North Carolina Arts Council’s Artist Opportunities

• Asheville Strong: The Asheville Art Museum is delighted to announce an open call inviting artists who live and work in the Helene-affected Appalachia region to participate in the upcoming exhibition, Asheville Strong: Celebrating Art and Community After Hurricane Helene, to be on view from February 13 – May 5, 2025, in the Appleby Foundation Gallery on the Museum’s main floor. Deadline is January 12, 2025. 

• Fragments of Hope: The Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center presents a juried exhibition intended to depict the impacts of Hurricane Helene on the lives of artists and artisans in Western North Carolina, while conveying their strength and resilience as they move forward with their practices. Exhibition dates: March 3 – May 23, 2025.  Deadline is February 15, 2025.

Visual Arts 

Grants and Fellowships

• Weymouth Writeaway: The Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities is offering a full scholarship to the 2024 Weymouth Writeaway for a Western North Carolina writer whose life was disrupted by Hurricane Helene. This scholarship will be awarded based on need as well as the writer’s ability to benefit from and contribute to the Weymouth Writeaway community. The Weymouth Writeaway will take place February 24 – March 3, 2025. Deadline is January 13, 2025.

• Visual Arts Program: The University of North Carolina School of the Arts Visual Arts Program is a residential program designed for high school juniors and seniors who have an artistic interest, dedication, and enthusiasm they wish to pursue in a structured course of study. Interviews for the 2025-2026 academic year will be held in person on the UNCSA campus. Admission is based on a combination of artistic and academic merits. Deadline is January 15, 2025.

• Cultural Sustainability: South Arts, in partnership with the Wallace Foundation, is excited to announce the Cultural Sustainability initiative, providing operating support and collaborative learning for arts organizations rooted in communities of color with annual expenses under $500,000. Deadline is February 5, 2025.

• Latta Place Public Art: The Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County will select an artist/artist team to create an integrated artwork, freestanding sculpture, or series of sculptures that can provide visitors with an opportunity to pause and reflect on the powerful, emotional connections and perspectives reflective of the enslaved people’s experience. Deadline is January 13, 2025.

• DownEast Sculpture Exhibition: The DownEast outdoor sculpture exhibition is a joint exhibition among Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge, ECU Student Center Art Galleries, City of Greenville, Town of Winterville, Town of Farmville, Town of Ayden, Wahl-Coates Elementary School for the Arts, and the Greenville Museum of Art. The exhibition has two components: a month-long indoor exhibition and a year-long outdoor exhibition. Deadline is January 15, 2025.

• Pedestrian Safety Murals: Raleigh Transportation, in collaboration with Raleigh Arts, is implementing several new public street art and pedestrian safety initiatives in Downtown Raleigh. The city is working to improve safety at uncontrolled mid-block crosswalks in the downtown area. Deadline is January 15, 2025.

• 4 R’s Indie Film Fest: The N.C. Climate Justice Collective’s theme for this year’s 4 R’s Indie Film Fest is “Winning the World We Want: Toward a just, regenerative, ecologically vibrant world.” This virtual festival is based on N.C. Climate Justice Collective’s 4 R’s framework featuring content all shot with a mobile phone. The aim is to create interest and spark creativity and also provide an accessible outlet for storytelling for potential creators. Deadline is January 21, 2025.

• Marvels of Media: The Museum of the Moving Image’s Marvels of Media Festival showcases, celebrates, and supports autistic media makers of all ages and skill sets. This festival is an opportunity to recognize the outstanding and creative media work of autistic media-makers through film screenings and in-depth panel discussions. The fourth annual festival will take place March 27 to March 29, 2025. Deadline is January 31, 2025.