Calls

Opportunities for Artists

Whether you have been a practising artist for years or are a newly emerging artist, there are opportunities for you to share your art. Respond to a gallery call for group and solo shows. Apply to be an Artist in Residence (AiR) at Casa.

Participate in artist-led activities. Learn more about the business of being a practising artist in the AAC’s ART/WORK sessions. Sell your fine art and craft in the AAC Works retail shop. Take tiny steps or a giant leap into the art world by connecting with Casa and the Allied Arts Council.

A boring greige wall at the City Centre Terminal with City of Lethbridge and Public art logos. The text is for the Public Art Mural Mentorship.

Mentorship Opportunity – Public Art Mural at City Centre Terminal

The City of Lethbridge Public Art Program is offering a paid mentorship for an emerging or early-career artist interested in mural-making. Edmonton muralist Jill Stanton will guide the selected artist through the planning and installation of their own indoor mural at the City Centre Terminal.

The program includes 20 hours of mentorship, a $500 design fee, and a $3,500 mural budget. Artists must be based in the Lethbridge area and available from June 2025 to January 2026.

An online info session will be available on Tuesday, April 22nd at 6:30 pm:  Register here

Deadline for applications: Sunday, May 18, 2025

Click the button below for full call and application details. 

A Red camera on a tripod  in front of some very bright windows with the public art logo and orange text for the call.

Call for Proposals – Public Art Annual Report Video Documentation

The City of Lethbridge Public Art Program is seeking non-binding proposals from filmmakers interested in creating a five-minute Annual Report video which will document projects and initiatives commissioned and completed by the City of Lethbridge Public Art Program in 2025. The video is intended to create public interest and support for the Public Art program and provide an overview of the newest commissions. The video will be available on the Public Art website as well as presented to Lethbridge City Council as part of the City of Lethbridge Public Art Program’s Annual Report for 2025.

Contract Timeline
Submission Deadline: Friday, May 16, 2025 at 12:00pm MT
Notification of Selection: By Wednesday, May 30, 2025
Project Commencement: June 2025
Project Completion: March 2026 

Upside Downtown Concert Series branding

Upside Downtown Pop UP / Get DOWN

Calling Artists, Artisans and Fine Crafters!

Apply for the Pop UP / Get DOWN Summer Artist Market held outside on the last night of Upside Downtown – Thursday, August 28, 2025. The market will start at 4:30 pm until 9:30 pm. This evening summer music festival vibe will feature more bands, more food trucks, and more fun as we close 8th Street to celebrate art and summer.

This is a curated market and spots are limited. There may also be an opportunity for artists to participate as vendors at the Wide Skies Music & Art Festival between July 28 to July 30, 2025. Please indicate your interest on the application form. There is a registration fee of $100. This fee will be refunded to artists that are not selected for the market following the jury process.

Click the button below to find out more details and apply before June 30, 2025.

 

People shopping at Christmas at Casa

Christmas at Casa

Christmas at Casa is Lethbridge’s premiere fine arts and fine craft market. Kick off the holiday season with this cherished tradition where magic meets creativity! The market in 2025 will be Friday, November 14, 5:00pm – 9:00pm and Saturday, November 15, 10:00am – 5:00pm. 

Vendors at Christmas at Casa go through a jury process. Space is limited and the adjudication process is competitive. The Call for Submissions is now open and will close on Monday, June 30 at 11:59pm. There is a registration fee of $100. This fee will be refunded to artists that are not selected for the market following the jury process. 

 

a man Busking with his guitar

AAC / BRZ Busking

Calling all musicians! The AAC is collaborating with the Lethbridge Downtown BRZ to bring more busking to Lethbridge! These will be paid artist opportunities to help paint the air with your sounds and liven the many events happening in the City of Lethbridge! If you are interested in being a Lethbridge busker, fill out the short application form.

A headshot of Lucy Du with funky black glasses and wearing a pastel green sweatshirt.

Artist in Residence (AiR)

The residency program at Casa provides an opportunity for artists from across disciplines to pursue their practice in a supportive, concentrated, community-based atmosphere. Workshops, installations, open houses and artist talks are part of the AiR community engagement program. This program is financially supported by the AAC.

Current Residency

Casa will be hosting artist Lucy Du as part of the Artist in Residence (AiR) program from April 1 – 29, 2025.

Artist Bio:
Lucy Du was born in China and now resides in Canada. Influenced by the fusion of diverse cultures, her artwork carries a unique traditional Chinese style. Her creations are on silk using Chinese mineral and plant pigments. Silk’s craftsmanship and soft features serve as one of her chosen mediums for expressing feminine, nuanced, and delicate emotions. Despite their cheerful tone, Lucy’s artworks resonate with deeper existential themes, exploring concepts like love and familial devotion. When presented collectively, they create an exhibition environment imbued with a sense of sentimental longing, offering viewers an emotionally rich and immersive experience. Her creations are intertwined with time, memory, and emotion, depicting objectivity through the lens of feeling rather than a direct portrayal of reality, all while maintaining a playful serenity. 

Now she is a graduate student in the Drama Department at the University of Lethbridge. As a part of her Graduate studies, she has assisted in several projects. D.I.N.E., an immersive theatrical experiment was presented last spring. In this experiment, her goal was to explore how visual elements could tell a story without relying on words. Specifically, she focused on how the selection and arrangement of objects could create an emotional and narrative environment. Her thesis show, Paradise Lost, was presented in February, in which she did the set design.

As a simultaneous film and theater scene designer, Lucy has significantly contributed to elevating the recognition and value of Chinese female artistry in art cinema. Notably, she served as the production designer for independent films, such as The Breaking Ice, directed by Anthony Chen, which was selected by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the best films of the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. This dual role explains the narrative depth present in her artwork.

Residency Application

Emerging artists find the Casa AiR program to be a welcoming place for those wanting to experience the residency process. Mid-career and established artists are also encouraged to apply as Casa provides space free of charge and will help to co-ordinate a number of public engagement opportunities.

Please seek funding for travel, lodging and per diems from granting agencies as necessary. Successful candidates may request letters of support for their grant applications.

Application deadline:
Application deadlines occur January 15 and June 15 of each year.
Submissions for the January 15 deadline will be programmed for a residency between June 15 and December 31.

Submission for the June 15 deadline will be programmed for a residency between January 15 and June 14 of the following year.

External Artist Calls

The Allied Arts Council is often sent calls for artists by other organizations or comes across calls that may be of interest to local artists. These calls are organized by discipline below. The AAC encourages the payment of artist fees in all the calls. Artists should be fairly compensated. The AAC does not publish opportunities that require submission fees for ‘pay to play’ or puts undue burden on artists. If the opportunity is a professional development session, residency, conference or volunteer position, these will be clearly denoted in purple.

Do you have a call for artists that you would like shared? Please email communications@artslethbridge.org

Multi-Disciplinary Calls (Across Disciplines)

  • Call for Applications: Canada Council for the Arts – Digital Greenhouse. The Digital Greenhouse is a digital innovation initiative for Canadian individuals, groups, and organizations. It supports short-term projects that leverage digital technology to address sectoral and digital challenges. More information.Deadline: ongoing 
  • Lethbridge Artist Group Feature: Be featured as a local artist group in the recreation and culture guide each month. Must be AAC Allied Member. Deadline – 1st of each month. Contact communications@artslethbridge.org
  • Call for Submissions: Forest City Gallery Special Projects. Special Projects may be one-off events or proposed as a limited series. Examples of Special Projects include performances, live art projects, public talks, workshops and skill-sharing events, off-site projects and interventions, screenings, and digital platform events. We invite artists as well as those working across disciplines to apply. More information. Deadline: Proposed projects/initiatives are reviewed on an ongoing basis
  • AAC / BRZ Busking Program: Calling all musicians! The AAC is collaborating with the Lethbridge Downtown BRZ to bring more busking to Lethbridge! These will be paid artist opportunities to help paint the air with your sounds and liven the many events happening in the City of Lethbridge! If you are interested in being a Lethbridge busker, fill out the short application form.
  • Call for Nominations – Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS) presents The Spirit of Helen Award in honour of Helen Folkmann, an artist and arts advocate who passed away in 2004. This award is open to all artists and cultural workers in Alberta. Current members of AMAAS may nominate one candidate per cycle. Recipients are awarded $2000 and celebrated at the biennial AMAAS conference. More information. Deadline: May 15, 2025

Movement & Dance

  • Call-to-Artists I Alberta Dance Alliance –ADA is currently working on a pilot research project to find ways to resolve several sectoral challenges faced by the dance sector in Alberta. The research project aims to come up with solutions to resolve various sectoral challenges, such as the digital divide, intellectual property concerns, global reach, and community building. In the initial stages of our research it was uncovered that developing a collaborative platform could act as a central hub for many diverse and semi-autonomous activities and participants. Hence, to create a collaborative platform for the Alberta dance sector, we are looking for artists to conduct user interviews to further understand the needs of our Albertan dance artists that this collaborative platform would fulfill. Sign Up

Literary Arts

 

  • Manuscript Review: Canadian Authors of Alberta The Writers-in-Residence program provides support to Alberta writers of all experience levels and is available to the public. Whether you’re in search of manuscript editing help or mentorship and advice, our WiRs are here to support you in your literary endeavours. More information. 
  • Call for Submissions: Galleries West. Galleries West welcomes pitches from previously published arts writers or emerging writers with a strong sense of the writing craft and a good knowledge of the visual arts. We encourage pitches from diverse voices, including BIPOC writers. Most of our stories and reviews relate to artists with exhibitions in Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) or the North (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut), or significant exhibitions elsewhere that feature Western Canadian artists. We occasionally commission articles on more general themes. Please direct pitches to editor@gallerieswest.ca, briefly explaining the premise of what you want to write. More information. Deadline: ongoing.
  • Call for Writers: CRAFT is an online publication celebrating both emerging and established writers. Their focus is on the craft of writing and how those elements make a good story great. They feature new and republished fiction; critical pieces on craft; craft exercises; interviews on craft with established writers; book reviews and summaries; and much more. More information.
  • Call for Writers: The Cripsters is a monthly Akimblog feature on disability and culture from the point of view of people with disabilities. Looking for submissions of 750-1000 words on topics that intersect with art and disability through a social justice lens and that crip/disrupt the way we think about disability. Submissions can take the form of a critical review, an interview, or an article on artistic/curatorial processes, theory and ideas, commentary, community, etc. For examples of previous articles, find the archive here. A writer’s fee is paid. There is no deadline. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis. Please email proposals in the form of a short synopsis or outline to Kim Fullerton at kimful@akimbo.ca.
  • Call for Nominations: The Prairie Grindstone Prize is intended to support current and future work. This prize is not a book prize, but a writing prize for an engaged prairie writer, given in recognition of a body of work. More information. Deadline: May 15, 2025 at midnight.

Media Arts

  • Call for Applications: EMMEDIA Open Access Program. The focus of Open Access is to aid in the production of media art projects, giving participants up to one year to complete their works. This program is directed toward intermediate and senior artists. Potential program participants are asked to send in an application that includes current CV, script/storyboard or treatment, project description, detailed budget and relevant support material.  The number of projects supported annually is dependent on funding and the quality of submissions received. Open Access projects are given access to EMMEDIA workshops, in-house editing and production equipment up to an in-kind value of $4000 and an honorarium of $500. More information.  Deadline: dependent on funding and quality of applications. 
  • Call for Applications:  Talent to Watch Program at Telefilm supports emerging filmmakers looking to finance the production stage of their first feature film project(s). The Talent to Watch Program has three streams: Industry Partner Stream, Festival Selection Stream, Filmmaker Apply-Direct Stream  (All Key Members of the Creative Team must be: Indigenous; Black; People of Colour; Women; Gender-diverse individuals; 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals; Persons with disabilities; and/or Members of an Official Language Minority Community.) More information. Closing Date: April 30, 2025
  • Call for Documentaries: Diffusion 2025 is a summer festival series that will take place across multiple events including screenings, talks and critical writing intersecting with recent non-fiction moving image works. We are seeking short and long form projects that push the boundaries of non-fiction filmmaking (personal, diaristic, formal, documentary-driven, abstract, animated, etc) to be included in this series and/or future screenings. There is no fee to submit and screening fees (artist fees/film rentals) are paid for all works screened based on the length of the film. More information. Deadline: May 2, 2025
  • Call for Projects: HTMlles 2026: On a Human Scale marks the 16th edition of the festival and Ada X’s 30th anniversary, an opportunity to celebrate our commitment to building digital spaces on a human scale while imagining new possibilities for collaboration and accessibility. They invite local and national artists performers, researchers, hackers, designers, facilitators, technologists, collectives, and organizers to propose projects that engage with: AI and algorithmic interventions, Archiving and memory in online and offline worlds, Digital activism, slacktivism, mischief, and disruption as methods for critique and play, Digital autonomy and creative resistance, Digital spaces on a human scale: Community-centered, open-source and decentralised technology, Privacy and ethical tech, Slow tech, alternative digital infrastructures, and low-tech solutions, The material impact of digital technologies and The role of artists in visualizing and intervening in technological systems. More information. Deadline: May 5, 2025
  • Call for Animations: GIRAF 21 Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival 2025  is a celebration of independent animation, a showcase of the best of what’s being created here in Canada and around the world. Each year, we scour the globe for the most astounding, inventive, beautiful, mind-altering and unexpected animated films out there. More information. Deadline: August 1

Music

    • AAC / BRZ Busking Program: Calling all musicians! The AAC is collaborating with the Lethbridge Downtown BRZ to bring more busking to Lethbridge! These will be paid artist opportunities to help paint the air with your sounds and liven the many events happening in the City of Lethbridge! If you are interested in being a Lethbridge busker, fill out the short application form.

 

Public Art

  • Call for Artists: Children’s Services Mural Project Lethbridge Public Library is calling on artists to take part in our Children’s Services Mural Project. The goal of these murals is to create an inviting, engaging space while also offering opportunities for local artists. We will spotlight three artists over the course of the year, with each showcasing their work for about three months. More information. Deadline: May 16, 2025
  • Request for Qualifications: Strathcona County Footbridge Public Art Project. The Edmonton Arts Council (EAC), on behalf of the City of Edmonton and Strathcona County, is seeking an Indigenous artist or artist team residing in Canada to create site-responsive artworks located at both ends of the new pedestrian bridge. This Request for Qualifications includes a two-stage selection process. Project Budget:$165,000. This budget encompasses all costs directly associated with the creation and installation of the artwork, including artist fees, travel, materials, fabrication, foundations, transportation, and installation. More information. Deadline for Request for Qualifications: 11:59 AM (noon) on May 212025 

Theatre & Drama

  • Call for Male Actors: Coulee Players are in desperate need of 1 or 2 male actors. The group does 7 or 8 short skits every Friday afternoon for about an hour at Senior’s Homes. Most skits are 2 to 4 minutes in length and are primarily written by group members. For more information, please contact Lee Prindle at 403.320.1748.
  • Call for Narrators. The National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) is looking for volunteers to read and record books for their NARRATE! Project, which provides accessible audiobooks to those with print disabilities. Training, equipment, and technical assistance will be provided to successful applicants. For more information, and to apply, contact Bonnie Mikalson-Andron: 403.320.3026 or at bonnie.mikalson-andron@lethlib.ca.
  • Call for Auditions: Jubilations Theatre. Jubilations Dinner Theatre is welcoming actors to submit video auditions for their multiple show season. We are very interested in seeing performers from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and abilities. Actors are invited to submit for two different kinds of shows: MainStage and Junior shows  (TYA – geared to ages 4-12 and their families). Interested performers can send in a video audition which includes: One pop or rock song that showcases your voice best and a short comedic monologue. More information. These auditions are ongoing and actors can submit at any time.

Visual Art

 

  • Call for Submissions: SHOWCASE: small spaces/big ideas is a community art project that highlights the work of local artists and creators. It is a constellation of 26 mini-exhibition spaces available for 1-month bookings by anyone of any age, experience, or background who wants to show their artwork at the AGA. Each month brings a different exhibition and a new look at the diversity of Alberta’s creativity. Submission info. Deadlines on-going.
  • Call for Submissions: Strathcona County Art Gallery@501 is now welcoming exhibition submissions from artists and curators. Completed submissions may be submitted and will be accepted throughout the year. More information.
  • Call for Applicants: The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program is intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Each grant is given as one-time assistance or a specific emergency, examples of which are fire, flood, or emergency medical need. The program does not consider requests for dental work, chronic situations, capital improvements, or projects of any kind; nor can it consider situations resulting from general indebtedness or lack of employment. More information. Deadline: On-going
  • Call for Applicants: The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant is available to emerging figurative artists. This grant is unique in scope in that it is available to students and artists around the world. More information. Deadline: On-going
  • Call for Submissions: Chrome Salon + Spa, located in downtown Lethbridge, is seeking artists to hang work in their salon and spa. The space is commission-free and no charge. Contact Chrome Salon + Spa directly for more information and a tour of the space. More information. Deadline: On-going
  • Call for Submissions: Latitude 53’s programming includes two Main Space galleries as well as The Garage, a space dedicated to new work by emerging local artists. In both of these models, Latitude 53 provides installation assistance, promotion, documentation, as well as professional compensation for artists in accordance to the expectations set by CAR/FAC. Latitude 53 accepts programming submissions from artists and curators on an ongoing basis. Submissions are kept on record for a period of one year for consideration by Latitude 53 staff, the Program Advisory Committee, and/or guest curators. More information. Deadline: On-going
  • Call for Submissions: Surrey Art Gallery welcomes proposals from artists and guest curators for exhibitions in any media and subject area. These include solo, group exhibitions and touring shows as well as exhibitions that include work by, for, or about children, or of work evolving out of projects or residencies. There is no deadline for proposals, and your package will be acknowledged when received. More information. Deadline: On-going 
  • Call for Artists: Children’s Services Mural Project Lethbridge Public Library is calling on artists to take part in our Children’s Services Mural Project. The goal of these murals is to create an inviting, engaging space while also offering opportunities for local artists. We will spotlight three artists over the course of the year, with each showcasing their work for about three months. More information. Deadline: May 16, 2025
  • Call for Artists: Allied Arts Council of Pincher Creek strives to host thought-provoking exhibitions that appeal to a diverse audience in order to expand understanding of the visual arts in the community. Their art gallery exhibits working artists at all levels of their artistic careers and curates dynamic exhibitions that showcase strong, current Canadian art. They provide a yearly exhibition schedule balancing local artists and artists from throughout Canada working in all mediums. More information Deadline: August 1st, 2025