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 the art community, this reference tool is updated on a regular basis.
Residency Program 2026
421, Abu Dhabi
Deadline: 4 January 2026
The 421 Residency Program supports creative practitioners with work that requires studio space, and who are looking for time and space to experiment. Designed for the creative community at large, the five-month residency is multidisciplinary in focus and is open to practices in visual arts and curation, design and technology, music, literary arts, culinary arts, performance and theatre, and other creative disciplines. The residency program prioritises free experimentation without the pressures of a final outcome, but rather a focus on rigorous process and studio use.
https://www.421.online/opportunities/residency-program-2026/
Performance (Open Call)
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 5 January 2026
Mophradat are partnering with Kunstencentrum BUDA and NEXT Festival in Belgium to offer a three-week residency for a performing artist from the Arab world. Using BUDA’s facilities and artistic support, the artist would finalise a new production and premiere their work at NEXT Festival at the conclusion of the residency. The partners will provide the selected artist with their travel, visa costs and per diem, a contribution to their project’s production costs, and the presentation fee for the performance.
https://mophradat.org/en/program/art-time-residencies/performance/
Seed Award
Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam
Deadline: 8 January 2026
Each year, the Prince Claus Fund offers a Seed Award to 100 emerging artists working in contexts where cultural expression is under pressure. The Seed Award provides recipients with the space and support to deepen their artistic interests and inquiries and amplify their practice — helping spark a new generation of changemakers.
https://princeclausfund.nl/awards-and-programmes/seed-award/2026-call-for-applications
Residency open call for Palestinian artists
Gasworks, London
Deadline: 12 January 2026
This residency open call is for emerging and mid-career Palestinian artists based anywhere in the world. The 11-week, fully funded residency will take place at Gasworks in London from 7 July to 21 September 2026.
https://www.gasworks.org.uk/opportunities/residency-open-call-for-palestinian-artists-2026
Open call for artists from Syria
Delfina Foundation, London
Deadline: 18 January 2026
With support from Rambourg Foundation and strategic coordination from Hani Zaitoun, Delfina Foundation welcomes applications from artists from Syria for a twelve-week residency in London. Applicants must be a national of Syria; or currently living in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey or UAE but have lived in Syria before 2012.
https://www.delfinafoundation.com/open-calls/current/open-call-for-artists-from-syria/
Artistic Development Program 2026
421, Abu Dhabi
Deadline: 18 January 2026
The 421 Artistic Development Program (ADP) supports UAE-based artists in deepening their practice through experimentation, critical inquiry, and sustained mentorship. Over 10 months, artists are encouraged to take risks, test new directions, and develop a substantial body of work grounded in curiosity, vulnerability, and rigorous exploration. The program nurtures practices that are inquisitive, process-driven and open to transformation.
https://www.421.online/opportunities/artistic-development-program/
Orbitals (Open Call)
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 20 January 2026
The new updated Orbitals program invites participants to travel together and explore an artist’s practice as a vehicle for learning about a context, and to better understand an artist’s practice by learning about their context. For this first edition, artists and researchers are invited to learn with and about the work of the exceptional Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova.
https://mophradat.org/en/program/orbitals/
The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2026
NYU Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation
Deadline: 30 January 2026
This award is given for the proposal and creation of an artwork that, in the spirit of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work, can be publicly exhibited and enjoyed.
Applicants are invited to propose an artwork that can be exhibited outside at Abu Dhabi Art, New York University Abu Dhabi and Um El Emarat Park, Abu Dhabi. It can be any media that allows the piece to be publically enjoyed, whether photography, film, land art, sculpture, multimedia etc.
Open Call: Art Residency Programme
Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi
Deadline: 31 January 2026
The six-month programme provides a platform for professional artists, designers, architects, writers, performers, researchers, filmmakers and other culture practitioners to advance their skills and practice through dedicated studio spaces and resources. The residency programme enables participants to produce, think and connect with the wider community, through studio visits from a variety of cultural practitioners and a final open studio night.
https://culturalfoundation.ae/en/ArtResidency
Writing Sabbaticals (Open Call)
Mophradat, Brussels
Deadline: 1 February 2026
This is an open call for published literary authors from the Arab world working in contemporary fiction who are at the final stages of a new manuscript. The program supports writers to take time out of their daily preoccupations to focus on preparing their book for publication. Participants will receive a stipend and they will additionally be offered the support of a peer to help them edit and finalise their manuscript. Once completed, Mophradat will accompany the writer in finding a publisher to print and distribute it.
https://mophradat.org/en/program/writing-sabbaticals/
The information shared here has been sourced from the online platforms of the listed institutions.