Currently 10 active visual and media arts grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Asia. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China, in partnership with artist-run space Making Space in Guangzhou, invites Netherlands-based artists, makers, curators, writers, researchers and other cultural practitioners to a six-week residency in spring 2027. Making Space (est. 2017) focuses on art and social practice with an emphasis on long-term research, local knowledge and care-driven collaboration. The residency is process-oriented with no obligation to produce finished work; the resident takes part in at least one public exchange (talk, workshop, reading group, screening, performance or open studio). SUPPORT: EUR 2,700 travel and artist fee subsidy (fixed per application; duos or collectives share the amount), accommodation in Guangzhou, shared studio space, curatorial and research support with access to local networks, and logistical support for public programming (extra funding may be considered for public programmes). The resident arranges their own China visa; Making Space provides an invitation letter. LOOKING FOR: practitioners engaging with alternative education, ecological justice, migration and labour, social practice, intergenerational narratives, diaspora and transdisciplinary collaboration; English communication required. APPLY by email (makingspace2017@gmail.com) with a 200-word bio, CV, 2-page project proposal and portfolio (max 20 pages) in a single PDF, in English. Result expected late November 2026. Deadline: 3 October 2026, 23:59 CST / 17:59 CEST.
Peripheral Acts is an experimental, artist-led residency programme supporting artistic production alongside dialogue, exchange and site-responsive experimentation, rooted in everyday urban life in the UAE. The second edition, Leaning Out, takes residential balconies as its site: suspended between private life and public view, the balcony becomes a stage for negotiations between host and guest, inhabitant and observer, framing questions of privacy, voyeurism, belonging and ownership. STRUCTURE: three commissioned artists take part in two phases. Phase 1 is four in-person gatherings hosted by residency programmer Shazia Salam in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (1, 7, 14 and 21 November 2026, roughly two hours each; attendance at all four is expected). Phase 2 is a one-month balcony takeover per artist (January, February or March 2027), during which each resident also hosts one (semi-)public event sharing their practice and process. There is no fixed formula for what can happen on the site; interventions are shaped by its conditions, permissions and chance encounters, carefully testing the possibilities and boundaries of informal public intervention in the UAE. FUNDING: AED 1,000 commission fee plus AED 1,500 production budget per artist. ELIGIBILITY: artists currently based in the UAE with easy, ongoing access to a residential balcony (their own or one belonging to a friend or family member). Questions: shaziasalam.92@gmail.com. APPLY via the Google Form. DEADLINE: 4 October 2026.
Alternative Space LOOP in Seoul invites proposals for exhibitions to be presented as part of its 2027 programme. LOOP no longer separates artists, curators and other types of applicants: proposals are welcome from individuals and teams, across all genres and media, and in any exhibition format, including solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and curatorial projects. LOOP looks for projects that explore new approaches to exhibition-making and reflect on the social role of contemporary art. SUPPORT: a project grant of KRW 1,000,000, exhibition space at Alternative Space LOOP, curatorial and operational support, exhibition graphic design and promotion, use of LOOP's available equipment, and connections to LOOP's future projects and its local and international networks. SELECTION: 1-2 individuals or teams; interviews with shortlisted applicants mid October 2026, final selection announced late October 2026. HOW TO APPLY: download the application form via the Google Form, complete it, and upload it to the same form as a PDF of no more than 25 pages, named '2027 LOOP Open Call_Applicant Name.pdf'. DEADLINE: 5 October 2026 at 24:00 KST.
The National Asian Culture Center (ACC) in Gwangju seeks bold, experimental work by emerging artists from Asia at the intersection of art and technology for its 2027 ACC NEXT exhibition. The theme is Prototype; works must not have been presented in another exhibition, or must be re-created works. MEDIUMS: interactive installations (physical computing, sensor-based), generative video and image (code- and algorithm-based), kinetic and robotic art, immersive and extended reality (XR), and related work. SUPPORT: an artist fee of KRW 3,000,000 per work, an installation and materials budget of up to KRW 2,000,000 per work, one round-trip international airfare for overseas residents (or domestic transportation), and tentative accommodation at Asia Plex Studio; for teams, support goes to the team leader only. One artist or team is also selected for the 2027 ACC CREATORS Residency via an artist pitch review. ELIGIBILITY: nationals of an Asian country born on or after 1 January 1987 (artists born or raised in Asia whose practice deeply engages with Asian identities may be considered regardless of nationality); at least one solo exhibition, one exhibition at a national or public art museum, or three group exhibitions (art fairs and degree shows do not count); non-Korean nationals must be eligible for a Korean visa; must be able to attend the installation, opening and artist pitch. HOW TO APPLY: create an account on the ACC website and submit online, 1 to 25 October 2026, as PDFs (max 50 MB each): application form (ACC template), technical rider (ACC template), and a portfolio including CV as a single file. Results announced 30 November 2026. DEADLINE: 25 October 2026 at 11:59 PM KST.
The 4th Matsu Biennial invites artists and creative teams worldwide to develop new work for the Matsu Islands, Taiwan, taking the archipelago itself as its site: its geography, Cold War history, marine ecology and everyday life. No single theme is set; proposals can explore three axes: The Island (Eastern Min culture, religious practices, traditional stone houses, the returning generation), The Outpost (site translation, geopolitics, blackout regulations, collective memory) and The Ocean (environmental care, sustainable ecology, blue tears sea sparkles, marine debris). PROJECT TYPES: site-specific installations, indoor or outdoor, produced on site; and participatory creative projects such as interdisciplinary actions, immersive experiences or community interactions. SUPPORT: 4 to 5 proposals are selected, each in principle receiving NTD 800,000 (approx. USD 25,000, tax included). Works must be completed by 10 August 2027; the exhibition runs 20 August to 7 November 2027. ELIGIBILITY: individuals and teams of any nationality, aged 18 and over; up to two proposals per applicant; existing works may be reworked if they respond to Matsu's site conditions and cultural context; artists may choose from suggested sites across Nangan, Beigan, Dongju and Xiju or propose their own. HOW TO APPLY: online via Google Form with a project proposal in Chinese or English (PDF, max 8 pages, 10 MB), an artist CV/portfolio (PDF, max 5 pages, 10 MB, at least 3 previous works), and a signed copyright license agreement. Results announced by the end of November 2026. DEADLINE: 30 October 2026 at 17:00 (GMT+8).
The Asian Cultural Council's New York Fellowship brings artists, scholars and arts professionals from Asia to New York City for a six-month immersive cultural exchange. SUPPORT: USD 38,000 for the six-month fellowship. ELIGIBILITY: non-US citizens/residents from ACC-eligible Asian countries (including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, among others); age 21+; at least five years of professional experience in an eligible discipline (architecture, archaeology, art history, arts administration, arts criticism, conservation, crafts, curation, dance, ethnomusicology, film, literature, museum studies, music, theater, visual art); English proficiency (J-1 visa requirement); fellows cannot work or pursue coursework during the fellowship. COHORTS: January-June 2028 or July-December 2028. HOW TO APPLY: via the GoApply platform; applications open 1 October 2026. Recommendation letters due 16 November 2026. No application fee. DEADLINE: 10 November 2026 at 9:59 AM ET.
The Asian Cultural Council's Individual Fellowship supports self-directed exploration and cultural exchange experiences in a new or less familiar environment, fostering exchange between the United States and Asia and within Asia. SUPPORT: up to USD 35,000 for a 1-to-6-month program (minimum 30 days; two or more months preferred); single or joint applications with up to 3 participants. ELIGIBILITY: citizens or permanent residents of ACC-eligible countries (the US and countries across Asia, from Afghanistan to Vietnam); age 21+; at least five years of professional experience in an eligible discipline (architecture, archaeology, art history, arts administration, arts criticism, conservation, crafts, curation, dance, ethnomusicology, film, literature, museum studies, music, theater, visual art); English proficiency if traveling to the US; no coursework or teaching during the fellowship. Grant activities must take place between 1 August 2027 and 31 December 2028. HOW TO APPLY: via the GoApply platform; applications open 1 October 2026. Recommendation letters due 16 November 2026. No application fee. DEADLINE: 10 November 2026 at 9:59 AM ET.
The Sixi International Artist-in-Residence Project, run by Sixi Museum in Nanjing since 2024, selects 4 artists across two three-month sessions in 2027 (Spring, March to May, and Autumn, September to November). The program is built as an open network across the city, connecting residents with local scholars, artists, historic neighborhoods and natural landscapes, with Open Studios and workshops along the way. Proposals must respond to one of two themes: Flux and Imprints, Contemporary Echoes of Migration History (cross-regional mobility, cultural reconstruction and memory, including family histories of overseas Chinese, the legacy of colonialism in Asia, and identity within global geopolitics), or Folds of Text, Cross-Media Intertextuality and Intervention (text as a fluid medium, with interdisciplinary work across literature, linguistics, music and sound, and visual arts). SUPPORT: round-trip flights, visa fees, insurance, private apartment or loft studio, material allowance, technical assistance, airport pickup and translation; no separate artist fee or stipend is mentioned. ELIGIBILITY: artists of all disciplines, aged 18 or older, proficient in spoken and written Mandarin or English. HOW TO APPLY: email a CV with profile photo, portfolio and residency proposal as a single PDF or ZIP with the subject line Residency Application. Final responses by mid-February 2027; allow 2 to 3 months for visa processing. DEADLINE: 15 November 2026 (GMT+8).
Busan Metropolitan City invites individuals and teams from around the world to propose a site-responsive work of land and ecological art for Eulsukdo, an estuarine island at the mouth of the Nakdong River, South Korea's longest river. The island sits in a brackish estuary where river meets sea and is an important stopover for migratory birds on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway; once heavily altered by agriculture, landfill and urban development, it has been restored as wetlands and bird habitat, a layered history the call frames as an invitation to reflect on coexistence between human and more-than-human life. Proposals must respond to Eulsukdo's ecology, landscape, history and changing environment while minimising ecological disturbance and demonstrating environmental responsibility across the work's whole lifecycle. ELIGIBILITY: individuals or teams professionally active in art, landscape architecture, architecture, design or related fields; interdisciplinary teams welcome. SELECTION: one proposal, with artwork support of KRW 380,000,000 and an artist fee of KRW 20,000,000. SUBMISSION WINDOW: 2 November 00:00 to 22 November 2026 24:00 KST (UTC+9). Provisional opening of the realised work May to June 2027. Full guidelines via the official website (eulsukdo-ecoart.com); inquiries to eulsukdo.ecoart@gmail.com.
Production fund run by Kolkata gallery Experimenter with a cooperative of artists and supporters, juried by a rotating panel of artists and curators. It explicitly supports film, video, sound, digital and new media art, artistic research, installation, performance and public art among other practices. GRANT: up to INR 1.5 lakhs (INR 150,000) toward realising a project, one bursary per artist per year, disbursed within 30 days of selection. ELIGIBILITY: open to all visual artists worldwide, individuals or collectives, no age, nationality or medium restrictions; applications preferred in English but vernacular and foreign languages accepted. ROLLING: applications may be submitted at any time and are reviewed when the next round is announced. Apply via the Google Form linked from the Generator page; contact generator@experimenter.in.