Michalina Janoszanka, “Motyl (Butterfly)” (ca. 1920s). Image courtesy of Public Domain Review June 2025 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists May 30, 2025 Opportunities Colossal Every month, we share opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. Make sure you never miss out by joining our monthly Opportunities Newsletter. Innovate Grant awards two $1,800 grants each quarter to one visual artist and one photographer. In addition, twelve applicants will receive honorable mentions, be featured on the website, and join a growing community. International artists and photographers working in any medium are eligible.Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on June 26, 2025.Open Calls Artadia Awards (San Francisco Bay area) Artists receive unrestricted funds of $15,000, and honoraria will also be provided to finalists.Deadline: June 1, 2025.Artists are welcome to submit proposals for temporary, site-specific public art projects to be showcased throughout Nashville during the Artville festival weekend, September 26 to 28, 2025. Selected artists will be invited to accept a grant to bring their creative visions to life, plus the chance for a cash prize. Total cash prizes equal $10,000.Deadline: June 4, 2025.Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition (International)Deadline: June 8, 2025. The Vilcek Foundation will award six $50,000 prizes to young immigrants working in fashion curation, material innovation, makeup, hair, writing, curation, styling, design, and photography. Read more on Colossal.Deadline: June 9, 2025.Art Renewal Center Salon Competition (International)Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on June 12, 2025. Weather Photographer of the Year (International) Hosted by the Royal Meteorological Society, this competition showcases the world’s most striking weather and climate photographs and raises awareness about the environmental issues putting our planet at risk. Open to photographers of all ages and abilities, the contest offers a £5,000 cash prize.Deadline: June 19, 2025.AAP Magazine #49 B&W Photography Open Call (International) The contest is open to any interpretation of black-and-white photography. Winners will receive $1,000 and their winning image(s) or full portfolio published in AAP Magazine, vol. 49, There is a $35 entry fee for the first three images, plus $5 for each additional image.Deadline: June 24, 2025.Midwest Open (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) The Midwest Open is Woman Made Gallery’s annual exhibition highlighting women and nonbinary artists living in the Midwest. All media and subject matter are eligible, and cash prizes range from $100 to $300. There is a $35 submission fee.Deadline: June 28, 2025.Makers, artists, and crafters are eligible to submit works that demonstrate technical mastery and a connection to cultural tradition through a singular, one-of-a-kind handcrafted piece. The winner will receive $25,000, and four finalists will also receive grant funding.Deadline: June 30, 2025.16th Epson International Pano Awards (International) This panoramic photography contest is open for entries and offering more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. There is an $18 entry fee.Deadline: July 21, 2025.Grants Art Fluent Evolution Grant (International) Art Fluent awards a $1,000 grant to one visual artist each cycle. The unrestricted funds may be applied toward any expense to enhance the artist’s ability to create work. There is a $35 entry fee.Deadline: June 6, 2025.Get Ready Grants provide craft artists with up to $1,000 for activities to safeguard their studios, protect their practices, and prepare for emergencies. Priority is given to applicants who have been underrepresented in the craft community, including BIPOC and folk/traditional artists.Deadline: June 10, 2025.Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants (Australia) Two funding rounds annually are open to individual artists working across disciplines who can apply for grants of up to AUD $15,000. This round funds travel or projects that commence after September 19, 2025.Deadline: June 17, 2025.Grants for Artists’ Progress (Washington State) This program offers 65 unrestricted grants of $1,500 for artists working in all disciplines across Washington State.Deadline: June 23, 2025.This $10,000 grant is designed to highlight an existing body of work by a Black trans woman visual artist. Four finalists will also receive $1,250.Deadline: July 2, 2025.Liu Shiming Art Foundation’s Artist Grants (International) Each year, the Liu Shiming Art Foundation selects up to five artists to receive a $5,000 grant. Visual artists working for at least two years (but not more than 10) are invited to apply for a grant in support of a current or new project.Deadline: August 21, 2025.Vital Impacts offers one $20,000 grant to an established environmental photographer, along with six $5,000 grants to emerging photographers from around the world. These funds are specifically earmarked for the development of documentary projects focusing on environmental stories.Deadline: September 15, 2025.The Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant (International) This program provides one-time financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs resulted from an unforeseen catastrophic incident and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Awardees typically receive $5,000, up to $15,000.Deadline: Rolling.This fund commissions visual artists to create company projects on a rolling basis. Awardees will receive between $500 and $5,000.Deadline: Rolling.Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (International) The foundation welcomes applications from painters, sculptors, and artists working on paper, including printmakers. Grants are intended for one year and range up to $50,000. The artist’s circumstances determine the size of the grant, and professional exhibition history will be considered.Deadline: Rolling.Residencies, Fellowships, & More The Farm Margaret River Residency (International) This five- to eight-week residency is geared toward site-responsive projects and engagement with the land. Residents receive a $7,500 stipend, studio space, accommodations, and travel assistance.Deadline: 5 p.m. AWST on June 2, 2025.Wassaic Project 2026 Residency Program (International) Wassaic Project is accepting proposals for the 2026 summer and winter residencies. Artists receive a semi-private studio space; private room in a shared house (the Family program receives a private house); access to a wood shop, print shop, and kiln; staff support; and programming such as our visiting artist program, artist talks, studio visits, open studios, artist presentations, etc. The residency fee is $900, and fellowships are available. There is a $25 entry fee.Deadline: June 2, 2025.Headlands Center for the Art Artist-in-Residence (International) Residencies of four to ten weeks include studio space, chef-prepared meals, housing, travel, and living expenses. Artists selected for this program are at all career stages and work in all media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, new media, installation, fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, dance, music, interdisciplinary, social practice, arts professions, and architecture. There is a $45 application fee.Deadline: June 2, 2025.Banff Centre Artist in Residence – Winter 2026 (International) Individual and duo visual artists at any stage of their career are eligible for this residency, which offers focus in a supportive learning environment. During five weeks, participants are encouraged to self-direct their research and time and cultivate new directions. Studio space is provided.Deadline: June 11, 2025.Prairie Ronde Artist Residency (International) These five- to six-week residencies offer a $2,000 stipend, $500 travel grant, and housing to artists interested in interacting with the former Lee Paper Company mill in Vicksburg, Michigan. There is a $25 application fee.Deadline: June 15, 2025.Stove Works Residency (International) This program invites eight residents for one to three months. Six studios are designed for artists who require significant space in their practice, while the other two are for writers, curators, and academics. There is a $30 application fee. Deadline: June 15, 2025.Women’s Studio Workshop (International) WSW is accepting applications for two programs: A studio residency open to artists working in intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, darkroom photography, or ceramics; and an education residency for artists interested in working with local students. Both tracks offer studio space and housing.Deadline: June 15, 2025.Artists, ecological scientists, and scholars wanting to explore connections to nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building are invited to apply for this program. Studio space, accommodations, a $200 per week stipend, and more are provided.Deadline: 5 p.m. PST on June 20, 2025.Peters Valley School of Craft Residency (International) This program is open to artists working in blacksmithing, ceramics, fibers, jewelry and fine metals, wood, and printmaking. Residents spend two weeks or one month in fully equipped studios, receive a $500 or $1,000 stipend, and are offered housing. There is a $10 application fee.Deadline: July 1, 2025.Penland School of Craft (International)Deadline: July 2, 2025. The Kyoto Retreat (International) Artists, curators, and writers are eligible for this four-week retreat in Kyoto for research, exploration, and inspiration. Chosen applicants receive a round-trip flight, a private bedroom, and $800 to supplement meals and local transportation.Deadline: July 15, 2025.If you’d like to list an opportunity, please contact [email protected]. Next article

It’s been almost one year since Philadelphia’s University of the Arts (UArts) announced its abrupt closure, leaving students, faculty, and alumni bewildered, and outraged. There were a total nine buildings that went up for auction as part of the closure. Scout—a women-owned, Philadelphia-based development and design company—successfully acquired two of them: Dorrance Hamilton Hall, built in 1826 on Broad Street; and Furness Residence Hall, a Victorian masterpiece named after its architect, Frank Furness. Scout announced today public programming that will soon take place at the former UArts buildings it acquired, the first step in its adaptive reuse proposal for the 19th-century buildings. The longterm vision entails maintaining the Hamilton and Furness buildings as hubs for artistic activity in Philadelphia’s Center City. DIGSAU and AOS are helping Scout create a vision plan for the buildings, and ISA Architects is behind a temporary installation that will debut in June. Scout is likewise organizing a “Celebration of Life” to commemorate the Philadelphia mainstay founded in 1876, shuttered in 2024. Scout is partnering with local architects to activate former UArts interior and exterior spaces with public programming. (Mike Persico) “It didn’t feel right to start jumping into the next chapter without acknowledging the past, and allowing space for closure,” Scout founder and managing partner Lindsey Scannapieco told AN. This idea for a Celebration of Life, she noted, will “provide closure, and also cleanse the ground a bit before moving into its next iteration.” Grief and Memory Work At Hamilton Hall, the Celebration of Life for UArts will take place from June 4–8. There, former UArts students, faculty, and alumni will be welcomed back into the campus for performances and programming. Scout has also invited a death doula to guide visitors through “grief and memory work,” Scannapieco said. “Everyone was obviously devastated about the closure. There was a lot of pain and grief. It was very sudden, and very opaque. There were horror stories about enrolled students, professors with tenure. So many people were impacted by it,” Scannapieco added. “The question became, what happens to this real estate in the center of our city? And what does it mean to have this gap in creative, cultural, and student energy downtown?” “No institutions put in bids for the buildings, but people were still very interested in keeping these buildings art-centric,” Scannapieco continued. “We had an incredible outpouring of public support which inspired us to work our butts off to compete in the auction. It was a miracle, to be honest, that we were able to pull it off.” The buildings were left untouched after the bankruptcy auction, notice the flyers still on the walls. (Mike Persico) The Celebration of Life will be followed by more programming in mid-June at the Furness building with Frankie’s Summer Club, a seasonal outdoor hospitality space chock full of wine, ice cream, and more in partnership with local chef Michael Ferreri. ISA Architects is behind the setting inspired by an unbuilt design from Louis Kahn circa 1975 for the nearby Kimmel Center site. Bonafide Community Builders Scout has built a reputation for converting historic Philadelphia buildings into usable, modern spaces like the Bok Building, a former technical high school that now hosts workspaces for makers, businesses, nonprofits, and artists. The Bok has over 250,000 visitors a year and is “home to over 225 small businesses, artists, and makers,” Scannapieco said. “Everything from jewelry designers to architecture studios, interior designers, ceramic workers, glass blowers, a daycare, doggy daycare. A fourth of the building is nonprofits,” she noted, “like Black Star Film Festival, the Garces Foundation, and Girls Inc. There’s also Diadora, an Italian sneaker company, and Bowery Presents, a concert promoter.” Scout’s vision for the Hamilton and Furness buildings is similar to the Bok, although the former UArts structures are much more centrally located, and smaller. Scout will lease out spaces to a comparable group of artists, architects, designers, and nonprofits. Equipment is leftover from UArts, like the ceramics studio pictured above. (Mike Persico) A leftover metal foundry, ceramic workshops, and wood shops are still in situ at the Hamilton and Furness buildings, among other handy ephemera like kilns, so artists can pick up where they left off. There are also 45 dormitory units in the Furness building that Scout hopes to convert into artist housing, and residencies. “Something we’ve heard about over the years from the creative community is the lack of affordable housing access, specifically for artists,” Scannapieco said. “So we’ll be working over time to bring those online as affordable artist housing, and for artist-in-residency programs with nearby institutional partners. Visiting artists can come live and work alongside Philadelphia working artists. Just thinking about the energy exchange that can happen from that is something we’re really excited about.” A more detailed version of the vision plan will be announced in the coming months, Scout said. The first tenants are slated to move in this fall, and the project will be rolled out in phases. Public programming information for the upcoming Celebration of Life is listed on Scout’s website. There will also be opportunities for community driven performances via this sign-up link.

The ninth edition of the Teaching with Digital Technology Awards, a student-elected program presented annually to faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology includes MIT Media Lab instructor Zachary Lieberman (Media Arts and Sciences).  He was joined this year by his colleagues Eran Egozy (Music and Theatre Arts), Christopher Noe (Management), Anthony Pennes (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science / Mechanical Engineering), Scott Sheffield (Mathematics), Shen Shen (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science), and Eric So (Management). Lieberman, the New York-based artist with past residencies at Eyebeam and the Barcelona Hangar Center, was honored for his deft integrations of digital technology into the classroom, joining other past recipients like Ben Fry and Alex Kilian. Outside of academia, clients such as the hit indie band OK GO are among his many arts and entertainment sector clients. Extruded blob digital artwork made using openFrameworks. Image courtesy Z...

The Star Wars franchise has always been about rising up against fascism. We’re supposed to root for the Rebel Alliance to destroy the Death Star in A New Hope and for the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. The prequels show us how easily fascism can infiltrate a government and take over from the inside. And now Andor shows us the power of rising up and fighting for freedom on a more grounded level.  Andor isn’t a happy story, nor is there going to be a happy ending for Cassian – his fate has already been written in Rogue One. But without the people in this series willing to fight for a sunrise they’ll never see, the events of A New Hope and the Rebels’ ultimate victory may have never come to pass.  Andor reminds us how powerful we can be when we work together toward a common goal. There’s power in community and fighting for what you believe in. If this show lights a fire within you to make your world a better place, here are some other shows about rebellion and resistance that encourage us to leave this world better than we found it. The Handmaid’s Tale The Handmaid’s Tale may be a fictional dystopia, but as a show that began and is now ending during Trump presidencies, it is also a terrifying look at what can happen if a Christofascist regime is allowed to fully take control of the United States. As bleak as this series can get at times, it’s also about how June (Elisabeth Moss) and other women in this world do what they can to support each other and resist their oppressors. It’s never a good thing to underestimate women, but underestimating an angry woman with nothing left to lose might as well be like digging your own grave. The Owl House The Owl House may technically be considered a children’s show, but I say you’re never too young to learn how to fight for the rights of others. On the surface, The Owl House looks like another fun take on the fantasy genre, with protagonist Luz, a human, finding her way to the mystical Demon Realm full of witches, wizards, monsters, and more. But as the series goes on, Luz discovers that she’s not the only human that’s made their way to this realm. It turns out that The Boiling Isles’ emperor is really a Witch Hunter who came through a portal centuries before. He has been playing the long game, slowly subjugating witches and controlling how they use their magic over time, all as a ploy to eventually gain even more power for himself and wipe out all other uses of magic entirely. The Expanse The Expanse is another grounded look at what a space rebellion can look like, and this one is set a lot closer to home. In this world, humanity has expanded its reach beyond Earth to Mars and the Asteroid Belt, colonizing much of the solar system and taking capitalism into the stars. With this increase in opportunity for enterprise also, of course, comes an increase in opportunity for oppression. Despite the wealth of resources in the Belt, the people who actually live there are among the poorest in the solar system. When a mysterious new substance is discovered, Belters race to be the ones to claim it so that Earth and Mars will finally take them seriously as their own sovereign power, setting off a chain of events that changes humanity forever. Station Eleven Station Eleven may not seem like an obvious choice for this list. It’s not so much a show about rebellion as it is about survival. But there’s still a lot to learn from this beautiful post-apocalyptic drama. In Station Eleven, a deadly virus has wiped out so much of the population that society as we know it has collapsed. And yet, there’s a group of people known as the Traveling Symphony who have taken it upon themselves to keep art and drama alive through their performances of Shakespeare plays. For 20 years they have crafted costumes, composed scores, and poured their hearts and souls into their performances just so they can bring these pieces of the old world back to life for the settlements around Lake Michigan. The Traveling Symphony is proof that art has the power to bring us together, even in the most tragic times. The Symphony’s motto is “survival is insufficient,” meaning that simply surviving in this world isn’t enough, we need the arts and community to truly thrive. The Good Place Throughout its four seasons, The Good Place has shown us how hard it is to be a good person in this world. Our afterlife may or may not have the points-based system depicted in the show, but that doesn’t mean that all of our choices and actions don’t still have unintended consequences. It may feel impossible to truly do good in this world when the odds are stacked against us, but The Good Place also reminds us that small acts of good can go a long way. We may not see any outright rebellions in The Good Place, but what we do see is a group of people fed up with an unfair system doing what they can to change it from the inside. They all learn a lot about each other and the world they live in, and instead of just accepting their fate, they risk their own afterlife to try and make the process fair for everyone. Along the way, they learn that most people, if given the opportunity, will eventually want to help others and do good. Arcane Set in both the opulent city of Piltover and its run-down undercity of Zaun, Arcane shows what happens when both try to grow in power unchecked. Piltover has a long history of subjugating the people of Zaun, forcing them through mandatory checkpoints just to visit the city while at the same time dumping their waste on them and making the community ill. Zaun has tried their best to keep the peace, most resorting to violence only when necessary to survive, but escalating tensions between more radical parties on both sides nearly launches the two cities into war. Arcane is a heartbreaking story about two sisters trying to make the most of the cards they were dealt. They both end up on different sides of this fight, for a time, making it hard to choose which side to root for. Arcane is all about what can happen to people who spend generations oppressed by a wealthier party and the cycle of violence that often ensues. Silo While Silo is inherently much more grounded than Andor, quite literally, they both have a similar retro-futuristic style that makes it easy to get sucked into their worlds. Silo is set on Earth in the future after a cataclysmic event has made the surface uninhabitable and deadly. Humanity has been sent underground, living out generation after generation in a massive silo. However, the silo that we’re first introduced to has essentially outlawed artifacts from the outside world and punishes those who dig too deeply into the silo’s origins. The people of the silo believe that a rebellion from long ago destroyed the majority of the silo’s history up until that point, leaving them to rebuild as a society and forge their own path forward. However, as a conspiracy rooted in the mysterious IT department becomes uncovered, as does information about the silo’s past, more and more people start to wonder how much of their history is a lie meant to keep them complacent. Rebellion starts to brew once again with the silo’s future, and the future of humanity, hanging in the balance. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

What happens when globally renowned artists trade studios for the clatter of machines, industrial dyes, and production lines? At the National Festival of Making in Blackburn, the result is a bold, joyful, and often surprising collision of creativity and craft. Now entering its ninth year, the festival's flagship commissioning programme, Art in Manufacturing, has announced three major new residencies for 2025. This year's headline artists are Matter at Hand, the new studio of Lewis Jones (co-founder of Turner Prize-winning Assemble), graphic artist and community powerhouse Morag Myerscough, and collage and sculpture specialist Liaqat Rasul. Each will embed themselves inside a leading UK manufacturer in Lancashire, creating ambitious site-specific works that celebrate the region's legacy of making while pushing the boundaries of material and form. Held annually in Blackburn town centre, the National Festival of Making draws tens of thousands each July for a free weekend of performances, exhibitions, talks, and installations. Its Art in Manufacturing strand has become a vital national model for artist-industry collaboration, pairing artists with factories to produce original work from heritage processes, specialist tools, and skilled workforces. Since its launch in 2016, over 30 artists have taken part across 20 manufacturers. Lewis Jones. Credit: Niamh Riordan "These commissions have always been about shining a light on the extraordinary creativity behind closed doors," says Elena Jackson, Co-Director and Curator of Art in Manufacturing. "It's an invitation for artists to experiment with materials and scale." This year, she adds, is no exception: "The artists are exploring clay, colour and collage - making new permanent work for Blackburn, turning industrial waste into finely crafted collage, and through an expanded two-year placement, developing in-depth research into sustainable making practices through new architectural and sculptural outcomes." Jones's project, through his new practice Matter at Hand, marks the start of an extended two-year residency inside Darwen Terracotta, one of the UK's leading manufacturers of architectural ceramics. Stationed on the factory floor, Jones is working on an interactive installation inside Blackburn Cathedral that reimagines clay as a sustainable material for the built environment. His installation will showcase new prototypes and sculptural experiments drawn from Darwen's heritage techniques, blending material innovation with architectural storytelling. Morag Myerscough. Credit: Marc Sethi For Morag Myerscough, the festival is a chance to inject her signature burst of positivity into Blackburn's urban fabric. Working with Crown Paints, she will create three new public-facing works, including a permanent mural, participatory workshops, and a garden-inspired installation that speaks to greening the high street. Her 'Colour Factory' takeover of Prism Contemporary promises to be one of the festival's most immersive and energetic moments. Meanwhile, Liaqat Rasul will bring his deeply personal, collage-based practice to Herbert Parkinson, part of the John Lewis Partnership. Through intimate workshops with John Lewis Partners, Rasul will explore themes of memory, identity and community. His final installation of sculptural mobiles will invite audiences to slow down and reflect, celebrating the human stories behind everyday manufacturing. Liaqat Arnold. Credit: Daniel Farmer Photography These three projects exemplify the festival's ethos: that art and making are not separate spheres but overlapping, collaborative forces. By embedding artists within factories, Art in Manufacturing collapses the distance between creative experimentation and real-world production and, in doing so, gives both artists and manufacturers a platform to innovate. A new publication, Radical Pairings, will launch at this year's festival. It documents the programme's history and legacy and features an essay by art critic Elizabeth Fullerton. The essay explores the unusual and inspiring nature of these residencies and the potential of creative partnerships to reframe both industry and art. Art in Manufacturing 2025 will debut at the National Festival of Making on 5–6 July, with installations continuing in venues across Blackburn thereafter. For those curious about what happens when artists roll up their sleeves and step into the engine rooms of British industry, it's not one to miss.