May Opportunities

«(NEW)» Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab Application
Designed for filmmakers of color working on their first or second feature documentary, this 12-month fellowship provides professional development, customized mentorship, and a $25K project budget.
Deadline: May 4, 2026

«(NEW)» Curatorial Program for Research - Hello New York
CPR Hello New York is a free professional development and networking program for resident and non-resident artists, running June 15-27. (Curatorial)
Deadline: May 4, 2026

«(NEW)» Café Royal Grants Cultural Foundation Grant
Grants in literature, music, performance, and visual arts. Up to $10,000.
Deadline: May 4, 2026

«(NEW)» Documentary Producing Lab
The Documentary Story Lab only accepts projects in the final stages of production or early post-production. The Lab is for directors, although director/producers can apply. The Documentary Producing Lab accepts projects in active development, production or post-production.
Deadline: May 4, 2026

NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants (via NYFA)
Grants of up to $50,000 to help New York State nonprofit arts organizations who’ve received NYSCA funding in the past to establish or expand financial reserve funds.
Deadline: May 5, 2026

Vilcek Foundation — Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts
$50,000 prizes for immigrant professionals in Culinary Arts (Media & Storytelling; Food & Beverage).
Deadline: May 5, 2026

Tulsa Artist Fellowship
Tulsa Artist Fellowship offers three years of funding, housing, and studio space to create meaningful work in Tulsa, with the aim of bringing artists from all over US.
Deadline: May 7, 2026

Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant
Grants ranging from $15,000–$50,000 supporting emerging and established writers producing articles, books, or short-form writing about contemporary visual art for general or specialized audiences.
Deadline: May 7, 2026

«(NEW)» Clara Johnson Award
An award for a specific work of prose or a body of work of fiction or nonfiction prose published within 2025. (Writing)
Deadline: May 8, 2026

«(NEW)» Prisma Art Prize
Prisma Art Prize is an international art competition dedicated to promoting emerging painters and visual artists. $2000.
Deadline: May 10, 2026

«(NEW)» Michigan Central Art and Newlab Detroit Creative Residency
Fellowship and residency at the intersection of art, technology, and health. 4 fellows will each receive $30,000. (All Disciplines).
Deadline: May 10, 2026

«(NEW)» Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants
One-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies for artists in financial need who are creating in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts, and choreography. (Multidisciplinary)
Deadline: May 12, 2026

The Hopper Prize Spring 2026
Unrestricted cash grants of $4,500 and $1,000 to visual artists around the globe.
Deadline: May 12, 2026

«(NEW)» National Book Foundation National Book Awards
4 prizes of $10,000 for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature, plus $10,000 for translated work.
Deadline: May 13, 2026

«(NEW)» Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award
$5,000 for a second poetry collection, plus a weeklong residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» Academy of American Poets Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
$25,000 for a poetry collection, plus a 10-day residency at Glen Hollow cottage in Naples, NY.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

CENTRO Rooted & Relational Archives Fellow
Fellowship for early-career archivists for the 2026-2027 academic year. $20,000 stipend.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» ISLAA Fellowship 2026
The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) in Manhattan is offering research fellowships. The fellowship program supports MA and PhD students enrolled in graduate programs in the United States. Providing resources and a $2,500 stipend to advance innovative research, this fellowship offers direct, in-person access to ISLAA's extensive archival collections and more than 1,000 artist files. (Arts)
Deadline: May 15, 2026

Collective Intelligence Project Research Fellows
3 fellows researching AI, public values, and democratic governance. Part-time, 6 months, remote, with $9,000 stipend.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» Crooks Corner Book Prize
A $5,000 prize for the best debut novel set in the American South. The submitted book must be the author’s first published novel for adult readers. (Writing)
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» Montreal International Poetry Prize
Awarding $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of forty or fewer lines. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology. (Writing)
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» Leeway Foundation Transformation Awards
$15,000 each for women, trans, and gender-nonconforming poets, fiction, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area creating art for social change for 5+ years.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

Migration in Changing Climates
Migration in Changing Climates is an interdisciplinary fellowship that invites applicants to propose projects that engage migration as an ecological, cultural, ethical, and imaginative force reshaping where and how life can move. (Any Discipline)
Deadline: May 15, 2026

«(NEW)» Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award
A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction published in the previous two years that centers on the creative process of an artist.
Deadline: May 15, 2026

Urban History Association Awards
Annually, the Urban History Association recognizes excellence in urban history scholarship through a series of writing and publishing awards. Prizes range from $500–$1,000, and honor books and articles within specific topic areas.
Deadline: May 15, 2026