Hey Phoenix Creatives, Here Are 13 Opportunities to Get Your Work Out There

Last year, Mesa Arts Center put out a call for artists interested in painting pianos as part of a public art project, offering $500 honorariums for selected artists. Today, 24 pianos painted by chosen artists dot various spaces in Mesa, serving as reminders of what can happen when creative types get involved in the community.

Now there’s a new crop of artist opportunities – not just for visual artists, but for performance artists and writers, too. Here’s a roundup of current opportunities to help you get your creative work out there.

Four Chambers Press
If you’ve scanned the shelves at MADE Art Boutique, Practical Art, or Stinkweeds lately, there's a good chance you’ve seen volumes of poetry and prose published by the Phoenix-based community literary magazine Four Chambers Press, which also include works by local artists. They’ve put out the call for their next issue, Four Chambers 04, and are accepting submissions of poetry and prose. Submissions are due April 30. Find more information on the Four Chambers Press website.

The Neon Museum
Arizona has seen some impressive neon art during the past few months, in exhibitions at Unexpected Art Gallery, Chartreuse, Alwun House, and The Gallery at Scottsdale Civic Center Library. And now there’s an opportunity for local visual and performance artists to apply for a four-month long residency with the The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Individual artists and groups are welcome to apply. Submissions are due April 1. Find more information on the Neon Museum website.

Beta Dance Festival
The new works development organization [nueBOX] is accepting proposals for the Beta Dance Festival taking place June 11 at Phoenix Center for the Arts, which spotlights new works by local choreographers and dancers. Submissions are due April 1. Find more information (and other artist opportunities) on the [nueBOX] website.

“Face Off” Exhibit
The Herberger Theater Center is seeking works for its upcoming “Face Off” exhibition, which runs October through December, 2016. Artwork must include all or part of at least one face, realistic or implied. Submissions are due April 1. Find more information on the Herberger Theater Center website.

Artwalk on G
When the artist collective Postcommodity created its Repellant Fence installation on the U.S.-Mexico border last October, it worked with community members in Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Mexico, to encourage shared arts and culture experiences – including a binational art walk. Now the region’s Artwalk on G and Concert Without Borders is looking for artists/vendors to participate in creating art, music, and performance along the Agua Prieta border fence in April. Submissions are due April 1. Find more information on the Arizona Commission on the Arts website.

Glendale Performing Arts
The City of Glendale is seeking proposals from artists and arts organizations interested in presenting public programs and performances in Glendale as part of the city’s annual Performing Arts Partnership program. Submissions are due April 11. Find more information on the City of Glendale website. 

NSFW (Nude Figurative Works)
Artelshow and {9} The Gallery are seeking works for an upcoming exhibition of nude figurative works titled "NSFW," which will take place May 6 through 16 at {9} The Gallery. Submissions are due April 11. Find additional information (and more calls for art) on the Artelshow website.

platFORM Student Sculptures
You might have seen platFORM sculptures in unexpected places, from a corner along Scottsdale Road to a dirt area adjacent to the historical Hayden Flour Mill in Tempe, in recent years. Or perhaps you’ve spotted some previous platFORM sculptures installed in the sculpture garden at Shemer Art Center. They’re all works created by student artists or artists teams, and now a collaborative public arts initiative currently involving Scottsdale Public Art, the City of Chandler Public Art, the City of Tempe Public Art, and the City of Surprise, is looking for more sculptures to place on various Valley locations. Proposed and existing original sculptures will be considered, and the six applicants selected will receive $2,500 to $3,000. Submissions are due April 15. Find more information on the Scottsdale Public Art website. 

Community Arts Grants
The City of Scottsdale and Scottsdale Cultural Council are accepting applications for the Community Arts Grants program, which provides art grants for creative projects that help support and give back to the Scottsdale community. Submissions are due April 25. Find more information on the Scottsdale Cultural Council website.

Tempe Art Grants
The City of Tempe has opened its 2016-2017 arts grant cycle, which includes several different grants intended to support the City’s public art and cultural amenities goals. These grants include the Sustaining Arts Grant, Vibrant City Grant, City of Tempe and ASU Partnership Grant, Arts for Youth Grant, Artistic Programming Grant, and Operating Support Grant. They are accepting applications from individual artists, non-profit organizations, schools, and students. Many submissions are due April 25. Find more information on the City of Tempe website.

Coconino Center for the Arts
Last year, Scottsdale artist Saskia Jorda’s 100% Contained installation at Coconino Center for the Arts used 37.89 miles of yarn on a 10-by-10-foot platform to represent the perimeter of the Gradiator Fire that took place in Crown King, Arizona, in 2012. Now, The Flagstaff Arts Council has issued the call for exhibition proposals for both the Main Gallery and the Jewel Gallery at Coconino Center for the Arts. Artists, curators, organizations, schools, and groups are welcome to apply with concepts for group or solo exhibitions. Submissions are due April 26. Find more information on the Coconino Center for the Arts website.

Narrative Writing Fellowship
Think Write Publish Science and Religion is seeking writers interested in telling true stories about harmonies between science and religion. Fellows will participate in workshops, work with mentors, and have their work featured at various events. Submissions are due May 15. Find more information on the TWP Science and Religion website.

Art Catalogue Grants
The Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation is accepting applications for grants to support direct costs for catalogues and other publications accompanying contemporary art exhibitions and projects, especially those supporting emerging or under-recognized artists, and produced by organizations outside the nation’s cultural centers. Submissions are due August 1. Find more information on the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation website.