Journal · Painting
Open Calls for Artists in Barcelona — September 2026
Deadlines from 31 August to 30 September

Three open calls are currently accepting applications from artists in Barcelona. All three are free to enter. Between them they offer more than 15,000 € in grants and prizes.
We publish this list every month. Deadlines are checked against the organisers' official rules before publication.
Concurs Fotogràfic "La Natura a Gaudí" — Fundació Antoni Gaudí
5,000 € first prize, plus two prizes of 500 € · Deadline: 31 August 2026
The most accessible call on this list, and the most urgent. Free entry, no age limit, no residency requirement, open to anyone of legal age from any country.
Marking the centenary of Gaudí's death and Barcelona's year as World Capital of Architecture, the contest asks photographers to capture how the natural world shaped Gaudí's architectural language: details, forms, patterns and structures.
Who can apply: anyone of legal age, from any country. Photographers, architects and the general public are all invited.
How to apply: one to three original, unpublished images, individually or as a series, in black and white or colour.

Beques de Producció — 19è Fòrum Fotogràfic Can Basté
Three grants of 2,000 €, plus a publication grant of 3,000 € · Deadline: 21 September 2026, 18:00
Nou Barris' biennial photography call, run by the Centre Cívic Can Basté, the Ajuntament de Barcelona's municipal facility specialising in photography. This is the 19th edition, under the theme Retornar a les utopies.
Ten finalists present their projects to a professional jury during the Fòrum itself, held from 24 to 28 November 2026. The three winning exhibition projects are shown individually at the Sala Cava for a minimum of 45 days across 2027 and 2028, with production support from the Espai Fotogràfic team. The publication grant is edited and distributed by Handshake.
Who can apply: emerging photographers and photographic collectives resident in Spain. Projects must be unexhibited in their entirety and must not have previously won an exhibition prize. Previous FFCB grant recipients are not eligible.
How to apply: online form with a dossier PDF, a folder of 10 images, and one representative vertical image. Note the 18:00 cut-off, not midnight.
Beca d'Arts Visuals — Fundació Güell
4,000 € · Deadline: 30 September 2026, 23:59
The broadest of this month's calls. Open to painting, sculpture, installation, photography, drawing and video art.
The grant is paid in three quarterly instalments. The recipient presents their project publicly at Palau Güell at the end of the grant period, and donates one work to the Fundació's collection.
Who can apply: artists under 30 at the deadline, holding a university degree, born in the Catalan-Valencian-Balearic linguistic area. Artists born outside it may also apply if they obtained their degree there or can demonstrate they currently work there. Applications are accepted from individuals and from artistic collectives with a demonstrable joint body of work.
How to apply: a single PDF under 2 MB by email to the Fundació, including ID, project description, 10 to 20 images of recent work, artistic CV and statement.
A note on deadlines
Deadlines and amounts above were verified against each organiser's official rules on 21 August 2026. Always read the full rules before applying, and check the organiser's site in case anything has changed since publication.
If you know of an open call in Barcelona that should be on next month's list, we'd like to hear about it.

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