Opportunities
Open calls for the year 2024/25
The 421 capacity building programs support artists and creative practitioners who have a sustained artistic practice or interest in creative disciplines. Often involving juries made up of locally and regionally based arts professionals, as well as pedagogical partners that contribute to the curricula, the capacity building programs function as a launching pad for the career development of young and emerging practitioners. Those programs are open to participation of students, recent graduates and early-career practitioners interested in visual arts, design and architecture, film, new media, literary arts and performance.
Applications can only be accepted through our online Submittable platform. Please apply here:
https://421-online.submittable.com/submit
Residency Program 2025
Applications are now closed.
The Residency Program supports creative practitioners with work that requires studio space, and who are looking for time and space to experiment. The five-month program takes place from February to June and July to November 2025 in the artist studios at 421 Arts Campus, MiZa. Designed for the creative community at large, the residency is multidisciplinary in focus and is open to practices in visual arts and curation, design and technology, music, literary arts, culinary arts, performance and theater, and other creative disciplines. The residency program prioritizes free experimentation without the pressures of a final outcome, but rather a focus on rigorous process and studio use. The residency will bring together three successful applicants for each cohort of the program.
Click here for more information.
Performance Co//ective
Applications are now closed.
The 421 Performance Co//ective is a new movement program co-facilitated by Mary Chase and Carlos Páez González, the same instructors from our current Performance Co/Lab workshops.
Throughout the program, selected participants will engage in monthly closed sessions, exploring various performance elements including writing, movement, vocal work, acting, dance and more. The program culminates in a live showcase, providing you the chance to present your work to an audience.
No prior performance experience is necessary, but applicants must be 18 or older.
For more information, click here.
Artistic Development Program 2025
Applications are now closed.
The 421 Artistic Development Program is a capacity building initiative that supports early to mid-career artists based in the UAE to develop and produce a major body of work that will be presented in a solo exhibition at the end of the program.
The program emphasizes the professional and creative development of participating artists and awards them a AED10,000 participation grant and financial and logistical production support, as well as guidance from experienced art educators, interlocutors, and curators.
For more information, click here.