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 entry fee; up to $1,000 in awards

The Blu Sky Artist Award: August 2026 Edition is an international art award hosted by Ten Moir Gallery, created for artists seeking meaningful visibility, professional recognition, and real promotional value. Two artists will each receive a $500 cash award, one in traditional or mixed media and one in photography or digital, with additional finalists selected for feature opportunities. The award package includes artist interviews, press releases, collector-focused catalogue inclusion, certificates, and permanent feature in our archive of past winners and finalists.

Fees or awards
$28 entry fee; $1,000 in awards

Kolaj Institute’s Art Writing Workshop is a four-week virtual program for collage artists who want to strengthen how they write about their work. Through presentations, discussions, readings, and writing exercises, participants develop artist statements, bios, proposals, and object descriptions while building practical strategies for integrating art writing into their practice.

The next Art Writing Workshop: Sundays, September 6 - 27, 2026, 1-3PM EDT

Fees or awards
The cost of the workshop is $600 per artist.

The Literary Arts Fund will award a total of $1 million in grants in 2026 to literary arts nonprofits for new, one-time, and forward-thinking projects that aim to address critical infrastructural/structural challenges that, if improved or solved, would ultimately strengthen literary arts nonprofits’ abilities to serve creative writers. Proposed projects, which may be collaborative, should align with this description and goal and have impact beyond the project timeline.

Projects must commence some time after January 1, 2027, and conclude before or by December 31, 2027.

Fees or awards
Grant requests may range from $25,000 to $100,000 as determined by the project budget.

The City of Raleigh’s Planning & Development Department seeks to hire a public artist for a 9-month residency from October 2026 - June 2027 to assist with Reflecting Raleigh Planning efforts. This residency requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to listen deeply and thoughtfully to community input. Illustrators, visual, performing, and literary artists are all encouraged to apply. 

Location
Raleigh, NC

Fees or awards
The budget for the residency is $20,000.

The Arts & Science Council is accepting qualifications from U.S. based artists/artist teams for a public art opportunity for the Mecklenburg County parking deck to be located at East 7th Street and N. College St. This RFQ represents an opportunity for an artist, or team of artists, to create a highly visible, wall-based relief artwork sited on the wall adjacent to the front entrance of the deck.

For the complete RFQ, please visit: https://artsandscience.org/calls-to-artists/ 

Location
Charlotte, NC

Fees or awards
Project Budget: $219,500

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is seeking a new artist member who works in a 3D medium (i.e. work that goes on a pedestal, the floor, jewelry, or stained glass). For more information on our artist-run gallery and to apply, visit https://www.hillsboroughgallery.com/how-to-join.

Members must live in the Triangle area, as they are required to work 3-4 gallery shifts per week. Artists keep 88% of their sales!

Location
Hillsborough, NC

Fees or awards
$35 application fee

Grey Cube Gallery proudly presents the sixth Floral online art contest for the month of August 2026. Contest is open to all artists worldwide over 18 years of age. The gallery invites artists and photographers to share their artistic vision using any work with interpretation of botanical and floral art (flowers, herbs, fruit, leaves, plants and related floral subjects). All visual art mediums (except video and sound) are allowed. 

Winning artwork (Best of Show) will be on the poster of the show. All winning artists will receive a digital award certificate.

Fees or awards
Entry fees start at $20 and vary by number of images submitted.

The City of Durham's Cultural & Public Art Program, in partnership with Participatory Budgeting, Durham Public Schools, and Durham Parks & Recreation, is seeking local and regional mural artists to join our Pre-Qualified Artist Registry for an exciting new mural initiative: Neighborhood Stories in Art. Each mural will celebrate the people, stories, cultures, and experiences that make Durham unique, with designs shaped through meaningful community engagement.

• 4 murals at Durham Public Schools will be located on street-facing walls and will include strong youth engagement, such as student paint days, workshops, and other hands-on activities.
• 4 murals at City-owned facilities will be located throughout Durham neighborhoods, creating welcoming public spaces that reflect the character, history, and identity of the surrounding communities.

Location
Durham, NC

Fees or awards
Estimated mural budgets will vary by project site, with commissions ranging from approximately $8,000–$20,000 per mural.

Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture's looking for Triangle-based artists and teams to design original two-dimensional (2D) artwork to adorn the ceilings of Chapel Hill Transit buses. Selected artists/teams will each create a single final design to be printed three times as adhesive vinyl and installed on three bus ceilings by a Town contractor. The installed artwork will be displayed on the buses for at least 12 months. Vector designs are recommended, as the designs will be ~21 feet long.

Location
Chapel Hill, NC

Fees or awards
$700/selected artist; $100/chosen finalist