Open calls and residencies
Opportunities for artists across Europe: open calls, residencies, awards and grants. Every listing carries its deadline, whether there is a fee, and the source it was checked against. When you decide to apply, Samlio turns the works you choose into the portfolio the form asks for.
Get the calls closing next, every other Tuesday.
In Situ Residency 2027
Six months in a live-in studio in the Marais for artists in the first decade of practice, paid EUR 1,000 a month plus a EUR 2,000 production grant. One of the few Paris residencies that asks for English rather than French.
Delfina Foundation x Gulbenkian Residency 2027
A three-month London residency at Delfina Foundation for visual artists from Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking African nations. Open application, no nomination and no gallery needed.
ROI Annual Exhibition 2026 — Royal Institute of Oil Painters
A juried open exhibition for oil painters at Mall Galleries with over GBP 10,000 in awards. Entry is paid and every accepted work must be for sale at 45% plus VAT commission — worth doing the arithmetic before entering.
Aesthetica Art Prize 2027
A long-running open-entry UK prize with GBP 10,000 for the main award, a group exhibition and editorial coverage. It charges per entry and shortlists heavily, so the fee is the thing to weigh.
RSA Blackadder Houston Mid-Career Painting Award
GBP 20,000 to let a mid-career painter stop doing everything else for up to 26 weeks. Unusually, the award is explicitly aimed at artists whose practice is squeezed by employment or caring, not at the newly graduated.
RSA Elizabeth Lornie Moving Image Award
GBP 10,000 to research and produce new moving-image work, followed by an exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy and acquisition into its permanent collection. Students are explicitly excluded.
Hessische Kulturstiftung Travel and Residency Scholarships 2027
Among the largest per-artist grants in this calendar — five travel grants of EUR 25,000 and seven residency grants of EUR 12,500 to EUR 25,000 — but only for artists with a documented Hesse connection.
LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027
EUR 50,000 and a fifteen-member jury, open to any professional maker over 18 anywhere in the world. The strongest money-to-barrier ratio in this calendar for anyone working in applied-arts materials.
Matadero Madrid — Three-Month Residencies for Visual Artists
Four three-month studio residencies at Madrid's main public contemporary art centre, with workspace, funding, tools and institutional support. Open to visual artists based in Spain.
Villa Medici Fellows — Annual Selection 2027
The twelve-month Rome fellowship at Villa Medici, open by competition to any nationality rather than by invitation. The French-language requirement is the real filter, not the nationality.
Trame Residency 2027
A three-month funded studio residency in Paris for artists with five or more years of practice, paying EUR 1,000 net a month plus a EUR 1,000 production grant. Ten places. French is required, which rules it out for much of the English-speaking scene.
Art Explora x Cité internationale des arts Residency 2027
A funded Montmartre studio residency of three to six months paying EUR 1,000 a month, with up to EUR 3,000 for production and travel to Paris covered. No age limit and no institutional backing needed, which is rarer than it sounds.
Jindřich Chalupecký Award 2027
The main Czech contemporary art award, and it takes open applications rather than nominations. No age limit, no citizenship requirement and no art degree needed — only that you live or work in the country.
European Media Art Platform Residencies 2027
Two-month production residencies at fifteen European host institutions, paying EUR 4,000 to the artist plus a separate EUR 4,000 production budget and free accommodation. The collaboration requirement is the catch: you cannot apply entirely alone.
Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027
A juried open exhibition in pastel and dry media at Mall Galleries, themed "Drawn To Colour", with over GBP 5,000 in prizes. Paid entry, and the framing and minimum-price rules cost real money before you are selected.
BBA Artist Prize 2027
A Berlin open-entry prize with a named jury, cash awards from EUR 300 to EUR 1,000 and a solo show at BBA Gallery for the winner. It charges to enter, so it belongs on the list with the fee showing, not hidden.
Kiruna 2029 — Test an Idea
The early-stage track of the Kiruna 2029 programme, and the only one an individual artist can enter alone. For ideas that might become commissions for the Capital of Culture year.
RBA Annual Exhibition 2027 — Royal Society of British Artists
The largest single award in this calendar's UK open exhibitions: GBP 10,000 for excellence, within a prize pot over GBP 15,000. Open worldwide to anyone over 18, paid per work entered.
Saari Residence — Open Call 2028
A funded Finnish residency open to any nationality, with a long lead time: the round for 2028 runs through March 2027. Two-month individual stays September to April, group stays in summer.
The ones closing next, in your inbox
Every other Tuesday: three calls closing within the fortnight, what each one pays, who it shuts out, and one thing you can do the same evening to be ready. Unsubscribe in one click.
What gets listed
This calendar is for artists who apply on their own behalf. No assistant, no gallery filing it for them. So we list what such an artist can actually enter, and leave out what she cannot.
Nothing invitation-only or nomination-only. Nothing that requires gallery representation to submit. Nothing restricted to enrolled students. Every listing is checked against the organiser’s own announcement before it appears, and where there is an entry fee the amount is on the card rather than four pages in.
There are aggregators with thousands of entries. This one is shorter on purpose.
Running an open call or a residency programme? Send it to rebecka@samlio.com and it will be checked and listed. There is no charge and no paid placement.