May 2025: Open calls and opportunities for artists and art practitioners

This compilation is a resource for those seeking arts and culture opportunities in the UAE and beyond

Along with announcements of our year-round open calls and grants which support emerging and established artists working in contemporary art, Sharjah Art Foundation has compiled a list of reputable local, regional and international open calls, educational opportunities, grants and residencies in other institutions. In keeping with the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the art community, this reference tool is updated on a regular basis.

 

Open Call: Archival Cassette Tape Correspondence
Sharjah Art Foundation
Deadline: 8 May 2025

Individuals, families and communities are invited to contribute cassette tape recordings to an ongoing project that seeks to explore and preserve the history of voice correspondence in the UAE.

https://www.sharjahart.org/en/news/details/open-call-archival-cassette-tape-correspondence 

 

Curatorial Intensive South Asia 2025
Khoj International Artists' Association, New Delhi
Deadline: 16 May 2025

Curatorial Intensive South Asia is an initiative of Khoj International Artists’ Association and Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan for young curators from South Asia. It is a fully-funded fellowship programme in the field of curatorial practices relevant to South Asia in the visual arts. The programme aims to develop a diversity of perspectives on the medium of the exhibition and to provide a structured and an experimental inquiry into the possibilities of curatorial practice today.

https://khojstudios.org/programme/curatorial-intensive-south-asia/edition-2025/

 

Sharjah Film Platform Feature Fund
Sharjah Art Foundation
Deadline: 31 May 2025

The Sharjah Film Platform Feature Fund is offering one UAE-based scriptwriter, director or lead/executive producer the opportunity to receive a grant of up to 500,000 AED. The Fund will support the completion of an English- or Arabic-language feature-length narrative film currently under production.

https://www.sharjahart.org/en/news/details/open-call-for-the-sharjah-film-platform-feature-fund

 

Public Arts Trust of India
Jaipur Art Week
Deadline: 31 May 2025

Based between Jaipur and Jodhpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan, Public Arts Trust of India’s initiatives foster a holistic growth of arts and culture through artist residencies, commissioning, curating, education and  professional development programmes and community exchange, reinforcing creativity as an important part of everyday life regardless of a person’s association or generation.

https://www.jaipurartweek.com/open-call

 

GASP: Global African Situated Practices
Institute for Postnatural Studies, Madrid
Deadline: 31 May 2025

The Institute for Postnatural Studies announces GASP: Global African Situated Practices, a six-week artistic research residency in Madrid for one individual based in any of the 54 African states. The residency supports interdisciplinary and socially engaged practices at the intersection of art, ecology and research.

https://www.instituteforpostnaturalstudies.org/article/gasp-international-artistic-residency-2025/

 

Open call for artists from Syria
Delfina Foundation, London
Deadline: 8 June 2025

With support from Rambourg Foundation and strategic coordination from Hani Zaitoun, Delfina Foundation welcomes applications from artists from Syria for two twelve-week residencies in London.

https://www.delfinafoundation.com/open-calls/current/open-call-for-artists-from-syria/

 

Self Organizations (Open Call)
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 10 June 2025

This programme provides support to projects that involve a group of arts practitioners coming together to share a practical tool or engage in a collective learning experience that they determine to be useful for the development of their work.

https://mophradat.org/en/program/self-organizations/

 

Cinema Program
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 13 June 2025

Arab Fund for Arts and Culture's Cinema Program supports feature and short-length fiction films in the Arab region. For feature-length films, the programme welcomes submissions by Arab directors whose projects are in development, production or post-production phases. For short films, the programme supports projects in production and post-production, provided the director has not previously made a feature film.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/12

 

Music Grant
Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut
Deadline: 13 June 2025

Arab Fund for Arts and Culture's Music Grant supports music production, performances, collaborations, album recordings, music-related podcasts and festivals.

https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/15

 

The information shared here has been sourced from the online platforms of the listed institutions.