2026 21c Northwest Arkansas Award

21c NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

21c Museum Hotels, a multi-venue contemporary art museum and award-winning hospitality company, and Artadia, a nonprofit grantmaker and nationwide community of visual artists, curators, and patrons, are thrilled for the fourth annual 21c Artadia Award.

The 21c Artadia Award will annually provide $15,000 in unrestricted funds to one artist living and working in the unique creative communities where 21c Museum Hotels are located. The 21c Artadia Award is designed to provide essential funding and recognition to artists at pivotal points in their careers, strengthen arts communities, and spur new levels of career achievement.

Artadia is now accepting applications for the 21c Northwest Arkansas Artadia Award application is an open call, free to apply, and available to visual artists currently living and working within the Benton and Washington counties of Arkansas for the last two consecutive years at minimum. Individual artists and collaboratives working in all visual media and at any stage in their career are strongly encouraged to apply. The Awardee will be selected through a two-tier jury in the summer of 2026.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY:

July 15th, 2026 by 11:59pm CT

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible to apply for the 2026 21c Northwest Arkansas Artadia Award, artists must fulfill the following requirements:

• Be a contemporary visual artist (making artwork for presentation in a contemporary art context: museum, galleries, arts non-profit, the public art realm, etc. Please note that Artadia does not fund filmmakers making films for distribution in cinematic venues, or those working in choreography presented outside of a contemporary art context).
• Live and work within Benton and Washington counties of Arkansas for a minimum of the last two consecutive years.
• Not currently be enrolled in an art-related degree program, nor be planning to attend an art-related degree program in the coming year.
• Not be related to Artadia staff or directors in any way.
• Have never received an award from Artadia or from The Art Council (Artadia’s former name) equal to or more than $10,000. Please note that former finalists are eligible to apply.
• Unless applying as a collaborative, you must be the sole conceptual author of the artwork submitted in the application; if there are collaborators that share authorship of the submitted work they must be clearly identified and credited.

APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS

Artadia employs a rigorous two-tier jury process that combines local expertise with outside perspective from leading national curators. A panel of two curators evaluates all submissions and selects three Award Finalists. The panel will then conduct virtual studio visits with the three Finalists. Of the Finalists, the jurors will designate one artist to receive an award of $15,000 in unrestricted funds.

PLEASE NOTE:

• The only way to apply to Artadia Awards is through Submittable. We do not accept materials via email or any other channel.
• We strongly recommend that you review our FAQ page in full before starting your application.
• While we welcome applications from artists at all stages of their practice, ideal applicants must demonstrate a high level of artistic excellence, maintain a rigorous practice and have a clear artistic voice.
• We recommend that you submit work that has been created within the past three years.
• Though you may submit more than one slide of the same artwork, we recommend that you provide a representative sample of the breadth of your creative work.
• Video submissions are limited to video art, animation, and performance documentation. Feature length commercial films and documentaries, music videos, and commercial music projects are not eligible.
• Artadia Awards are not project-based grants. We do not accept project proposals, or support the funding of a specific work. Artists must apply with work that has been completed.
• Generative AI may be used as a tool within your creative process, but must serve your creative direction rather than replace human creativity. If AI is a primary contributor to your work, disclosure is required. Please review our full AI policy for detailed guidelines.
• We highly recommend that you finish the application at least two days prior to the deadline. Artadia Staff will not be able to answer questions past July 14 or accept late applications. Please allow yourself 48 hours to upload images and video links. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. No exceptions.

TIMELINE

June 15–July 15: Application open

Late July: Finalists notified

Early August: Studio visits with Finalists

Mid-August: 2026 21c Northwest Arkansas Awardee announced

QUESTIONS?

Please visit our FAQ page if you have any questions regarding the application.

If after reviewing the FAQ page, your question is still unanswered, please direct any questions to info@artadia.org with the subject line "2026 21c Northwest Arkansas Award Application," and staff will endeavor to answer your questions as soon as possible. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.