The City of Winston-Salem's Public Art Commission (PAC) is launching the CNI Resident Artist Project, a one-time artist residency funded through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Public Art Revitalization Program. The CNI Resident Artist will work with East Winston-Salem residents to develop an artistic project that is community-focused.

The selected artist will have an all-inclusive budget of $300,000 with an expected time commitment of 12 months that includes the initial immersion period, a proposal period, and then time to implement the artistic project. Contract dates: Sept. 2026 - Sept. 2027.

Location
Winston-Salem, NC

Fees or awards
Total Budget: $300,000

SEEK Raleigh is an experimental program by Raleigh Arts that aims to introduce new and thought provoking experiences to the City of Raleigh. The program of site-specific art installations and performance art events will engage the community through public art. Artists are invited to propose a public art project for the City of Raleigh parks, greenways, and/or community spaces. The city will provide space and funding. Applications are due June 30, 2026 by 11:59pm.

Location
Raleigh, NC

Fees or awards
Three (3) projects will be funded at up to $5,000, and one (1) project will be funded at up to $30,000.

Join the 9th Annual Sunset Vision Art Show & Sale, August 20th to 22nd, 2026, at the Sea Trail Convention Center in Sunset Beach, NC. This non-juried show welcomes artists of all levels, across virtually every medium. Showcase your work, connect with patrons from NC to SC and beyond, and support community projects through Sunset Vision.

Location
Sunset Beach, NC

Fees or awards
Best in Show for 2D, 3D, Photography, Mixed Media $200 each category. People's Choice Award $100. Honorable Mention winners receive free entry in 2027 show.

We’re looking for two Triangle-based artists or artist teams to each paint a mural on one of two risers near the Bolinwood Drive intersection with the Bolin Creek Trail Greenway in Chapel Hill. These cylindrical cement risers are approximately five feet in diameter and seven feet tall. We will assign each of the two selected artists/teams to one riser to prime and paint for a total project stipend of $1,000 per artist.

Murals should allow the risers to better harmonize with the environment. They should delight and inform neighbors, commuters, and other trail users who travel the Bolin Creek Trail.

Location
Chapel Hill, NC

Fees or awards
$1,000/selected artist or team; $100/chosen finalist

Litmosphere, an open submission, paying online literary, is accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and flash (fiction and nonfiction) in July for the Fall 2026 issue. The journal is free to read at litmosphere.charlottelit.org. Litmosphere is a publication of Charlotte Lit Press, the imprint of Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, Inc. (“Charlotte Lit”).

Location
Charlotte, NC

Fees or awards
$3 submission fee to enter. Authors are paid $25-50 per accepted piece.

Artists living or working in the Southern United States are invited to submit works for consideration in the upcoming exhibition "Coined in the South: 2027." The juried exhibition presents thought-provoking works by emerging artists at the heart of the Southern arts community. Artists who were born/raised in, work in, or currently reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Virginia are eligible to apply.

This juried exhibition is scheduled to run from March 12, 2027 through May 16, 2027, at the Mint Museum Uptown Charlotte.

Location
Charlotte, NC

Fees or awards
$40 entry fee. Awards: One $10,000 Atrium Health Foundation juror-awarded grand prize, one $5,000 Young Affiliates of the Mint member-awarded prize, and one $1,000 “People’s Choice” prize. All chosen artists will receive a $350 stipend to help cover shipping and travel expenses.

We Like Short-Shorts: A Festival of 10-Minute Plays is accepting submissions from July 1 through midnight on July 18 for our 14th annual festival to be presented on March 6 and 7, 2027. A blind panel of judges with broad theatre experience will select 8-10 plays to be presented as concert readings and will choose a first place winner who will receive a cash award of $100.00 and a second place winner who will receive a cash award of $75.00. Plays should be no longer than 10 minutes with no more than 5 characters. Award-winning playwrights and all playwrights to be included in the festival reading will be notified by email by January 31, 2027. All other information is on our website now.

Location
Waxhaw, NC

Fees or awards
$100 for first place winner; $75 for second place winner

FRESH is Artspace's biennial open survey exhibition, juried competition, and fundraiser featuring new work by North Carolina artists. Unlike a traditional juried exhibition, every eligible submission will first be exhibited in the FRESH Open Survey before juror Lia Newman makes selections for the FRESH Juried Exhibition.

Artists may submit one artwork. All submitted artworks must be available for sale.

Location
Raleigh, NC

Fees or awards
$25 application fee for Artspace Members / $35 for non-members.
Prizes: 1st place ($1000), 2nd place ($500), 3rd place ($250), and People's Choice ($250)

The Schwa Show is Emerge Gallery & Art Center's iconic show. The gallery's logo is a schwa, which is part of the phonetic spelling of emerge. This juried exhibition has grown to a national presence and includes artwork of all mediums and subject matter.

Location
Greenville, NC

Fees or awards
$20 fee, up to $1,000 in awards

The Caldwell Arts Council invites you to participate in the 40th Annual Sculpture Celebration on September 12, 2026. Join emerging and established sculptors to compete for a total of $11,000 in cash awards. Sculptors can enter up to three works.

Registration includes free admission to the Friday Night Welcome Dinner and a continental breakfast on Saturday morning. Sales of competition entries and commissions are encouraged, with 100% of proceeds going to the sculptors. All mediums are accepted, including metals, glass, stone, wood, paper, plastic, fiber, found objects, natural and recycled materials, etc.

Event details
September 12, 2026
Broyhill Walking Park
Lenoir, NC 28645

Fees or awards
Registration fees vary. $35 for students and $50 for non-students if registered by June 30, 2026. $11,000 in total cash awards.