Opportunities for Artists, Summer Edition!

 
 

This summer, discover more ways to bring your creativity to the world. To help you out, we’ve assembled a collection of hot opportunities with deadlines coming up this summer. Read on to find out more.


Image Description: Three people in formal dress stand in front of a mint-green background. They are smiling and are all wearing matching floral pins. 

 

Call for applicants: ArtworksTO: Newcomer Program

Deadline to apply: July 24, 2025 

More details here

This program provides newcomer creatives with training, mentorship, and a $5,000 paid work opportunities in media arts or arts education. The ArtWorksTO: Newcomer Program, funded by the TD Ready Challenge is designed to help 25 new Canadians build long-term careers in media arts and arts education. Through strategic partnerships with OCAD University, Work in Culture and industry organizations, participants will receive credentialed education, industry mentorship, and paid work placements to develop practical skills and build professional networks.


Image Description: A photo of seven people and an orange cat from Collective City: House Project, posed against a red background. A large white bird plume is held near the center-right of the group.

 

Calls for Submissions: Collective City Gallery Project

Deadline: July 31, 2025

More details here

Collective City Arts invites individual artists, artist collectives, and curators to submit a proposal for a 2-week show as part of our inaugural season in 2026. Successful candidates will receive rent-free access to the contemporary exhibition space at Dupont Rail Gallery in midtown Toronto. The Gallery Project will also provide a part-time sitting attendant, and promotional support for the show.


Image Descripion: A small rectangular swatches of knitted fabric on a bright blue surface. Next to it are spools of pink and purple wool.

 

Call for Submissions: Resistant Fibres Collaborative Textile Installation Project

Deadline: August 4, 2025

More details here

Weave yourself into a larger story in the Âjagemô Exhibition Space. Join makers across Canada to celebrate the power and joy of fibre arts in the Resistant Fibres exhibition! Contribute to the creation of a bold patchwork of textile voices to transform a central column in the Canada Council Âjagemô Exhibition Space.


Image Description: On the left are 4 graphic colours in warped diamond shapes, black, cyan, pink and orange. The image on the right focuses on a child holding a violin.

 

Call for Proposals - Culture Days at the Richmond Hill Public Library 

Deadline: August 5, 2025

More details here

Applications are currently open for performers, workshop leaders, and cultural organizations interested in participating for Culture Days festivities (Sept. 20) at Richmond Hill Public Library. 

It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community and showcase your work. Activities can range from play presentations/readings and artist talks, to demonstrations and workshops or any other creative idea. 


Image Description: An photograph the Tangled Art Gallery, with paintings hanging on the walls and a bright, illuminated rectangular sculptures in pink, orange and purple in the forefront. Text overlays the image which reads “Tangled Art and Disability” 

 

Calls for Proposals: Tangled Art Gallery  

Deadline: August 8, 2025

More details here

Tangled Art + Disability is now accepting applications to exhibit your artwork at Tangled Art Gallery. They invite submissions from Deaf, Mad, and Disability-identified artists and curators, as well as arts organizations and other cultural producers who practice Disability Arts and Curation. There are two different spaces you can apply to show your work: the main gallery space or the window vitrines.


Image Description: An photograph of an intricate mural by Chris Perez and Leyland Adams on the side of a building. The mural is of a blue sky and bright red and pink flowers. In expressive cursive, painted text of the mural reads ‘Guildwood”. On the bottom left corner of the mural are the tags of the artists @chrispperez and @leylandadams

 

Calls for Muralists: StreetARToronto Support Mural Program 

Deadline: Rolling deadline

More details here

The StART Support Program helps provide materials for the creation of graffiti art and street art murals on properties with a history of repeated vandalism on walls exposed to city streets. Applications are now open and on a rolling deadline, but projects must be completed by October 31st, 2025 


Wishing you a wonderful, creative summer. Don’t forget the sunscreen! 

Love, Akin

 

Co-Living Survey - Call for Input - Deadline July 27th & August 13th 2021

The opportunity to participate in the creation of a series of co-living style apartments may be available to Akin, and we would love your thoughts on what this should look like. Co-living is when a tenant lives in an apartment that shares certain amenities with other tenants in the building. For example, a tenant may live in a one bedroom apartment with a private bedroom and living room but with the bathroom and kitchen shared with other tenants in the building. As would be the case here, these types of rental units are often able to be offered at a more affordable rental rate than other units in the area of similar sizes while also allowing for a focus on community amongst the residents.

We are very interested in exploring this concept further, as it may offer access to affordable housing for artists in the City of Toronto. Completing this survey, as well as providing any additional feedback that you feel comfortable sharing with us, would be appreciated and will influence our consideration of the project. We have certain ideas that we’re thinking about, but are very open around this concept and really want to hear from you, our community, in order to learn about your needs and desires for your housing situation in Toronto. Please note, while the feedback received from these survey questions will help to inform the design of this space (hoping that it comes to fruition), the layout has not yet been determined.

The survey consists of 35 questions and as such should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. If you’re able to complete the survey by July 27th at 12pm you will have the opportunity to enter an early bird draw to win a $50.00 gift card to a local shop or restaurant of your choosing. For those who respond after July 27th (and before the survey ends on August 13th), you will have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win a $25.00 gift card to a local restaurant or shop of your choosing.


CreateSpace Webinar: Digitizing Your Art

Hear from artists Yung Yemi and Samar Hejazi and learn how to document your work, present it digitally, and share it virtually.

Do you know how to leverage your experience as an artist working in public spaces after the installation and performance ends?

Digitizing your art through photography and sharing your creation process helps make your work interactive and available online to those who can’t experience it in person. Hear from artists Adeyemi Adegbesan (AKA Yung Yemi) and Samar Hejazi and learn how to document your work, present it digitally, and share it virtually in this 1.5 hour hour webinar that will support artists of all disciplines who exhibit their work in public spaces, through shared learnings about documenting your work.

 

Event Date and Time:
Thursday, April 22, 2021
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM EDT

Presented by STEPS and Toronto Arts Foundation’s Neighbourhood Arts Network, this workshop is offered as part of the 2021 CreateSpace BIPOC Public Art Residency through Neighbourhood Arts Network’s Making A Living Making Art program.

ASL interpretation will be provided. Please email eva@torontoarts.org by April 15, 2021 with any other accessibility requests.