CALLS FOR WORK
We regularly hear from individual artists and non-profit organizations inquiring about calls for work and other artistic opportunities. This is a collection of those opportunities and their deadlines. NOTE: If you have specific questions regarding calls for work outside of Arts Services Inc., please directly contact the organization requesting the artistic work. If you have an art submission deadline, please submit your information to [email protected] and we would be glad to add it to our listing.
Additional resources:
Join our impactful, juried online art exhibitions, where emerging and established artists from all corners of the world are welcome to share their work. Art Fluent’s Call for Art is here!
Imagine your artwork reaching a global audience! Each exhibition features a unique theme, offers cash prizes, and provides artists a permanent spot in our online art gallery.
Our journey, which began in 2020, marks the inception of our commitment to empower the arts. We allocate a portion of our entry fees to support the arts and artists through donations to dedicated nonprofit organizations.
We can’t wait to see your artwork!
Deadlines: Rolling (Multiple, themed opportunities available simultaneously)
Interested in helping your fellow creatives? Volunteer to lead a workshop, panel, or talk for the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library’s Indie Author Day 2026!
Indie Author Day is part of a nationwide celebration connecting independent writers with their local libraries and writing communities. This year, Indie Author Day will be Saturday, November 14, 2026 at the Downtown Central Library (1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203).
We’re currently seeking programming submissions from local and/or indie professionals with experience in successful publishing who are interested in sharing their knowledge and expertise with fellow creatives, including:
- Authors
- Editors
- Literary agents
- Publishers
- Booksellers
- Writing coaches
- Book designers
- Book illustrators
- Local bookstore representatives
- Literary influencers, advertisers, and marketers
- …and more!
Deadline: August 15, 2026
The Buffalo Arts Studio team is in the process of hiring a new curator. We will be pausing submission review during this transition period. We expect this pause to continue through April 2026 as our 2026 exhibition calendar is set.
Buffalo Arts Studio is accepting applications for the 2027 exhibition cycle that reflects the belief that artists and curators can effect change through collaborations that balance community needs with artistic insight. All programs will take place in and around Buffalo’s East Side and all are curated with the intent to support contemporary art and artists, spur dialogue between varied audiences, and promote social, economic, and representational justice. Buffalo Arts Studio engages the diverse WNY community and works to effect change across the spectrums of gender, race, class, and physical and developmental disabilities by partnering with grassroots organizations whose work encompasses economic, social, and ecological justice efforts.
In support of Buffalo Arts Studio’s curatorial goal of economic and representational justice, we are providing a $1,300 honorarium to solo exhibiting artists for the 2026 exhibition calendar with $500-$1,500 in material and installation support is available as well. Additionally, shipping and travel costs, including food and lodging per diem, may be included in project proposals made by artists living and working outside of the WNY region. This is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation and the John R. Oishei Foundation, among many other sponsors. Buffalo Arts Studio is committed to supporting emerging and established artists while nurturing future leaders of the arts community. Direct submissions of artwork are integral to our curatorial process and local, regional, and national submissions are encouraged.
For the 2027 season, Buffalo Arts Studio is developing programming that considers the following questions:
- How might artists, curators, and cultural critics hold social, political and cultural institutions accountable for systemic oppression and disregard for environmental health?
- How might curators, artists, and collecting institutions present art that acts as a counter-narrative to the questionable claims of “progress” surrounding notions of development and expansion?
- How might artists, curators, and grassroots community activists frame these conversations in new and diverse ways?
Deadline: Rolling
Buffalo Art Wall provides a free online display platform for contemporary artists in Buffalo, NY. Artists galleries are generated upon submission. When site visitors roll a cursor over your art, your name appears below; with one click, they enter your personal gallery. Viewers can contact you or your gallery for purchase. Site is designed for display only; no sales.
Deadline: Rolling
Buffalo Latino Village is looking to establish a Latino art gallery and is in search of exhibition material. Images contributed or donated will be:
- Displayed on their online website with headshot and bio
- Listed with places where the work is currently exhibited
- Linked to where people can purchase your work
- Published (one time per year)
Deadline: Rolling
El Museo is pleased to announce a 2026 Fall Group Show that seeks your artwork submissions! We are looking for works of any medium, that reflect at least one of the following themes: The Soul/The Self, Divination & Divination Practices or Rituals, Queerness/Otherness, Alter Egos/Self Portraiture, Altars, Mysticism, & The Occult.
You may submit up to 3 works for consideration. The size limit for submissions is 48″ x 48″, and our submission deadline is September 25th. The exhibit will open on November 6th. We are looking forward to viewing your work!
Deadline: September 25, 2026
The Ellicottville Memorial Library is seeking artists to exhibit their work in our lobby gallery space. Solo and group exhibitions are both welcome.
The gallery is located in the lobby between the Library and our Community Room. Available display areas include two main walls (each approximately 7 feet wide) and a smaller entryway wall (about 3 feet wide). A professional hanging system is in place and supports wired or wide sawtooth hangers.
Please note: we are only able to accommodate wall-hangable artwork at this time.
Exhibition slots are available immediately and run for a duration of three months.
Deadline: Rolling
For more information, please email Barbara Fox at [email protected]. If you’re ready to apply, you’re welcome to submit work sample images for consideration.
The Gallery @ 700 Main Street in East Aurora Curator is looking for artists to exhibit in 2024. Paulette Krakowski will be happy to view your high resolution JPEG’s by emailing them to [email protected] for consideration. She will answer any questions you may have about your 7 week exhibit, whether a solo exhibit, an exhibit of two or three artists, or a group exhibition.
Deadline: Rolling
Hiding in Plain Site invites filmmakers, artists, and creative practitioners to submit short works between two and 20 minutes for consideration in this screening program, which will premiere on October 25 in Minneapolis. HPS seeks to bring together film, video art, experimental media, XR (extended reality), and other works that expand how public art is experienced and represented.
Deadline: September 10, 2026
LamnthLab 2026 is our third annual open call for composers of any age or nationality. Two selected composers will receive a commissioning fee of $1,000 to write a new work for violin and cimbalom. The only materials required for the application are scores and recordings of two existing compositions from your portfolio (the submitted works DO NOT need to include violin or cimbalom). In addition to the commission fee, winners will receive an introductory workshop on composing for cimbalom and an audio/visual documentation of the premiere performance.
Deadline: August 15, 2026
OVERVIEW
- Locust Street Art (LSA) is looking for student or hobby animators to work as part of a small team on a 3-5 minute animated safety video. This will be a great resume building activity and chance to get real life animation experience while also earning a small stipend. The animation will be made in meetings starting Late August/mid September and running through early Spring of 2027.
- This project is intended to offer real life job experience for aspiring animators; we expect the main team will be comprised of adults, however the application is open to individuals ages 16+.
- Meetings are tentatively scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays 5:00 – 8:00.
COMPENSATION
- A small stipend will be offered based on experience and commitment level
Deadline: UNKNOWN!
Prospect Art invites visual artists worldwide to apply for the 2027 NEW WORK commission, a $1,500 project grant supporting the creation of a new conceptually driven work responding to the curatorial theme We Come in Pieces, developed by 2026 to 2027 Curatorial Fellow Alma Sammel. Through a single application, artists will also be considered for ONE WORK, our online series featuring in depth conversations centered on a single completed artwork, and BROADCAST, a curated program of screenings, artist talks, and discussions.
Deadline: August 16, 2026
Submit your work for consideration to the newest gallery space at Main Street Arts! The Stairwell Gallery will feature small solo exhibitions by artists from our region. Please note, this opportunity is available for artists ages 18+ residing in New York State, with a focus on the regions of central NY, western NY, and Finger Lakes regions. There is no fee to submit your work. Artwork should be 12 inches or less with framing no larger than 16 inches.
Deadline: Rolling
Submit your 3-dimensional work for consideration to the newest gallery space at Main Street Arts!
We are hoping to launch this dedicated gallery exhibition space in early summer of 2025.
The Window Front Gallery will be a smaller space but includes street frontage and large glass windows. It has 2 spaces, one to the left and right, of our main entry doors. This space has AMAZING VISIBILITY onto the sidewalk and streetscape-with the opportunity for an artist to show 3d work on pedestals, the wall, the ceiling, or a combination thereof. Traditional 2-D work only (such as framed printmaking or framed photography) is not accepted.
The focus here is strictly 3-D; So if you are a printmaker-submit accordion books as well as perhaps wall pieces. If you are a mixed media artist-submit large hanging mobiles. If you are a sculptor-submit work for the floor or for pedestals. This space is dimensional and tall and has equal amounts of wall and floor space able to be used.
Deadline: Rolling
At the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Annual Meeting, USCM and the National Endowment for the Arts unveiled a collection of new artwork from the Freedom 250 City Art Poster Project. The posters tell the story of the nation’s 250th anniversary through the eyes, voices, and lived experiences of local artists, who responded to a nationwide invitation to mayors and communities.
Deadline: November 6, 2026
The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center (NACC) seeks compelling artists, projects, exhibits, and performances across a range of disciplines and styles for its 2026 calendar year and beyond. As an incubator/maker space in Niagara County, we aim to support arts and cultural projects for any and all types of audiences. Ideas that creatively utilize our home in the old Niagara Falls High School – big, small, traditional, obscure, media, theatre, music, and the practices that defy disciplines – are encouraged and appreciated.
We seek dynamic ideas for all of our venues:
- Townsend Gallery: One of the largest, uninterrupted gallery spaces in Western New York. Open3,200 square foot (78 x 41 feet) gallery; brightly lit space that is handicap accessible.
- Woodbox Theatre: Stage space (in 72-seat proscenium setting): 25 ft wide x 26 ft deep; 8 rows of 9 seats. Total room dimensions: 25 feet wide by 57 feet deep.
- Grand Theatre: Proscenium theatre with 500 seats on the main floor and an additional 400+ in the balcony. 44 foot proscenium arch; 32 feet from the drip line to the back wall; 9 foot apron.
- The Gym: 3,840 feet of uninterrupted space (80 x 48 feet) with 26 foot ceilings.
- The Pool: 2,560 total square feet in the pool area (80 x 32 feet) with 14 foot ceilings (additional 200 seat bleacher seating area). 60 foot long pool; depth of pool: 4 feet to 7 feet.
- Hallways throughout: The NACC features wide, 10-14 foot hallways and 12 foot ceilings.
Deadline: Rolling throughout 2026, click below for details.
Queer Urban Orchestra is pleased to announce its 2027 Vanguard Composers Competition! This program is open to composers of any age who identify as LGBTQ+, from anywhere in the world. The winning work will be performed by Queer Urban Orchestra in June of 2027, and the composer will receive a $1,000 cash award, plus a small travel stipend to attend the performance (if available). Two runners-up will be selected for a reading in January of 2027. All composers who enter the competition are invited to participate in two virtual sessions with QUO’s artistic leadership and guests.
Founded in 2009, Queer Urban Orchestra is the only orchestra specifically aligned with the LGBTQ+ community in the Northeast United States. This New York City-based community orchestra of over 100 volunteer musicians is dedicated to uplifting queer artistry.
Deadline: September 7, 2026
Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) invites artists to propose three images for a temporary public art installation at our main facility. Through this call for art we aim to offer a simple submission process for incisive, surprising, and unique imagery that will enliven the East Avenue neighborhood. Of particular interest are projects that connect visitors to the location, community and/or history of the neighborhood, challenge visitors and passersby, and address important social and political issues. RoCo welcomes visual artists of all genres. RoCo also invites visual artists to collaborate with literary artists as we have previously shown in this location.
The selected series of three images will be exhibited to the public 24/7 for 4-6 months. The duration will be determined with RoCo staff based on the seasons and concept of the project. The images will be printed on a weather-safe material at about 9′ h x 6′ w. Selected projects will require the following resolution: 12,000 px (h) x 8,000 px (w). The artist will receive a $400 stipend & use fee for exhibiting preexisting images. If an artist is interested in creating new works for this submission, please contact us. All production and installation costs are covered by RoCo.
*This call is open twice per year.
Eligibility: This program is open to artists in the Greater Rochester area, New York artists, and national artists. Artists who have exhibited in other exhibitions at RoCo are eligible to apply.
Timeline
- Deadlines: March 15th & September 15th, annually
- Artist will be selected by October 15 and April 15
- Artwork to be installed prior to December First Friday and June First Friday
As part of the larger exhibition “Sanctuary: Borders and Belonging in 2026” we invite immigrants of all ages, backgrounds, and geographies to submit one visual artwork that expresses or documents your personal experience with immigration. We aim for this exhibition to include as many artistic voices of creative people who are currently living and working in the Rochester area (living and/or working in Monroe, Orleans, Niagara, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario and Wayne Counties). Artwork may be any artistic medium or craft. We encourage personal testimony, memory, anger, critique, repair, celebration, and imagination.
Working from personal narrative and lived experience possible prompts include:
- Stories of arrival, hope, aspirations, belonging, loss, escape, or resilience
- Encounters with systems that criminalize and exclude; or welcome and support immigrants
- Family histories, cultural inheritance, and everyday rituals
- Responses to border politics, detention, or racialized policing
Deadline: September 1, 2026
OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY, invites artists to submit work for our sixth annual juried exhibition of Art That Matters to the Planet. Art That Matters to the Planet explores the ways in which art and artists matter – by drawing us into a deeper relationship with nature, opening hearts and minds to the critical challenges of our time and inspiring us to the solutions we need to address those challenges.
Each year, this exhibition draws inspiration from the work of Roger Tory Peterson. Our 2027 theme, inspired by A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, is titled Art That Matters to the Planet: Dark Skies. This exhibition will explore the night skies and what they mean to us. Artists are invited to turn their attention upwards, and explore who uses the night skies—birds that navigate in the darkness, animals that awaken when dusk settles, the effects of space pollution (orbital debris or “space junk”)—and what lies beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
TIMELINE
- August 1, 2026 – Call for entries opens
- November 7, 2026 – Submission deadline
- November 8 – December 5, 2026 – Exhibition jurying
- December 11, 2026 – Selected artists notified
- January 1, 2027 – Deadline for receipt of loan agreement
- January 15, 2027 – Deadline for art to arrive at RTPI
- January 29, 2027 – Exhibition opening reception, winners announced
- January 30, 2027 – Exhibition open to the public
- May 30, 2027 – Exhibition closes
OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY
An annual holiday tradition in East Aurora, the Roycroft Winter Festival features Roycroft Artisans and Masters. These Artisans have been accepted by the Roycrofters At Large Association’s Master Artisans based on their high standards of work through a Juried process. Artisans proudly display the registered double R mark representing the quality of their work. The 2026 Roycroft Winter Festival will be hosted at The Hampton Inn of East Aurora from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 6. The Hampton Inn, located at 49 Olean Street, is conveniently walkable to the shops and fine dining of East Aurora’s village center and provides ample and comfortable parking.
This festival is size-limited and first priority is given to Roycroft Masters and Roycroft Artisans and previous exhibitors first, with additional exhibitors invited as space allows. The festival draws from wait list in the event of cancellations or unforeseen circumstances, so all artists who wish to be considered are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: September 3, 2026
OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY
Artists are invited to display at St. Martha Campus on September 19th, 1pm – 7pm, with an $20 fee for an 8-foot table, chairs, and refreshments. They must bring tablecloths, label all art, and set up by noon. No crafts allowed; clean-up by 8 PM. Registration is through Pat Reinbold.
Event Date: September 19, 2026
Walmart Community Mural Program is a celebration of communities across America and an important part of a new or newly transformed facility. Inspired by the community and together with every store manager, each mural reflects the local diversity and cultural references. Every mural is a unique, original artwork. Walmart works with NOW Art, a public art agency, to curate and engage artists across the country. Pay is $800 for selected artists.
Deadline: Rolling
EXHIBITION SUMMARY
The purpose of this exhibition is to offer artists from the Western New York area the opportunity to exhibit and sell work they consider to be their finest effort. It is also our intention that this exhibition exemplifies the excellence in visual art found in Western New York to the general public. There is no theme for this exhibition.
Opening Reception, Saturday, August 29, 2026, Noon to 1:30pm
Deadline: August 22, 2026 at 1pm
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Help keep our opportunities free! We ask that you consider donating $25, $50, $100, or whatever you can do to sustain this important resource for WNY creatives.