Currently 5 active open calls open to applicants in Canada, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. 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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Video Pool's Media Art + Technology Residency supports experimental, independent, technology-based work. The selected artist or artists develop a new project (or adapt and transform an existing one) in direct response to the intimate scale and specific character of the Poolside Gallery, culminating in an exhibition there. The call is deliberately open on medium: video, sound, installation, digital media, performance, interactive technologies, expanded cinema and interdisciplinary practices are all welcome. VP asks proposals to speak clearly to your practice, the questions, materials or ideas that drive the work, and how that work might grow, shift or take new form inside the gallery. It is explicitly interested in expansive proposals, work that pushes past the gallery's four walls to engage its surrounding spaces (hallways, windows, projection wall) or that reimagines what the gallery itself can hold, and in projects that engage technology as a creative, critical, aesthetic or socio-political tool. Priority is given to artists from equity-seeking communities whose practices contribute to the advancement of experimental media arts. Residents get full access to VP's available equipment, facilities and technical resources throughout the residency, and applicants are encouraged to review the equipment and facilities list before proposing. ELIGIBILITY: open to VP members (this is a member submission call); no nationality restriction is stated, but the residency and exhibition are in person in Winnipeg. APPLICATION: artist bio (1,500 characters), headshot, description of your artistic practice (3,000 characters), project proposal for MATR (3,000 characters), equipment and facility needs (750 characters), description of how you would use the space (750 characters), CV, up to five images (optional) and up to two video or documentation links. Submit via the online form at videopool.org/matr-2027-application/ by 30 August 2026; alternative submission formats can be arranged by contacting Emma (emma@videopool.org) or Iyunade (iyunade@videopool.org). General enquiries: info@videopool.org, 204-949-9134.
The Ottawa School of Art invites artists and collectives to submit exhibition proposals for its 2027-2028 season, welcoming current and proposed work across all media including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video. Group exhibition proposals are accepted. Successful applicants exhibit at ONE campus gallery, but proposals may be submitted for either or both venues; an application to both must demonstrate a clear understanding of how the exhibition would work best within each gallery's dimensions (floor plans are published with the call). VENUES: the J.W. Stellick Gallery at the ByWard Market campus, dedicated to giving OSA students and the community a wide variety of contemporary art, and the OSA Orleans Gallery on the Centrum Level of the Shenkman Arts Centre. Artists receive an Ontario CARFAC exhibition fee. SELECTION: a jury of three art professionals selects exhibitions on the quality of the work, the integrity of the proposal, and its relation to OSA's programs. SUBMISSION: all six components are required, incomplete proposals are withdrawn without notification, and poorly organised proposals will not be reviewed. (1) Completed application cover form with contact information and exhibition details. (2) A written exhibition proposal outlining the concept and intent of the proposed or current body of work. (3) One artist statement per proposal; group proposals submit a single collective statement, not individual statements. (4) An up-to-date CV for the exhibiting artist, or a CV for each participating artist in a group proposal. (5) Up to 10 visual files of work completed within the last two years. An artwork and a detail of the same artwork count as two images; images must be JPG only, 300 dpi, no larger than 2MB each, RGB, maximum 1240 pixels on the longest side. Each video counts as one file, total video time per proposal must not exceed 15 minutes, and videos must be AVI, MOV or MP4 and no larger than 500MB each. Precede each file name with a zero-padded number and the title, for example 01Artwork title. (6) A corresponding numbered visual file list with title, year, medium and dimensions (H x W x D), specifying inches or centimetres. FILES MUST BE SENT VIA WETRANSFER to boutique@artottawa.ca; proposals submitted by post, hand delivery or email will not be accepted. Deadline 4:30 pm ET, Friday 4 September 2026.
Artists, architects, designers, fabricators, and multidisciplinary creatives are invited to submit proposals for a series of site-specific installations at Yonge + St. Clair as part of DesignTO Festival 2027. For more than seven years the Yonge + St. Clair BIA has partnered with DesignTO to transform publicly accessible spaces throughout the neighbourhood into an exhibition of art, design, and placemaking. For the 2027 Festival, SEVEN installation opportunities are available across lobbies, galleries, and window spaces: 2 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 2 St. Clair Ave E (Lower Level Window), 30 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 40 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 55 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 95 St. Clair Ave W (Gallery), and 1521 Yonge St (Window). One installation will be commissioned per location. THEME: 'Intersections' - proposals may explore convergence, transformation, movement, identity, exchange, and the evolving relationship between people and place. Artists may submit proposals for multiple locations, but each proposal must be tailored to its site and submitted separately; only one proposal per artist or team may be selected. WHO SHOULD APPLY: emerging and established artists, designers, architects, fabricators, and multidisciplinary creative practitioners working in any medium; preference given to artists based in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. BUDGET: selected projects receive $5,000 to $7,500 CAD inclusive of artist fees, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, and de-installation. Artists are responsible for the fabrication, transportation, installation, and de-installation of their work. KEY DATES: submission deadline 13 September 2026 at 5:00pm ET; selected artists notified late September 2026; final project information due October 2026; installation period 14 to 21 January 2027; DesignTO Festival exhibition 22 to 31 January 2027; de-installation 1 to 2 February 2027. HOW TO APPLY: submit a single PDF (artist information and biography, project description and executive summary, visual materials, detailed line-item budget, and current resume) via email or Dropbox link to info@yongestclair.ca with the subject line 'DesignTO Festival 2027 - Installation Name - Artist Name'. Free to apply.
image+nation, Canada's oldest LGBTQ+ film festival, accepts international submissions for its 39th edition in Montreal. Deadline 15 September 2026 via FilmFreeway.
Funds activities that build connections between artists and diverse audiences and contribute to public appreciation and enjoyment of the arts in Canada. This is the closest Canada Council fit for running a public programme, a single festival edition, a talks series or audience-facing exhibition programming, as distinct from creating the artwork itself. It is open to arts festivals, presenters and event organisers under the Presenting organization profile, alongside Artistic organizations, Artistic groups and Arts supporting groups, and the profile explicitly includes visual arts festivals, biennials, triennials and quinquennials. Digital arts and new media, media arts, inter-arts, and music and sound art are named among funded practices, so experimental sound art and creative technology programming qualify. IMPORTANT: unlike the Circulation and Touring component, international organisations are NOT eligible for Public Outreach. The Council will not fund projects whose primary focus is educational, therapeutic, recreational or social service delivery, nor fundraising activities or prize and award ceremonies. Deadlines fall twice a year. The related Composite Activities component offers up to 3 years of support for bundled multi-project programmes and may suit a recurring festival arc better.