Opportunities
Heidi Kenyon, From little things… (installation detail), 2018. Photograph Grant Hancock.
Guildhouse is all about connecting creatives with opportunities.
We share a variety of opportunities on offer through our partner organisations and the wider industry. In this section you can explore a variety of Art Prizes, Commissions, Proposals, Call Outs, Residencies, Mentorships, Career Development, Grants and Funding opportunities.
The opportunities listed here are independent from Guildhouse. Please follow the links or contact information provided for further information.
Grants & Funding
Nature Festival: Regional Micro-Grants
Nature Festival are giving away micro-grants of up to $1000 as a modest boost to help creative projects and events in regional South Australia get off the ground and register for this year’s Nature Festival.
Closing 12 June 2026
Creative Australia Investment and Development Opportunities
Creative Australia offers a range of funding opportunities including Arts Projects for individuals, Groups or Organisations. Visit the website for further details and funding round dates.
City of Adelaide Quick Response Grants
Quick Response Grants are for a maximum of $5,000. Applications must be submitted at least 6 weeks before the project start date.
Examples of Quick Response Grants projects include – Accessible and low-cost performances, exhibitions, cultural events, festivals, concerts, public artworks.
Ripple Effect Mirco-grants
Ripple Grants fund transformational projects that build and shape communities at local scale. The process is competitive, with an emphasis on projects that are clear, achievable and have impact.
Micro-grants of $1500 are awarded to a different project every second month, as decided by our incredible group of donors based on the applications received over the previous 8 weeks.
Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants
The Ian Potter Cultural Trust runs three Funding Rounds per year to support emerging Australian artists to undertake professional development opportunities to gain experience, develop networks and learn skills from leaders in their field.
NOW OPEN
Closing 23 June 2026
Regional Arts Australia Fund
The Regional Arts Fund provides open, competitive grants through two streams: Project Grants and Quick Response Grants.
Quick Response Grants are delivered monthly from February to November. Each round opens on the first day of the month and closes on the last day of the month.
Carclew Grants & Funding
Carclew is Australia’s largest multi-artform cultural institution dedicated to children and young people.
Carclew offers:
- Fellowships
- Project and Development Grants for Individuals
- Project and Development Grants for Organisations
- Capacity Building Grants for Organisations
Helpmann Academy Grants & Funding
Helpmann Academy offers a range of grants, fellowships, commissions, residencies and more to support and empower eligible emerging creatives when you graduate.
CreateSA Funding and Grants
The Government of South Australia is committed to supporting the state’s arts, culture and creative industries.
Investment and support is available through a range of grants, funding and initiatives provided through CreateSA.
June 2026 Funding Round:
Opens 13 May 2026
Closes 29 June 2026
Country Arts SA Grants
Grants are available to support arts and cultural activities in regional South Australia that are sustainable, have long term cultural, economic and social benefits, develop partnerships and cultural networks and provide skills development opportunities.
Artist Professional Development Grants: Open now, closing 24 May 2026
Quick Response Grants – May: Open now, closing 31 May 2026
City of Port Adelaide Enfield Grants
Whether you’re kickstarting a cultural project, an environmental initiative or a local event, these grants empower your group to make a lasting impact and foster stronger community bonds.
The Independent Arts Foundation
The IAF is a registered charity managed entirely by volunteers. Its role is to support the development of the arts in South Australia by contributing grants to individuals or groups who are in the early stages of their artistic journey and wish to develop their work, locally, interstate and overseas, particularly emerging artists of any age who may be writers, actors, performers and musicians, or projects that benefit emerging artists.
Round 2 2026: Opening 1 August, closing 1 October
Nexus 40 for 40 quick response grant
This grant, of up to $1000, is available to support First Nations artists and those who identify as being culturally and racially marginalised or culturally and linguistically diverse, based in South Australia.
Open to all eligible artists, this grant can be used to access small project or professional arts development and training opportunities that arise at short notice, or that fall outside the scope of other funding opportunities from funding bodies such as Arts South Australia.
Gordon Darling Foundation Grants
The Gordon Darling Foundation is a perpetual public charitable trust, established in 1991 to “support Australia-wide, activities of importance in the Visual Arts.”
The Foundation can only provide funding to Public Institutions in Australia. Applicant organisations must have Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.
Individuals wishing to apply for funding for projects must partner with a Public Institution which then takes on responsibility for the project.
City of Charles Sturt Arts Fund
Applications are invited from artists and arts organisations to support the development and delivery of NEW creative initiatives within the City of Charles Sturt.
Career Development
Including public art EOIs, exhibition call outs, residencies, mentorships, fellowships and more career development opportunities.
ACE x firstdraft Short-term Residency
The 2026 ACE x firstdraft Short-term Residency offers one South Australian artist the opportunity to develop and present a solo exhibition at firstdraft, Sydney. The artist will receive a 3-month studio residency at ACE.
This residency is best suited to artists with a specific project ready for interstate presentation.
Closing 8 June 2026
EOI: Adelaide Design Week
Adelaide Design Week 2026 is a city-wide, independently curated program — exhibitions, talks, installations, workshops and collaborations across Kaurna/Adelaide. We’re looking for projects, venues, collaborators, team and sponsors.
Closing 1 June 2026
Newmarch Gallery Exhibition Call Out 2027
Newmarch Gallery is seeking exhibition proposals:
– Of innovative artwork in 2D or 3D media, moving image or sound art, in which the audience experience is considered
– Of new work that has not been exhibited in the Adelaide metropolitan area, in both solo and group exhibitions.
Closing 30 August 2026
Nature Festival Registrations Open
The Nature Festival is a program of activities and experiences all dedicated to celebrating South Australian nature in positive, creative, and meaningful ways.
The festival features a diverse program of free and ticketed activities provided by local artists, environmental organisations, and nature connection practitioners.
Closing 13 July 2026
Blue Studio Residency
Blue Studio Residency is open to local, Australian and International ceramic artists of all skill levels. Proposals are welcome throughout the year and each season has its own creative possibilities.
Samstag Scholarships
The annual Samstag Scholarships enable Australian artists to develop their artistic capacities and skills through a dedicated period of practice-based learning in an international learning program.
The scholarship provides each artist with institutional fees for one academic year, a $75,000 tax-free allowance, and travel expenses to a leading international art program of their choice.
Closing 30 June 2026
Accessible Arts 2026 Bundanon Artist Residency Program
The 2026 Accessible Arts and Bundanon Artist in Residence program is open to musicians, writers and visual artists with with disability or who are d/Deaf from NSW and the ACT. Up to five (5) artists will be funded to undertake a six (6) night residency at Bundanon from Monday 21 September to Sunday 27 September 2026.
Closing 7 June 2026
firstdraft First Peoples Curators Program
The First Peoples Curators Program supports an emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander curator with new skills, professional presentation and development opportunities, and access to key industry networks.
THRF Video and Moving Image Program
Expressions of interest are welcomed throughout the year from artists wishing to participate in the THRF Group – Creative Health Video and Moving Image Program. Viewed via our website, this Program showcases artists working in the medium of Video and Moving Image Art.
Pocosin Arts Residencies
Located in North Carolina, USA, Pocosin Arts offers opportunities for discovery, creativity, and lifelong learning in the arts. We provide year-round craft workshops, weekly adult and youth classes, and residencies in metals and jewelry, ceramics, woodworking, drawing, painting, textiles, digital fabrication, and more.
Multiple residency opportunities available throughout 2025-26.
Judy Wheeler Commission 2027
The Judy Wheeler Commission is a ten‑year site‑specific commissioning program established in memory of Judy Wheeler and generously supported by the Simpson Family.
Awarded annually, the commission supports Australia‑based artists to develop ambitious new work that responds physically or conceptually to the architecture, history and site of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA).
Closing 8 June 2026
The Bettison & James Award
The Bettison & James Award recognises individuals whose inspiring lifelong work has benefited the Australian community. Each year $50,000 is awarded to an individual who is demonstrably established in their field and whose work has made a meaningful contribution to the Australian community. Their area of expertise may include the arts and humanities, social justice, the environment or any of the sciences.
Closing 26 June 2026
Australian Parliament House Artist-in-Residence program
Australian visual artists from across the country at any stage in their career can now apply for the Australian Parliament House Artist-in-Residence program.
The successful artist or group will receive a range of benefits including:
- recognition as Australian Parliament House Artist-in-Residence for the 48th Parliament
- an artist fee for the research phase of $10,000
- travel and accommodation allowance of up to $15,000
- an additional commission fee for new work of up to $30,000
- up to 12 months’ access to Parliament House including the Parliamentary Library and Parliament House Art Collections
Closing 16 June 2026
TRACE Collaborative Regional Arts Project
TRACE is an ongoing major project bringing together creative practitioners, artists, creators, crafters, and living communities along Murundi (the River Murray).
We are seeking artists who are living and working in regional areas along the Murundi (Murray River) in South Australia. Our first phase of funding will be focused on a group of artists based in the Renmark/Berri region and another group based in Alexandrina council area, however, we hope to continue applying for funding through other sources to include paid opportunities for artists based in other regions.
If you are an artist who is not living and working in a regional area in the Murundi but who has living connections to this region please also feel welcome to reach out to us for possible opportunities to collaborate.
Grindell's Hut Residency
Country Arts SA is inviting artists from all disciplines to apply for a three-week residency at Grindell’s Hut located in the heart of the Vulkathunha – Gammon Ranges National Park, one of the many stunning parks in the Flinders Ranges & Outback region of South Australia. The park forms part of the traditional Country of the Adnyamathanha people and is rich with cultural significance. It is also a haven for many rare and endangered plants and animals.
Closing 30 June 2026
ARI@G42 Residency Program
ARI@G42 (Artist-Run Initiative at Gallery42) is a gallery that operates under the umbrella of Gallery42 as an artist-run exhibition space that aims to support and advance the careers of emerging and early-career South Australian artists.
ARI@G42 now introduces a Residency Program designed to support an emerging artist through a 6-month rent-free studio, with an outcome of a solo exhibition showcasing the works developed during the residency period. This opportunity gives the successful applicant space to experiment, create a resolved body of work, and further their creative career.
Closing 30 June 2026
Contribute: New National Cultural Policy
The Australian Government is developing a new National Cultural Policy to shape the future direction of the creative and cultural sector. Read the public consultation paper and then have your say by providing a submission.
Closing 24 May 2026
Port Pirie Artist Opportunities
Port Pirie Regional Council is pleased to once again take part in the statewide South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival, running from 1–31 August 2026. Opportunities for artists include:
- Local artist support: full registration rebates available Apply here for your rebate
- City Park Digital Projection Site: Expressions of Interest for the SALA City Park Projection are now open
- Gallery Exhibitions: Apply here for SALA Festival Exhibition at Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery
- SALA Art Walk: We are seeking artists of all styles to display their work in public spaces throughout the city centre in Port Pirie.
Art Prizes
Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize
Eligible artists are invited to submit up to three original works that relate to the Macquarie Group Collection theme, The Land and Its Psyche. There is no entry fee.
The winner will receive $A20,000 prize money. Each finalist will also receive a $A1,000 art transport voucher from International Art Services.
Closing 22 May 2026
Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize 2026
The Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize, presented by the Australian Photographic Society, is a national $30,000 acquisitive award seeking Australia’s most compelling conceptual photographic works.
Closing 12 June 2026
Burnie Print Prize 2027
Entries are open now for the prestigious Burnie Print Prize 2027. Artists from across the country are invited to submit work for this nationally significant acquisitive prize, which continues to champion excellence, innovation and technical skill in contemporary print practice.
Total Prize money $24,000.
Closing 30 October 2026
Gallery One/Smallacombe Self Portrait Prize 2026
Entries are now open for the Gallery One Smallacombe Self Portrait Prize 2026, with a main prize of $20,000.
Closing 30 June 2026
23rd Annual National Acquisitive $30,000 Paddo Painting Prize
23rd Annual National Acquisitive $30,000 Paddo Painting Prize for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape.
Closing 2 August 2026
Inaugural National Non-Acquisitive $10,000 Paddo Sculpture Prize
Inaugural Annual National Non-Acquisitive $10,000 Paddo Sculpture Prize for a 3D free-standing sculpture inspired by the Australian landscape.
Closing 2 August 2026
the churchie emerging art prize
‘the churchie’ is one of Australia’s leading prizes for emerging artists. This national prize invites early-career artists aged over 18, to submit their work for a chance to be selected as finalists and to be considered for awards totalling $55,000.
Closing 24 May 2026
9x5 Landscape Art Prize
Celebrate the spirit of Australian Impressionism with Waverley Woollahra Art School’s 9×5 Landscape Art Prize, now in its 11th year. This esteemed competition invites artists to explore the beauty of the Australian landscape, echoing the spontaneity of early outdoor painters who famously used 9×5 inch cigar box lids as their canvases. First prize $2,000.
Closing 9 July 2026
Heysen Prize for Lanscape
The Heysen Prize for Landscape 2026 invites artists to express their deep connection with – or concern for – protecting the Australian environment and to pay homage to Hans Heysen as an artist and environmentalist. Acquisitive Prize $15,000
Closing 21 August 2026
Bowness Photography Prize 2026
The Bowness Photography Prize invites entries from artists working with photography. Entries for the prize will be considered from still photo-based media including analogue and digital photography, produced within the last year.
The judging panel will select first prize (winning $50,000) and two honourable mentions (each winning $2,500).
Closing 14 June 2026