Currently 7 active visual and media arts grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Australia. 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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Creative New Zealand's International Engagement Fund pays for New Zealand artists, practitioners and arts organisations to take part in international opportunities: touring, showcasing, presenting, exhibiting, collaborating and being seen by overseas presenters. Eligible costs are international travel and freight, marketing and promotion, and the travel, accommodation and hosting costs of getting international presenters in front of New Zealand work off-shore. Up to NZ$25,000 per application. ELIGIBILITY: New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, and New Zealand-based arts organisations and groups, who have a current international strategy and are internationally ready. International presenters and cultural agencies can also apply for a confirmed opportunity involving New Zealand artists, and for requests over NZ$5,000 must contribute towards the costs themselves. For any request over NZ$5,000 the applicant must already hold an offer or invitation to take part; smaller requests are looser. PROCESS: submit an expression of interest first (applicant details, an eligibility check and declaration, and an outline of the international opportunity), then complete a full application if invited. Two rounds in 2026/27, both opened 17 August 2026: Round 1 closes 1.00pm NZ time on 10 September 2026 with results by 5 November 2026, Round 2 closes 1.00pm NZ time on 3 December 2026 with results by 28 January 2027. Requests up to NZ$5,000 may be decided sooner. Apply through the Creative New Zealand portal. No application fee.
Project 100, an artist-run contemporary gallery and project space in Whakatu Nelson, is programming its 2027 exhibition residencies in two streams. RECENT GRADUATES EXHIBITION RESIDENCY (May 2027): open to artists who graduated from a tertiary arts programme within the past two years, preferably from a New Zealand institution, and who can independently realise an exhibition or public programme off a strong conceptual proposal. CURATORS EXHIBITION RESIDENCY (November 2027): open to emerging and established curators, independent practitioners and collectives based in Aotearoa New Zealand; previous curatorial experience is welcomed but not essential. Solo and collaborative projects are both welcome. WHAT YOU GET: exclusive use of the gallery for one month, one month of accommodation in a central-city apartment, administrative and promotional support, up to four hours of technician support, and a travel and food stipend of up to NZ$1,000. The gallery takes no commission on sales. WHAT YOU BRING: residents run the gallery themselves, keep it open during opening hours, must be based in Whakatu Nelson for the month, and return the space to its original condition. Note this is an exhibition residency for presenting an exhibition or public programme, not a studio residency for developing new work, though some practices can work from the gallery during the exhibition. A refundable NZ$400 exhibition bond is paid once you are selected and returned after the exhibition. DEADLINE CONFLICT, CHECK BEFORE APPLYING: Project 100's own application guide (the updated curators and grads residency PDF linked from its proposals page) states applications close 31 August, while the open-call listings carrying this residency state 14 September 2026 at midnight. Email Project 100 to confirm which applies before assuming the call is still open. Apply via the form on the Project 100 proposals page.
The Creative Impact Fund is Creative New Zealand's project fund for artists and practitioners making and presenting work with real reach: creating, developing, presenting, touring or publishing across any artform. Two funding tiers, up to NZ$50,000 and between NZ$50,000 and NZ$125,000, with the larger tier held to a higher bar on impact and delivery. ELIGIBILITY: artists and practitioners who are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, applying as individuals or as a group of collaborators. Arts organisations and groups cannot apply to this fund; they are served by the separate organisations funds. Sole traders and people who operate through a company can still apply as individuals. Separate assessor pools cover general arts, Nga toi Maori and Pacific arts, and applications are peer-assessed. Deaf and disabled applicants can claim accessibility costs on top of the grant. Round 2 of 2026 opened 17 August 2026 and closes at 1.00pm NZ time on 17 September 2026, with results due 2 December 2026. Apply through the Creative New Zealand portal. No application fee.
The International Arts Impact Fund is Creative New Zealand's multi-year fund for established New Zealand artists, practitioners and arts organisations building sustained international careers rather than taking a single trip abroad. Up to NZ$75,000 per year for one, two or three calendar years, so a three-year award can reach NZ$225,000. ELIGIBILITY: New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, and New Zealand-based arts organisations and groups, who can show substantial previous international experience and evidence of international demand for their work. Artists and practitioners are prioritised in the 2026 round. PROCESS AND DATES: a two-stage application. The expression of interest opened 24 August 2026 and closes at 1.00pm NZ time on 21 September 2026; those invited through submit a full application by 1.00pm NZ time on 1 October 2026; results are announced 9 December 2026. The EOI is the operative deadline, so treat 21 September 2026 as the date to hit. Apply through the Creative New Zealand portal. No application fee.
The Creative Fellowship Fund buys artists and practitioners time: paid months to develop their practice and make new work, with no requirement that anything be finished or public at the end. NZ$25,000 funds up to six months, NZ$50,000 funds up to twelve, and the money can go to living costs, materials and the resources needed to develop the work. ELIGIBILITY: New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, applying as individuals or as a group of collaborators; arts organisations cannot apply, though sole traders and people operating through a company can apply as individuals. ASSESSMENT: peer assessors weigh whether the proposal encourages creative risk-taking and new ideas, supports artistic growth and experimentation, advances your artistic goals, and is timely for your career stage. NZ$50,000 applications are additionally judged on knowledge-sharing and what the work does for the artform or community. Separate assessor pools cover general arts, Nga toi Maori and Pacific arts. No budget is required in the application, and Creative New Zealand explicitly permits AI tools for drafting. Round 2 of 2026 opened 17 August 2026 and closes at 1.00pm NZ time on 24 September 2026, with results due 2 December 2026. Apply through the Creative New Zealand portal. No application fee.
Toi Tipu Toi Rea, Creative New Zealand's Early Career Fund, gives up to NZ$10,000 to artists and practitioners at the early stage of their career to create work, pick up new skills, pay a mentor and share what they make with their communities. No professional track record is required, which makes it one of the few substantial public grants open to people who have not built a CV yet. ELIGIBILITY: New Zealand citizens or permanent residents who are early in their career, applying as individuals or as a collaborative group. Established artists, arts organisations and groups cannot apply. PROCESS: no budget is needed up front; applicants answer four reflective questions about their artistic goals and supply supporting material such as an artistic CV or work samples. AI tools are permitted for drafting and refining the application. Peer assessors judge whether the activity fosters artistic growth at a critical career stage, with final decisions made by Creative New Zealand's Head of Investment. Round 2 of 2026 opened 31 August 2026 and closes at 1.00pm NZ time on 1 October 2026; results are announced 9 December 2026, and funded activity must take place between 9 December 2026 and 31 December 2027. Apply through the Creative New Zealand portal. No application fee.
Supports reciprocal international exchange between Australian practitioners or organisations and confirmed overseas partners, which makes it the right instrument for co-hosted convenings, labs and cross-border programme partnerships rather than one-way touring. Supported activity types are creative collaboration and development, cultural exchange and knowledge sharing, and labs and practice-exchange models, mapping closely onto media arts residencies, art-and-science research exchanges and digital culture symposia. Eligible costs include artist fees, travel, accommodation, production expenses, marketing, access costs, and childcare or carer support. International organisations are eligible where the project benefits Australian artists or creative workers, and a confirmed international partner is mandatory and must confirm participation in writing. The reciprocity requirement is substantive: the strongest applications embed mutually beneficial exchange rather than simply presenting an Australian artist abroad. Creative Australia's published assessment feedback notes top-ranked applications foregrounded First Nations self-determined or diasporic-led activity and demonstrated sector-wide impact. It is competitive: 157 eligible applications in the March 2026 round yielded 33 grants, about a 21 percent success rate. Contemporary music practitioners are excluded and directed to Music Australia programmes. Closes 13 October 2026 at 3pm AEDT. WHO CAN APPLY: 'individuals, groups and organisations (including small businesses) may apply to this category.' Individual applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A legally constituted entity is not required, so unincorporated groups are eligible.