Here’s the latest SoCal Art Open Calls

Urban Plein Air

Summary: “The city is alive—raw, restless, unpolished. We’re seeking artists who venture into the streets, alleyways, loading docks, transit hubs, industrial edges, and worn corners that rarely make it onto postcards. This exhibition invites plein-air artists to capture the urban environment as it is, not as it’s romanticized.”
Deadline: 12/20/25
Location: Los Angeles Makery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 1/3/26 - 1/25/26
Mediums: Any medium traditionally used in plein air (painting, drawing, mixed media on paper or board, etc.)
Entry Fee: $25

Eye Candy

Summary: “Covet Art Gallery invites artists of all styles and mediums to submit work for our upcoming Eye Candy Exhibition a vibrant, joyful collection of pieces that delight the senses and spark curiosity. We’re looking for fun, unique, and exciting artwork that makes people stop, smile, and feel something. Think bold color, unexpected materials, playful concepts, visual surprises, and anything that instantly catches the eye. Whether your work is sweet, surreal, daring, glossy, whimsical, or downright delicious to look at, we want to see it.”
Deadline: 12/28/25
Location: Covet Art Gallery, Oceanside
Exhibition Dates: 1/17/26 - 2/14/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $25

Human-Made (a creative-centric show)

Summary: “We’re calling in the artists who exist in the in-between — the makers, designers, potters, illustrators, printers, and creative entrepreneurs whose work lands somewhere between fine art and small-batch product line. If you create original work and turn that work into goods people can buy (prints, ceramics, journals, textiles, cards, etc.), this show is yours.”
Deadline: 12/28/25
Location: Not Shockboxx, Hermosa Beach
Exhibition Dates: 1/10/26 - 1/31/26
Mediums: 2D, 3D, mixed media, photography, and digital works
Entry Fee: $25

Chroma, Color, and Contrast

Summary: “SFVACC invites artists to explore the expressive force of color in all its forms — from the saturated and electric to the subtle and restrained. This exhibition looks at the interplay between hues, values, and intensities, and how contrast can spark emotion, define space, or disrupt expectation. We welcome work that examines color as language, as sensation, and as an agent of mood, movement, or meaning.”
Deadline: 1/25/26
Location: TAG Gallery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 2/25/26 - 3/20/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $40. (Early Bird Discount of $10 use code Chroma10 until December 31, 2025)

Laguna Beach 2026 Council Chamber Banner Competition

Summary: “The City of Laguna Beach Council Chamber Banner Competition is a project of the Arts Commission. Selected artists are provided with banner material on which to paint original artwork. The completed banners are displayed in the City of Laguna Beach Council Chambers. Completed banners will be awarded a $900 honorarium.”
Deadline: 3/2/26
Location: Various locations throughout Laguna Beach
Mediums: Painting
Entry Fee: No fee

To view previously listed calls that are still open click HERE.

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