Explore creative opportunities across London

The Other Art Fair - Call For Artist - March 2026

Calling all artists! Applications are now open for The Other Art Fair, taking place March 5–8, 2026 at the iconic Truman Brewery.

This March, The Other Art Fair returns with a vibrant lineup of talented artists, special features, live DJ sets, tattoos, and cocktails for the perfect creative vibe.

Eligibility: Whether you’re an established exhibitor or an emerging talent, there’s a place for you to showcase your creativity and connect with art lovers from around the world. This is more than an exhibition, it’s a celebration of artistic expression and community.

What you get: Don’t miss your chance to be part of this unforgettable event. Apply by November 17 to exhibit your work and join one of the most dynamic art fairs around. All applications will be reviewed by an independent selection committee.

Deadline 17 November 2025

Transcendence - Sales and Exhibitions in London

An open call exploring passion, transformation, and the mystery of artistic creation. Transcendence invites artists to exhibit works expressing emotion, evolution, and inner worlds through any medium at Boomer Gallery, London.

Who can apply:
Artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, installation, print, digital, AI-assisted, textile, or written forms. Open internationally to emerging and established artists.

What you get:
Selected artists exhibit in London’s Tower Bridge district. Includes posters, e-catalog, photographer, designer, framing/printing, drinks reception, and no gallery commission on direct sales. £189 participation fee applies.

Deadline 05 December 2025

m(AI)ke vol.1 Open Call

An online residency culminating in a physical exhibition in London as part of Code & Craft by Cluster London. You will extend an existing project so it meets the room: responsive, performative, materially considered. AI code generation is simply a tool amongst others such as computers, interfaces, screens.

Eligibility: All art practices and geographies; solo or collectives up to 4; one submission per artist/team. Traditional artists explicitly encouraged. No prior coding required. Mentorship in code generation tools by experienced creative technologists provided.

What You Get:

Exhibition context rather than merely online release; techniques that sit quietly inside practice—scoring, weaving, cutting, staging, composing; a community that speaks both studio and systems.
A golden tool book of how to leverage code generation for your practice; compact sessions on tool-making (Replit, Github, Fal.ai, GoDot, Touchdesigner/Unity), plus finishing craft (docs, failure modes, install notes).
Three awards of £1,500 each and exhibition at Code & Craft London for the winning artworks (28–30 Nov, London).
Referral prize: £500 to the referrer of a winning artist (split if winner referred via multiple referrals).
Deadline 15 November 2025

The Gwen May Recent Graduate Award

The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) is offering a student membership of two years plus £1000 from the Gwen May Trust to two recent printmaking graduates. Membership to the society includes the opportunity to participate in RE exhibitions for two years both nationally and internationally. Any printmaking graduate who has graduated in 2025 can apply, there will be two winners.

Eligibility: Graduates of 2025.

What You Get: £1,000 and 2 years student membership to the RE including exhibition opportunities.

Deadline 09 January 2026

Open Call for Artists "NO LIMITS: to Create Without Boundaries"

NICOLA Arts invites visual artists, photographers, and creatives of all disciplines to take part in our upcoming exhibition “NO LIMITS” — a celebration of artistic freedom, individuality, and cultural diversity.

This open-themed show is designed to provide a platform for emerging and established artists to share their voice, connect with audiences, and sell their work in the heart of Central London.

Eligibility: All mediums are welcome: painting, sculpture, photography, digital art, mixed media, installation, collage — there are no limits to your creativity.

What You Get: A curated group exhibition in Holborn (Central London), 3 months of public display and sales opportunity, opening event with live music & press photography, promotion on NICOLA Arts’ social media and partner networks, professional photos and videos of your work.

Deadline 17 November 2025

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026

Entries are now open for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award. The annual painting competition returns to the National Portrait Gallery for 2026, celebrating the best in contemporary portraiture. One of the most important platforms for portrait painters today, the competition showcases the variety of approaches to portraiture and encourages artists to focus upon, and develop, the theme of portraiture in their work.

Who can apply:

The competition is open to all artists, age 18 or over, from around the world.
What you get:

Selected artists will be exhibited in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, from 25 June – 7 October 2026.
Selected artists will be considered for the following prizes:
First Prize: £35,000
Second Prize: £12,000
Third Prize: £10,000
All artists chosen to exhibit in 2026 and 2027’s Portrait Award exhibitions will be considered for the bi-annual Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Artist Commission (value £14,000), to be announced in 2027.
All selected artists aged between 18 and 30 will automatically be considered for the Young Artist Award (value £9,000).
Entry fee: £40 (Artists in receipt of Universal Credit or Pension Credit can enter this year’s competition for free, and a 50% discount is in place for artists who receive Disability Benefits, who are students, or who are between the ages of 18 and 25.)

Deadline 06 January 2026

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The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Open Call 2026 | Now Open!

The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) invites artists to submit artwork for the RI Annual Exhibition 2026 at Mall Galleries.

Eligibility:

Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
Artists may enter a maximum of six artworks each.
Works should be no larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.
All works must be an original creation by the artist
Acceptable media: Watercolour or water-soluble mediums including watercolour, watercolour pencil, acrylic, ink or gouache.
What you get:

Selected artists will have their work exhibited at Mall Galleries, London, with potential for sales and commissions. There are £10,000 worth of incredible prizes and awards on offer, including The Winsor & Newton Award of £3,000!

Deadline 23 January 2026

Stomping Ground 2026 Commission Callout

Stomping Ground is a commissioning group comprised of Citymoves, Creative Crawley, FABRIC, FESTIVAL.ORG, Pagrav Dance Company, Strike A Light, The Place and Tramway. We are looking to commission a short dance solo or duet tourable to primary schools, festivals and other public spaces around the country.

Eligibility: UK-based artists, be applying for a work with a strong and distinctive movement element - we welcome applications from dance artists as well as artists from other disciplines who use movement in their practice, have previous experience of making and touring high quality work in different contexts, not apply with a work that has been submitted to Stomping Ground before unless it’s had further development since applying and not currently be in education (unless at PhD level)

What you get: The selected piece will receive a £20,000 commission, up to 2 weeks of studio space in kind at The Place, guidance on producing outdoor work for children, and performance opportunities with the commissioning partners. The piece will be co-produced by The Place as part of The Playground 2026, and go on a 5-week tour around schools and family festivals. The Stomping Ground partners may offer presentation opportunities which will be negotiated with the commissioned artists, and which will be subject to additional touring fees. Artists are not expected to raise additional match funding.

Deadline 29 November 2025

Repair, Reuse, Recycle business grants

This fund is for businesses, social enterprises or CICs who want to:

cut down on waste
grow food locally
use less packaging or plastics
help people fix or reuse things
create solutions to make better use of waste
How much money can you apply for?

There are up to nine grants of £3,000 each.

There is also wrap around support provided, valued at £350 for each grantee. This includes business advice on measuring and communicating your impact.

Who can apply?

The Repair, Reuse, Recycle grants are open to:

sole traders, including designers and creatives
small or medium businesses (SMEs)
social enterprises, including CICs
What do you need to apply?

a clear plan for your project
a budget outline, showing how you will spend the money
proof that your organisation is based in Lewisham
a bank account (not a personal one)
documents like insurance and safety policies
If your company is new and does not have a bank account, you can use a service like Accountable to manage the money.

When can you apply? for the Repair, Reuse, Recycle Fund:

applications open: Monday 20 October 2025
applications deadline: 8 December 2025
successful grant recipients announced: 29 December 2025
grant agreements signed: by January 2026
funding awarded: by February 2026
How are projects chosen?

We look for projects that:

save energy and cut carbon
benefit a lot of people
help people who need it most
work well with other groups
have a good plan and budget
Need help or have questions?

Comment on this page, or contact climate@lewisham.gov.uk if you need any assistance.

Community Energy Fund

This fund is for local organisations (schools, community groups, charities and faith organisations) who want to run projects that:

save energy in homes or buildings
use clean energy like solar panels
cut energy use from transport
teach others how to save energy and inspire action on climate change
How much money can you apply for?

There are three funding streams for this round of the Community Energy Fund as well as a open call for Innovation and Collaboration proposals where the council will look co-develop projects :

Stream A - Planning grants valued up to £10,000 to help plan your project
Stream B - Project grants valued up to £25,000 or one-third of your total costs
Training, engagement and capacity building grants, valued up to £5,000
Who can apply?

To apply to the Community Energy Fund you must be a group or organisation based in Lewisham. Individuals cannot apply. If you have an idea, you can work with a group that is eligible.

Groups that can apply can include:

a charity
a school
a community group
a faith group
a social enterprise
a residents’ association
What do you need to apply?

a clear plan for your project
a budget outline, showing how you will spend the money
proof that your organisation is based in Lewisham
a bank account (not a personal one)
documents like insurance and safety policies
If your group is new and does not have a bank account, you can use a service like Accountable to manage the money.

When can you apply?

For the Community Energy Fund, there are two rounds of applications:

Phase 1:

Applications open: Monday 6 October 2025
Applications deadline: 8 December 2025
Outcome of grant recipients: January 2026
Projects delivered: as outlined in grant agreement
Phase 2 (only if money is still available)

Opens: 12 January 2026
Deadline: 16 February 2026
Outcome: March 2026
Projects delivered: As outlined in grant agreement
How are projects chosen?

We look for projects that:

benefit lots of people
save energy and cut carbon
help people who need it most
work well with other groups
have a good plan and budget
Need help or have questions?

Comment on this page, or contact climate@lewisham.gov.uk if you need any assistance.

The Royal Society of British Artists Open Call 2026 is Now Open!

The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) invites artists worldwide, aged 18 and over, to submit artwork for the RBA Annual Exhibition 2026 at Mall Galleries.

Eligibility:

Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.

Artists may enter a maximum of six artworks each.

Works should be no larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.

All works must be an original creation by the artist

Acceptable media: Painting, sculpture, drawing and original prints.

What you get:

Selected artists will have their work exhibited at Mall Galleries, London, with potential for sales and commissions. There are £20,000 worth of incredible prizes and awards on offer, including The Huaicun Zhang Award of £10,000 for a work (or works) of exceptional quality.

Deadline 09 January 2026

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