As the art world transitions into the warmer months, the momentum from this spring’s open calls shows no signs of slowing down. While the biennale season gradually comes to a close, the creative landscape continues to thrive, with a fresh wave of opportunities emerging for artists across the world.
From residencies and gallery partnerships to foundation grants spanning film, visual arts, and photography, this season’s programmes reflect the diversity of contemporary art practices. For those eager to harness the emerging summer creative wave, here is a selection of upcoming international open calls curated by the Contemporary Lynx team for the months ahead.
Diryah Art Futures (DAF) 2026/27
A fresh developmental collaboration with Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains, DAF’s Emerging New Media Artists Program opens its third cycle this October. This annual creative production training immerses emerging artists in an abundance of skills, cutting-edge professional equipment, a production budget, and multidisciplinary learning — from theoretical and technical seminars to mentorship from prestigious international digital and new media artists. Selected participants are given privileged access to exhibition spaces, screenings, and dedicated technical labs for professional creation and innovative digital development.
The first three months centre on thematic and conceptual exploration through seminars, lectures, screenings, and workshops spanning digital technology, socio-cultural dynamics, the environment, more-than-human life, and cultural heritage. The programme then moves into a practice-based phase, with personalised advisory and access to DAF’s labs, encompassing advanced audio-visual techniques, immersive reality, and spatial audio-visual environments. It concludes with a curated group exhibition at DAF in October 2027.
Deadline for applications: 31 May.
Who can apply? The programme welcomes emerging creative practitioners from around the world, with a particular focus on those from the Middle East and North Africa. Applicants should be under 35, at a graduate or postgraduate level, with experience in modern media and digital art.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://engage.moc.gov.sa/reg_forms/tracks/250/?lang=en
Fees and support: Free to enter
International Digital Art Contest
Launching its third cycle this Autumn, the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina has announced an open call for digital artworks. This programme is dedicated to the exploration, fabrication, and advancement of the contemporary digital art scene. The Academy aims to present the full spectrum of approaches among today’s digital artists while cultivating space for new visual languages to emerge within the region’s cultural landscape.
Selected works will be presented in two parallel exhibition formats: a physical exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts Široki Brijeg and a virtual presentation hosted on the Spatial metaverse platform. Both exhibitions open on October 14 and run through November 18, 2026, placing particular emphasis on experimental and ambitious approaches to contemporary digital practice.
Deadline for applications: 1 August.
Who can apply? Open to artists worldwide, 18 and older. Submitted works must be created exclusively for the digital medium, with no physical counterpart.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqaoHDDriPwk1XVo-4zQY2Vm_vT2Fv4lhsuXIDDBVsyLnYNg/viewform
Fees and support: Free to enter.
Collaborative Prototyping Lab – LAB 5: The Mechanics of Truth
Launching its fifth cycle this autumn, Medialab Matadero is calling for project proposals and multidisciplinary collaborators for a programme dedicated to exploring how truth is constructed, mediated and contested in contemporary society. Through this initiative, Medialab aims to support a wide spectrum of approaches, from the highly technical to the deeply speculative, while cultivating space for critical, collaborative prototyping within Madrid’s contemporary landscape.
Selected participants will take part in an intensive two-week residency from 12 to 25 November 2026. Projects developed during the programme will then be presented publicly as part of the OpenLAB festival from 26 to 28 November, with a focus on ambitious, experimental, cross-disciplinary practice.
Deadline for applications: 14 June.
Who can apply? Open to practitioners worldwide, 18 and older — across visual cultures, technology, architecture, journalism, activism, science, and beyond. Both project leads and collaborators are welcome to apply.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://form.jotform.com/251244533209350
Fees and support: Free to participate. Travel, accommodation and meals are covered for participants residing outside the Community of Madrid.
Magnetic 5 – International Visual Arts Residency Programme
Magnetic, a joint Franco-UK initiative under Fluxus Art Projects, is accepting submissions from contemporary visual artists for a programme dedicated to exploring place-responsive artistic practices across regions in France and the English, Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish nations within the UK. Through this initiative, ten partner institutions aim to showcase a broad range of artistic approaches while fostering a community of international exchange, with societal and environmental issues at the core of each residential project.
Selected creatives receive placement in a bespoke 2 to 3-month residency, offering access to accommodation, workspace, curatorial mentoring, and international professional connections, all dedicated to grounded artistic practice.
Deadline for applications: June 2.
Who can apply? Open to contemporary visual artists based in participating French regions or English, Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish regions of the United Kingdom, 18 and older. Applications welcomed from all backgrounds, particularly those from underrepresented communities.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://fluxusartprojects.com/apply
Fees and support: Free to enter.
42nd Warsaw International Film Festival
The Warsaw International Film Festival (WIFF) is one of the most celebrated film events in Europe. Launching its 42nd edition this autumn, it has opened submissions for feature-length, documentary, and short films. WIFF aims to illuminate the full spectrum of contemporary filmmaking, while cultivating space for world and international premieres within Warsaw’s growing cultural landscape.
Selected films will be presented during the ten-day festival programme running 9-18 October 2026, alongside the Warsaw Industry Days (12–16 October), a dedicated platform of meetings, workshops and panels for the Polish and international film industry.
Deadline for applications: 31 July.
Who can apply? Open to filmmakers, producers, and sales agents worldwide. Submissions are welcome across competitive and non-competitive sections. World and international premieres are given priority in competitive sections.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://wff.pl/pl/filmmakers/submitting-a-film-42
Fees and support: Fees vary. Feature-length film: EUR 55 Short film: EUR 35 (for the regular deadline).
Loop City Screen + DOM Art Residence – Open Call for Video Artists
DOM Art Residence has announced an open call for video artists to participate in its 2026 curatorial programme, intended for submission to Loop City Screen — LOOP Festival’s urban screening initiative in Barcelona. The programme transforms the city into an open exhibition space, presenting video works across screens, shop windows, façades, and public sites.
Within this initiative, DOM invites a representative of visual artists whose practices resonate with attentiveness, slowness, listening, and observation. With the 2026 thematic framework of Xiu Xiu (Whispers), the programme reflects on subtle forms of coexistence, invisible rhythms, and fragile relations between human and non-human life within the city. Selected artists gain curatorial guidance, production support, and visibility within DOM’s international network.
Deadline for applications: 15 July.
Who can apply? Open to international artists working with video, moving image, sound, and time-based media, at any career stage.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://forms.gle/bg5Vmt4tXyqcca6N6
Fees and support: A €10 application fee applies. Selected artists receive curatorial guidance, production support from DOM, and potential public presentation in Barcelona, subject to Loop City Screen’s official selection process.
Knowledge in a Fractured World – CRASSH 25th Anniversary Exhibition
The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, has issued an open call for artists and creatives. To mark its 25th anniversary, it invites participants to take part in an exhibition dedicated to exploring how knowledge is produced, contested, and translated into action in a time shaped by political polarisation, technological disruption, environmental crisis, and shifting global power structures.
CRASSH aims to hold a spotlight on how knowledge may serve either to entrench existing divisions or to imagine more just futures, enabling new forms of understanding, solidarity, and social action. Selected works will be presented in a curated exhibition at the Alison Richard Building in Cambridge from 5 October to 11 December, 2026.
Deadline for applications: 31 July.
Who can apply? Open to artists and creatives worldwide. Up to two works may be submitted per artist. 2D and 3D video and film, as well as sound works, are welcome. The theme may be interpreted in the widest sense — from the personal to the global. Works should be suitable for a family audience.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://arbart.crassh.cam.ac.uk/call-for-art-knowledge-in-a-fractured-world/
Fees and support: Free to enter.
BEERS London — Open Call for Group Exhibition & Residency 2026
For the past 14 years, BEERS London has built a reputation for presenting critically engaged exhibitions that spotlight powerful, contemporary voices. For its latest open call, the gallery invites submissions from artists working across all media, interested in participating in a programme that challenges, engages, and reflects the shifting cultural landscape.
Selected artists will be included in a curated exhibition featuring approximately twelve participants, taking place between August and September 2026 at BEERS London’s gallery space. Alongside the exhibition, a 40-day residency programme is also available, offering studio space, curatorial and professional development support, and a public presentation or exhibition.
Deadline for applications: 1 June.
Who can apply? Open to artists working in any medium, both UK-based and international.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://opencall.beerslondon.com
Fees and support: £10 for the exhibition only; £20 for the residency only; £25 for both concurrently. A standard 50/50 commission split applies to any works sold.
Light Work Artist-in-Residence
Founded in 1973 as an independent non-profit, Light Work has built a half-century legacy of support for artists working in photography and image-based media. Now accepting applications for its 2027 residency cycle, Light Work launches an open call for artists dedicated to the development of experimental and contemporary photographic practices. Over 400 artists have participated in the residency, many of whom have gone on to gain international recognition.
Selected artists will take part in a one-month residency in Syracuse, New York, with access to state-of-the-art facilities, a furnished apartment, and a $7,500 stipend. Each residency concludes with a feature in a special edition of Contact Sheet: The Light Work Annual, alongside a commissioned essay.
Deadline for applications: 1 July.
Who can apply? Open to all artists working in photography or image-based media, from any country, at any career stage.
How to apply? Applications open here: https://lightwork.slideroom.com
Fees and support: Free to enter.
Tokyo Arts and Space International Creator Residency 2027
Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) is an arts centre that promotes contemporary artistic expression from Tokyo. Now opening a new cycle, TOKAS initiates a program inviting practitioners to develop new works and ideas in Tokyo, with research outcomes presented at an Open Studio. The institution’s endeavour aims to foster cross-cultural creative exchange in fields of visual arts, design, and architecture.
Creators participate in a 3-month residency, enriched by an exceptional suite of provisions, including international airfare, a generous living stipend, a fee for creative work/project, exclusive private accommodation, and access to a shared studio.
Deadline for applications: 16 June.
Who can apply? Open to international creators working in visual arts, design, or architecture, with 5 or more years of professional experience in their field.
How to apply? Download the application package and submit via the online form: https://form.run/@2027ICR — two letters of recommendation and a portfolio are required.
Fees and support: Free to enter.
