Looking for your next exhibition, residency, prize, or major art opportunity?
Here is a roundup of current and upcoming open calls for textile and fiber artists, along with a few broader contemporary art opportunities worth considering. The list includes exhibitions, biennials, residencies, prizes, and calls for proposals.
Deadlines are listed in chronological order. Always check the full guidelines before applying. Use our Quick Guide to quickly glance through available opportunities then scroll down for the details of the ones you’re interested in organized by deadlines.
Quick Guide
September 2026
Art Center East — Rooted in Fiber
📍 Vernon, CT, USA
🗓 Deadline: September 4, 2026
🧶 Fiber art in a wide range of media
Apply
Artwrkd — Unveiled: Hair and Body Adornments
🗓 Deadline: September 9, 2026
🧶 Fiber art, textile traditions, and wearable forms
Details
MacDowell Spring/Summer Residencies
📍 Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA
🗓 Deadline: September 10, 2026
💰 No residency fees. Need-based stipends and travel support available.
More Details & Apply here
Fiber Art Now — Excellence in Fibers XII
🗓 Deadline: September 11, 2026
🧶 International call for fiber and textile artists.
Details & Apply
ATHICA National Juried Exhibition
🗓 Deadline: September 14, 2026
💰 $500 in cash awards
Apply
Windsor Art Center
🗓 Deadline: September 16, 2026
📍 Windsor, CT, USA
🏛 Call for exhibition proposals
More Details & Apply
Foundwork Artist Prize 2026
🌎 Open internationally
🗓 Deadline: September 25, 2026, 5 PM PT
💰 $10,000 unrestricted grant
More Details & Apply
MIFA Miami — Exhibition Projects
🌎 Open nationally and internationally
🗓 Deadline: September 30, 2026
🏛 Open to artists, curators, collectives, and cultural organizations
Details & Apply
Continuum: Quilts x Fiber
🗓 Deadline: September 30, 2026
🧵 Online exhibition with possible exhibition at the International Quilt Museum in 2028.
More Details & Apply
Sewing is Revolutionary, Sewing is Community
📍 Chesapeake Arts Center
🗓 Deadline: September 27, 2026
🧵 Group exhibition focused on repurposed textiles, reuse, sustainability, and sewn work
📅 Exhibition: November 18, 2026–January 6, 2027
Details
October 2026
Textile Biennale 2027: Colonial Patterns
📍 Rijswijk, Netherlands
🗓 Deadline: October 1, 2026, 12 PM
🧶 Textiles and the continuing impact of colonialism
More Details & Apply (Submission form will be available September 1)
Mesa Arts Center — 48th Annual Contemporary Crafts
🗓 Deadline: October 25, 2026
🏛 National juried exhibition of all craft media
Details
November 2026
Woman Made Gallery — Unraveled
🗓 Deadline: November 7, 2026
👩 Open to women and nonbinary artists
🧶 Fiber and textiles, including traditional and experimental work
Details & Apply
Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery — 2027–2028 Exhibition Proposals
🗓 Deadline: November 7, 2026
🏛 Solo or group exhibition proposals
💰 Shipping and artist talk support available
More details & Apply here
Blue Line Arts — Biennial Crocker Kingsley
🗓 Deadline: November 16, 2026
📍Roseville, California
Details and Apply
John Ruskin Prize 2026
🌎 Open internationally
📍 United Kingdom
🗓 Deadline: November 17, 2026
🎨 Open to artists, designers, and makers
Details
December 2026
Textile Art Biennial BIEN 2027: Traces of Grace
📍 Kranj, Tržič, Škofja Loka, and Jesenice, Slovenia
🗓 Deadline: December 21, 2026
🌎 Open to artists, designers, and researchers
More details & apply here
January 2027
San José Museum of Quilts & Textiles — The Next 50: A Bay Area Textile Open
📍 San José, California
🗓 Deadline: January 1, 2027
💰 No application fee
🧶 For artists living in the 12-county Bay Area
Get more details & apply Here
Rolling Deadline
The Weaving Workshop
📍 Chicago, Illinois
🗓 Deadline: Rolling
🧵 Artist in Residence
🧶 One-month Artist Residency for three artists
Get more details & apply Here
Major Quilt Opportunity
Quilt National ’27
Deadline: August 30, 2026
Exhibition: May 28–September 7, 2027
Entry fee: $50 for one to three works
Quilt National ’27 explores the expanded field of quilting.
The exhibition focuses on textile-based contemporary art and work using fiber as a medium for material inquiry. It is especially interested in work engaging with:
- Surface
- Structure
- Labor
- Gender
- Politics
The call welcomes work that moves between craft, design, and fine art.
Eligibility: Works must have been completed after August 30, 2024.
Jurors:
- Shin-hee Chin
- Brandy Maslowski
- Beverly Y. Smith
Full prospectus: Quilt National ’27
September Deadlines
Art Center East: Rooted in Fiber
Deadline: September 4, 2026
Exhibition: September 26–October 31, 2026
Juror: Eva Polizzi
Art Center East is seeking work for Rooted in Fiber, an exhibition celebrating the beauty, versatility, and expressive possibilities of fiber art.
Eligible media include:
- Textiles
- Yarn
- Felt
- Weaving
- Quilting
- Embroidery
- Basketry
- Paper
- Mixed media
Both functional and nonfunctional work are welcome.
Apply here: Art Center East — Rooted in Fiber
Artwrkd: Unveiled — Hair and Body Adornments
Deadline: September 9, 2026
Exhibition: October 2–25, 2026
Unveiled is an annual exhibition exploring the intersection of fiber art, textile traditions, wearable forms, and contemporary material practices.
This could be a strong opportunity for artists making:
- Wearable fiber art
- Jewelry or adornments using fiber
- Sculptural textile pieces
- Work inspired by the body
- Experimental textile forms
More information: Artwrkd Open Artist Calls
MacDowell: Spring/Summer 2027 Residencies
Deadline: September 10, 2026
Location: Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA
MacDowell is accepting applications for its Spring/Summer 2027 residency program.
Artists are eligible if they are generating original works of art. MacDowell is a multidisciplinary residency, making it a good option for textile artists whose practice crosses into visual art, writing, interdisciplinary work, or other fields.
Financial support includes:
- No residency fees
- Need-based stipends
- Travel reimbursement grants
For artists seeking uninterrupted time to develop a major body of work, this is one of the strongest opportunities on this list.
Fiber Art Now: Excellence in Fibers XII
Deadline: September 11, 2026
Juror: Francesca Fiaschi
Excellence in Fibers XII is a juried call from Fiber Art Now. It is worth considering for artists looking for visibility within the contemporary fiber art field.
Entry period: August 1–September 11, 2026
ATHICA National Juried Exhibition
Deadline: September 14, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Exhibition: October 22–November 22, 2026
Juror: Phillip McClure
Awards: $500 in cash awards
ATHICA is hosting a national juried exhibition with Phillip McClure, Curator and Designer at blue boy in Savannah, Georgia, and Hopes in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
This is a broader contemporary art opportunity and is open to artists working across media.
Apply here: ATHICA National Juried Exhibition
Foundwork Artist Prize 2026
Deadline: September 25, 2026, 5 PM PT
Eligibility: International, with limited exceptions
Prize: $10,000 unrestricted grant
The Foundwork Artist Prize supports outstanding artistic practices in any medium.
The winner receives:
- A $10,000 unrestricted grant
- Studio visits with each of the five jurors
- An interview for Foundwork’s Dialogues program
Three additional artists will be named to the Short List and receive $1,000 micro-grants.
Important eligibility requirement
Artists must maintain a published profile on the Foundwork website with:
- At least six artworks
- An artist statement
The profile must remain active throughout the selection period.
Selection period: September 25–December 31, 2026
This year’s jury includes arts leaders from Rotterdam, Los Angeles, Guatemala City, New York, and Berlin.
This is not specifically a textile opportunity. However, it is a strong option for textile and fiber artists working within a contemporary art framework.
Sewing is Revolutionary, Sewing is Community
Deadline: September 27, 2026
Exhibition: November 18, 2026–January 6, 2027
Location: Hal Gomer Gallery at Chesapeake Arts Center
Presented in collaboration with BMore Fabric Swap, this exhibition centers on reuse, resourcefulness, collective care, and sustainable making.
The exhibition features:
- Garments
- Wearable works
- Sculptural works
- Traditional art
All work uses repurposed textiles and incorporates sewn elements by hand or machine.
The exhibition reflects the long tradition of using fabric to make both functional and decorative objects.
More information: Chesapeake Arts Center
MIFA Miami: Open Call for Exhibition Projects
Submission deadline: September 30, 2026
Location: Miami, Florida
Eligibility: National and international applicants
Exhibition period: January–December 2027
MIFA Miami is seeking proposals for exhibitions and projects across five gallery spaces.
The call is open to:
- Artists
- Curators
- Collectives
- Cultural organizations
Importantly, proposals do not have to be finished exhibitions.
MIFA welcomes:
- Works in progress
- Site-specific projects
- Interdisciplinary projects
- Research-based practices
- Fully developed exhibition proposals
This is a good opportunity for artists who have an exhibition idea or a body of work that needs space to grow.
Full guidelines: MIFA Miami Open Call
Continuum: Quilts x Fiber
Deadline: September 30, 2026
Jurors: Jacob Hashimoto, Kenny Nguyen, and Victoria Findlay Wolfe
Continuum: Quilts x Fiber is looking across the full spectrum of quiltmaking and fiber-based work.
The call welcomes:
- Traditional bed quilts
- Three-dimensional work
- Mixed-media fiber art
- Heritage techniques
- Experimental materials
- Functional work
- Conceptual work
- Hand-sewn work
- Digitally engineered work
The exhibition will be presented online through SAQA. Selected work will also be eligible for an on-site exhibition at the International Quilt Museum from June 2–November 11, 2028.
Apply here: Continuum: Quilts x Fiber
October Deadlines
Textile Biennale 2027: Colonial Patterns
Deadline: October 1, 2026, 12 PM
Exhibition: July 8–November 21, 2027
Location: Museum Rijswijk, Netherlands
The Textile Biennale 2027 is built around the theme Colonial Patterns.
The organizers invite artists to reflect on the colonial patterns that continue to shape:
- The clothes we wear
- The fabrics and materials we use
- Global trade routes
- Motifs and traditions
- Production processes
- Power relationships
- Memory
- Identity
They are looking for work that asks questions, reveals new stories, and creates space for dialogue and reflection.
This is a particularly strong opportunity for textile artists whose work engages with history, migration, trade, colonialism, cultural identity, or the politics of materials.
Registration opens: September 1, 2026, at 12 PM
Registration closes: October 1, 2026, at 12 PM
More information: Textile Biennale 2027 — Colonial Patterns
Mesa Arts Center: 48th Annual Contemporary Crafts
Deadline: October 25, 2026, 11:59 PM
Exhibition: February 12–July 18, 2027
Mesa Arts Center is accepting submissions for its 48th Annual Contemporary Crafts exhibition.
The national juried exhibition is open to artists working in all craft media.
This is worth considering for fiber artists whose work crosses the boundaries between:
- Craft
- Sculpture
- Design
- Fine art
- Material-based practices
Details: Mesa Arts Center Artist Opportunities
November Deadlines
Woman Made Gallery: Unraveled
Deadline: November 7, 2026
Exhibition: January 16–February 13, 2027
Deadline: November 17, 2026
Juror: Rebekah Baker
Woman Made Gallery is seeking submissions for Unraveled, a juried exhibition for women and nonbinary artists.
The call is open to artists working in:
- Fiber
- Textiles
- Traditional textile techniques
- Experimental uses of fiber and textiles
Artists at all career stages are welcome.
More information: Woman Made Gallery Open Calls
Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery: Exhibition Proposals
Deadline: November 7, 2026
Exhibition calendar: 2027–2028
Location: Coker University
The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is accepting exhibition proposals from artists interested in sharing their work with the university and broader community.
Applicants must submit a single PDF containing:
- Current CV
- Artist statement
- Image list
- 10–15 images of available work
The PDF should be labeled:
artistname_proposal2026
The gallery offers:
- $300 toward shipping or delivery
- $200 for an in-person gallery talk
- $100 for a remote gallery talk
Notification: January 2027
Details: Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery
Blue Line Arts: Biennial Crocker Kingsley
Deadline: November 16, 2026
Blue Line Arts is accepting applications for the Biennial Crocker Kingsley.
This is a broader contemporary art opportunity and may be worth exploring for textile artists working in a contemporary fine art context.
The John Ruskin Prize 2026
The ninth edition of the John Ruskin Prize is open to artists, designers, and makers worldwide.
The prize celebrates work connected to John Ruskin’s ideas about:
- Craftsmanship
- Social engagement
- Making with purpose and consequence
This could be particularly relevant to textile artists whose work connects material practice with larger social questions.
Details: The John Ruskin Prize 2026
December Deadlines
Textile Art Biennial BIEN 2027: Traces of Grace
Deadline: December 21, 2026, midnight CET
Exhibition: May 29–August 14, 2027
Location: Slovenia
The Textile Art Biennial BIEN 2027 will take place across four Slovenian cities:
- Kranj
- Tržič
- Škofja Loka
- Jesenice
The 2027 theme is Traces of Grace.
The call is open to:
- Artists
- Designers
- Researchers
Selected work will be chosen by a jury consisting of Dominika Krogulska-Czekalska, Almina Duraković Korošec, and Lovro Ivančić.
Important dates
- Application deadline: December 21, 2026
- Results announced: By February 10, 2027
- Artwork delivery: April 10–May 1, 2027
- Openings: May 29–June 3, 2027
- Exhibition: May 29–August 14, 2027
Theme information: Traces of Grace
Application form: Apply to BIEN 2027
January 2027 Deadlines
San José Museum of Quilts & Textiles: The Next 50
Deadline: January 1, 2027
Exhibition opening: April 2027
Location: San José, California
Application fee: None
The San José Museum of Quilts & Textiles is celebrating its 50th anniversary with The Next 50: A Bay Area Textile Open.
The call is open to emerging and established artists working with:
- Textiles
- Fiber
- Cloth
- Thread
- Stitch
Applicants must live in one of the 12 Bay Area counties.
This is a regional opportunity, but the lack of an application fee makes it especially attractive to eligible artists.
Apply: SJMQT 50
Rolling Basis
The Weaving Workshop: Artist-in-Residence Program
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Duration: One month
Deadline: Rolling
The Weaving Workshop offers one-month residencies for three artists each month. Residents receive studio access, a dedicated workspace, access to equipment and materials, and opportunities to connect with the studio’s creative community. Housing and stipends are not provided.
More information: The Weaving Workshop Residency
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