welcome.
November 30, 2026 38 days left
Industry, Labor and Community Residency
Residency
- Submission Deadline: November 30, 2026
- Award Info: USD $1,000 honorarium plus supplies, travel, lodging and per diem
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
West Virginia University Libraries' Art in the Libraries program hosts an artist in residence to develop a project from union records, company town archives and oral histories at the West Virginia and Regional History Center. The residency ends with a library exhibition display and a public presentation.
December 10, 2026 48 days left
American Women Artists 2027 National Juried Museum Exhibition at Brookgreen Gardens
Exhibition
- Organization: American Women Artists
- Submission Deadline: December 10, 2026
- Event Dates: May 8, 2027 - July 25, 2027
- Entry Fee: $60 for 2 works. $10 each additional
- Award Info: $10,000 Grand Prize, Additional $20,000 in prizes
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: South Carolina, United States
American Women Artists is pleased to announce its twelfth museum exhibition as part of the 25 in 25 campaign, an initiative to have 25 museum shows for women artists over 25 years, thereby better recognizing the work of women artists and increasing the historically low representation of women artists in museums and permanent collections. This exhibition at Brookgreen Gardens, May 8 – July 25, 2027, in Murrells Inlet, SC, is open to all American Women Artists members. Not a member? Join today! Call for Entries: October 10, 2026, through December 10, 2026. Selected artists will be notified on December 17, 2026.
Ongoing
Kolaj Institute Solo Residencies
Residency
- Submission Deadline: Ongoing
- Entry Fee: The cost of the residency is $900 US for one week (including 6 nights accommodation) or $1400 US for two weeks (including 13 nights accommodation). If the artist is traveling with a partner or companion, there is an additional fee of $400 US per week. A limited number of grants are available in order to offset the fee and reduce barriers to participation to those with a demonstrated financial need. All travel to and from New Orleans, as well as food and lodging outside of the Residency, are the sole responsibility of the artist.
- Award Info: One or Two-Week Residencies
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline
- Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
The mission of Kolaj Institute is to support artists, curators, and writers who seek to study, document, and disseminate ideas that deepen one's understanding of collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century movement. They operate a number of initiatives meant to bring together community, investigate critical issues, and raise collage’s standing in the art world.
January 8, 2027 77 days left
Naples Botanical Garden Creative Residency
Residency
- Organization: Naples Botanical Garden
- Submission Deadline: January 8, 2027
- Event Dates: June 7, 2027 - June 28, 2027
- Entry Fee: $30.00
- Eligibility: Regional
- Location: Naples, FL 34112, United States
-
Creative Residency Description:- The Creative Residency at Naples Botanical Garden will inspire the creation of environmental art and serve as an opportunity for artists to rest, reenergize, and engage with the community through Community Engagement Projects.
- Creative Residents are housed in the Garden’s Guest House located within walking distance of the Garden’s main visitor entrance. The home is furnished, including bed and bath linens. The kitchen is stocked with essential cookware. Wi-Fi and laundry are available in the Guest House. Residents are responsible for their own grocery shopping, meal preparation, and personal hygiene products. Residents will receive a $600 grocery stipend at the start of the residency.
- Residents will receive some mileage reimbursement as well as a $3,000 stipend paid to the artist in two separate payments, one at the completion of the Residency and the second at the completion of the final Community Engagement Project.
- There is no dedicated studio space on the grounds. Residents will utilize the Guest House and adjacent pergola as their studio.
- The Guest House and Garden are not equipped with artist supplies or musical instruments.
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Creative Residency Location:- Naples Botanical Garden – Guest House : 4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples, Florida 34112
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Important Dates:- Application Deadline: Friday, January 8, 2027
- Applicants are notified of application results: Friday, March 5, 2027
- Creative Residency Dates: Monday, June 7-Monday, June 28, 2027
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Naples Botanical Garden Representative:- Name: Sten Kerwin
- Title: Curator of Arts & Culture
- Phone: (239) 325-1368
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.naplesgarden.org
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Selection Process:- Phase 1: The Garden’s Arts & Culture team will organize applications eliminating any incomplete or ineligible applications.
- Phase 2: The Garden’s Education and Arts Committee will select the single most suitable applicant for the Residency as well as an alternate.
- Phase 3: The single most suitable applicant will receive notification of acceptance and will have 30 days from notification to complete and return all required forms and agreements. Neglecting to complete required forms and agreements will result in forfeiting the applicant’s acceptance at which point the alternate applicant will be offered the Residency.