How to Find Open Calls for Exhibitions, Residencies & Competitions (As a Ceramic Artist)
There are hundreds of open calls posted online every single week — exhibitions, competitions, residencies, juried shows. And yet, so many ceramic artists tell me the same thing: "I never see any of these until the deadline has already passed."
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Maria Loram during her artist residency Tijolo in Portugal
I get it. A few years ago, I felt exactly the same way. These days, finding opportunities isn't really the hard part for me anymore — I have a system, and I wanted to share how it actually works (not the polished, theoretical version, but the one I genuinely use every week).
This is also where my paid residency in Portugal came from — and my very first residency, in Virginia, where I got to try wood firing and work with wild clay for the first time. Neither of those came from luck. They came from consistently showing up in the right places.
Where I Actually Look
I don't rely on just one source — I layer a few together so opportunities come to me instead of me hunting for them every day.
My main three are:
Instagram (yes, really — but with a specific strategy for training the algorithm to work for you),
a small handful of specialized platforms and ceramics-specific newsletters (The Residency Review and Ceramics Now are two I genuinely open every time they land in my inbox),
and — my personal favorite — word of mouth, which is what eventually means you stop chasing open calls altogether, because the galleries start coming to you.
I walk through the specific accounts I follow, the exact hashtags I search, the folder system I use to "train" Instagram, and which platforms I've personally stopped bothering with (because more isn't always better) in the full video.
Wood fired vase from the Cub Creek Residency in Virginia
A Few Places I'd Recommend Starting
If you want a head start before you even watch the video, here are a handful of names I'd bookmark first:
The Residency Review (theresidencyreview.com) — probably the single best place to start. One person actually visited the residencies he reviews, so you're getting honest, lived-in information rather than marketing copy.
Ceramics Now (ceramicsnow.org) — their newsletter regularly rounds up open calls and competitions specific to ceramics, with deadline reminders built in.
NCECA (nceca.net) — check their Exhibitions and Jobs/Residencies pages, and if you ever get the chance to attend the conference in person, the residency tables are some of the best networking you'll do all year.
ZAPP (zapplication.org) and CaFÉ (callforentry.org) — the two big general platforms for juried fairs, public art calls, and exhibitions. I'll be honest: I've scaled back how often I check these because they can get overwhelming, but they're worth knowing about, especially when you're just getting started.
Res Artis (resartis.org), Artist Communities Alliance (artistcommunities.org), and TransArtists (transartists.org) — three solid databases specifically for residencies if that's your focus.
You don't need to follow all of these — pick two or three that feel manageable and check them on a regular rhythm. I cover my exact weekly routine (it only takes about 30 minutes) in the full video, and I included this whole list — plus a tracker template — in the free download below.
How I Stay Organized (Without It Taking Over My Life)
Here's the part that actually matters more than finding the opportunities: having a system to track them so you don't lose them in your bookmarks or your inbox. I keep a simple spreadsheet with the opportunity name, a link, the deadline, the fee, whether shipping is required, and a quick note on whether it's worth pursuing. I also keep an "application kit" ready to go — my portfolio images, bio, CV, artist statement, and image list — so that when deadline week comes around, I can apply in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days.
This is exactly why I put together a free Open Call Tracker + Resource Checklist — it's the tracker template and source list I use myself, ready for you to copy and start building your own list today. You can grab it for free further down this page.
A Few Quality Checks Before You Apply Anywhere
Not every "opportunity" is actually worth your time or money — and I learned this the hard way early in my career, paying fees I really shouldn't have. Before I apply anywhere, I ask a few quick questions: Who's actually hosting this? What's the ratio between the fee and the quality of the gallery or exhibition? Is the theme and jury clearly named, or is it vague? If a fee feels disproportionate to the opportunity, or the language around rights and ownership feels off, that's usually a sign to walk away. I cover the specific red flags I watch for — the kind of thing that took me years of trial and error to learn — in the full video.
First time welding during the artist residency Tijolo in Portugal.
Thinking About Building Your Ceramics Business?
This is the kind of breakdown I wish someone had shown me when I was starting out. If you're a ceramic artist working on the business side — pricing, fairs, expenses, building a sustainable studio practice — I'm planning to offer 1-1 mentorship sessions in the future. Drop me an email at maria@loramceramics.com and I'll let you know when spots open.
In the meantime, if you want to develop your technical ceramic skills alongside the business side, I teach two online courses: Textures in Ceramics covers surface decoration from natural materials to lava glaze, and The Glaze is Lava goes deep on volcanic and crater glaze effects.
Go Deeper
If you want to build the technical foundation that makes a lot of these income paths possible — teaching, licensing, digital products, knowledge-sharing — that's exactly what I cover inside my courses:
Textures in Ceramics — an 8-week course building a real vocabulary of ceramic surface technique, from natural materials through glaze chemistry.
The Glaze is Lava — my deep dive into lava glazes, crater glazes, and special effect surfaces.
And if you want the ongoing material — recipes, test results, behind-the-scenes from my own business — that's what my Patreon is for.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Maria — a ceramic artist based in the US. I make sculptural lighting and hand-built vessels, and I share my studio process online.
I teach ceramics internationally and online. → loramceramics.com
This checklist is part of a growing library of free guides for ceramic artists and makers.
