The A.D. Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke welcomes all interpretations of the theme, Pendulum. Gains/losses, highs/lows, submerge/emerge…our human experience swings on a pendulum. Artists are invited to submit two-dimensional or three-dimensional works, installations, or digital media (including video-based media). Originality of ideas and observations, as well as composition, technique, style, expression, and craft will be considered in the selection process.

Fees or awards
Entry Fee: $35.00, Awards: $400 first prize, $200 second prize, and $100 third prize

Blue Koi Gallery invites artists to submit their visual work for the Black and White Online Art Competition. This is an opportunity to showcase your creativity using any medium to evoke emotions, convey moods, or tell captivating stories. All 2D and 3D visual art forms are welcome, including painting, mixed media, photography, digital art, and sculpture. The competition is open to artists globally, and all applicants must be 18 or older.

Fees or awards
Entry fee is $15, awards offered.

The Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University proudly announces Emerge, a three-year initiative made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation. This support will allow the Longmore Institute to lead a five-week workshop for emerging Disability Studies scholar-activists, for thirty total fellows over three consecutive summers at San Francisco State University with an option for hybrid participation.

Why is this Fellowship program occurring?
Emerge seeks to promote Disability Studies scholar-activism, the bridges and relationships that allow academics, activists, and creatives to better support each other in the shared pursuit of social change. This initiative will cultivate relationships among the next generation of Disability Studies leaders, further diversify the conversation, and promote more scholar-activism in the field.

The Blue Koi Gallery invites you to explore the bold and dynamic influence of red, blue, and yellow. Whether you specialize in traditional art, mixed media, digital art, sculpture, or photography, this theme encourages you to showcase how one or more of these foundational colors shape your artistic expression—or use all three.
The winner of the “Primary Colors” competition will receive $100 USD cash, a professionally designed certificate and extensive media.

Fees or awards
Entry fee is $15, awards offered.

Bellevue Literary Review is an award-winning independent literary journal that probes the nuances of our lives in illness and in health. BLR publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that brings together the perspectives of patients, caregivers, family members, students, healthcare professionals, and the general public. BLR is committed to seeking a diversity of voices from all communities and all walks of life.

Animalia: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human
BLR is seeking creative writing about the ways in which animals figure into our lives and the way they live theirs. Whether companion or wild, predator or prey, animals’ experiences of health can shine a light on our own. BLR invites submissions that explore how health and healing both transcend and interconnect species, and what this can teach us about being human. 

South Arts believes that rural communities deserve great art, and can require specialized support to make that vision viable. Distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, Express Grants support rural organizations and communities with expedited grants of up to $3,000. To be eligible for funding, applicants must program arts experiences featuring a Southern artist.

Express Grants are an opportunity for organizations in South Arts' nine-state region to receive fee support to present Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from inside or outside of the presenter's state.

Projects must include both a public presentation (film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement component. Based on the artist fee, the maximum request is $3,000. The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar cash match (for example, an applicant that requests $3,000 must provide a $3,000 cash match for a project with a $6,000 artist fee).

Pullen Arts Center is seeking solo artist submissions for the 2026 exhibition program.

Persons 18 years of age or older, residing in the City of Raleigh, who participate or make art at Pullen Arts Center are prioritized. However, artists working across the region are encouraged to apply. We define “all artists” to include the range of human differences (race and ethnicity, gender identity, age, socio-economic and housing status, religion, political affiliation, physical, and mental ability) and the broadest definition of an arts professional. All artists are welcome to apply.

The McColl Center invites applications for the Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence program. Artists receive private housing, a large studio, curatorial guidance, marketing support, and a stipend. This residency is an opportunity to take creative risks, engage with Charlotte’s art community, and focus on artistic exploration. Residency dates: September 9 - December 15, 2025. Application deadline: January 3, 2025. Apply now!

Fees or awards
$6,000 Stipend

Each year outstanding musicians with disabilities from around the world are selected to participate in the Access/VSA International Young Musicians Program. This opportunity is open to soloists and ensembles of any instrument or genre including classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock and more!

This program is open to U.S. and international musicians (soloists or ensembles) of any genre or instrument, including voice. Multiple winners will be selected by a panel of music professionals.

High school students with disabilities are invited to explore the art of writing for performance by developing a 10-minute script through the Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program. Each year outstanding disabled writers from around the world are selected to participate in the Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program. In addition to receiving a $1,000 award, these talented young writers enrolled in secondary school (generally, ages 14-19) participate in a script development program and explore the theater industry through exclusive workshops.