Grants, calls for artists, and other opportunities (April 2024)

April 1, 2024
fiber hawaii 2024 exhibit graphic

A list of federal, state, and other arts and culture grants/opportunities. Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement. 

  • Call for Entry (CaFE). The Call for Entry (CAFE) website can be searched by state (choose the “sort by” menu on the left side of the screen). Search the Café website: Artist.CallForEntry.org.
  • Hawaiʻi Craftsmen Fiber Hawaiʻi 2024 Exhibition: challenges artists to create works “in, of, or about fiber”. Online submission portal open April 1-18, 2024. For more information, please visit the prospectus on the Hawaiʻi Craftsmen website: HawaiiCraftsmen.org/FiberHawaii_Prospectus24.
  • Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance “Assemblage: A Juried Exhibit of Mosaics & Collage” call for Hawaiʻi-based artists. Entry deadline: June 7, 2024. For more information, please visit the call on Call For Entry:  artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=13280.
  • Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra (HSO)“Nā Hōkū ʻŌpio “Young Stars” annual competition for local youth musicians. Application deadline April 15, 2024. For more information, please visit the HSO website: myhso.org/young-stars.
  • Hawaiʻi Surrealist Exhibit 2024: in honor of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Surrealist Manifesto, Wailoa Center will be producing a surrealist exhibit in October 2024. Entries due September 6, 2024. Exhibit dates: October 4 – 24, 2024. For more information and to submit entries, please go to the call for artists post on CallForEntry.org: artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=12599.
  • Kauaʻi Society of Artists (Kukui Grove Center, Lihue) “6th Annual Washed Up” marine debris art show, June 7-28, 2024. Entry day: June 1, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the KSA Gallery. For more information, please visit the Kauaʻi Society of Artists website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
  • Kumu Kahua Theatre “Go Try Playwrite” monthly playwriting contest in collaboration with Bamboo Ridge Press. Submission due dates are the last day of the month. Learn more on the Kumu Kahua website: KumuKahua.org/gotryplaywrite
  • Loʻi Gallery at American Savings Bank (downtown Honolulu) is taking applications for exhibits. Learn more and apply on their website: asbhawaii.com/loigallery.
  • Nā Manu Nahele Origami Project: celebrate our forest birds by creating forest bird origami. Creations meeting the guidelines will be displayed at the Kauaʻi Society of Artists gallery November 2-8, 2024. For guidelines, please visit the Kauaʻi Forest Birds website: KauaiForestBirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/origami-anyone.pdf.
  • 2024 Pacific States Biennial North American printmaking exhibition open to all artists 18 years or older presently residing anywhere on the North American continent, its islands, and outlying US territories. Entry deadline: August 18, 2024. For more information, visit the call information on Call For Entry: artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=13097.
  • University of Hawaiʻi system students: Ka Manaʻo student publication seeks graphic designer, photographer, videographer, and writers. For more information, contact [email protected]. Read the publication online: KaManaoLeeward.com.
  • “Wings and Woodlands: A Tribute to Native Birds and Forests” art show. Artists of all ages and experiences are encouraged to create and submit art inspired by native Hawaiian birds and their forest habitat. Art show at the Kauaʻi Society of Artists gallery at Kukui Grove Center, November 1-8, 2024. For entry guidelines, please go to KFBRP Art Exhibit Guidelines 2024 – Google Docs.

Job Opportunities

  • Bishop Museum job opportunities currently include Special Events and Stewardship Manager, Press Operations Manager, Entomology Collections Manager, and Informatics Web Developer. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org/careers.
  • Honolulu Museum of Art job opportunities currently include Collections Intern, Events Intern, Curatorial Intern, Library Intern, Campus Operations Intern, and Teaching Assistant. Learn more on the Honolulu Museum of Art website: HonoluluMuseum.org/employment.
  • ʻIolani Palace job opportunities currently include Guest Services Associate and Palace Guard. Learn more on the Iolani Palace website: IolaniPalace.org/job-opportunities.
  • State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education job postings include Grade 2-3 and Grade 4-5 Hawaiian Language Teachers (Ke Kula ʻO ʻEhunuikaimalino), Pre-K-6 Technology/Media Teacher (Pope Elementary), and Pre-School Hawaiian Immersion Language Teacher (Pope Elementary). For more information, please visit the Department of Education’s online postings: SchoolJobs.com/careers/hawaiipublicschools.
  • University of Hawaiʻi System job postings currently include Lecturer, Music and Entertainment Learning Experience (Honolulu Community College), Lecturer, Digital Media Art (Hawaiʻi Community College), Lecturer, Art and Creative Media (University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu). Learn more and apply on the University of Hawaiʻi jobs website: SchoolJobs.com/careers/hawaiiedu.
  • University of Hawaiʻi system students: Ka Manaʻo student publication seeks graphic designer, photographer, videographer, and writers (University of Hawaiʻi system students only). For more information, contact [email protected]. Read the publication online: KaManaoLeeward.com.

Volunteer Opportunities

  • Bishop Museum Volunteer Opportunities: current volunteer opportunities include botany volunteer, donor research intern, exhibit greeters, and wayfinders. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org/volunteer.
  • Capitol Modern FestPAC Volunteering may include assisting guests with wayfinding around the museum grounds, assisting with activities, set-up and breakdown help, working at an information table, etc. A thorough volunteer training will be provided in advance of the event! Complete the Volunteer Registration Form as a preliminary sign-up, and another form will be shared at a later date to determine your duty preferences and availability to kōkua: forms.office.com/g/Fxegsk1wAm.
  • Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) Volunteer Program: HoMA offers a variety of volunteer roles, such as engagement with the public around current exhibitions, facilitating art activities with families and children at Family Sunday, guiding tours through museum galleries and more. For more information, please visit the HoMA website: HonoluluMuseum.org/volunteer-program.
  • ʻIolani Palace Volunteer positions currently include greeters, stewards, and palace shop kōkua. For more information, please visit the Iolani Palace website: IolaniPalace.org/contact/volunteer.
  • Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Seeks Grant Review Panelist Volunteers with a professional background in culture and the humanities to join our grant review panelist roster. Panelists must be Hawaiʻi residents with experience in Heritage & Preservation, Community Arts, Arts Education, and Presentation & Performing Arts. We encourage those with a background in Arts and Healing, Community Development related to arts and culture, cultural practitioners of all disciplines, and new and emerging members of the arts and culture community to apply. Contact the SFCA grants program at [email protected].

Hawaiʻi Grants and Programs

  • Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities 2024 Spring Grants – applications due by May 22, 2024. Grant info session on Tuesday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. on Zoom. For more information, please visit the HI Humanities website: HIhumanities.org/what-we-do/our-grants-program.
  • Bishop Museum Mau ka leo “Through Mau ka leo, a digital storytelling space, Bishop Museum seeks to record knowledge held by our staff and communities, so that the collective voices of the Museum can endure for future generations. In tandem with the centralization of our collections data through the Digital Futures Initiative, Mau ka Leo documents cultural and institutional knowledge as multimedia stories — gathered through conversations, writings, and research. The project offers a deeper insight into our materials that far exceeds what standard metadata can record.” Learn more on the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org.

Regional Grant

TourWest 2024-25 applications open April 15, 2024. TourWest is a competitive grant program, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, that provides subsidies to arts and community organizations for the presentation of touring performers and literary artists within the 13-state WESTAF region. For more information, please visit the WESTAF website’s TourWest page: westaf.org/tourwest-2.

National Endowment for the Arts

Challenge America offers support primarily to small organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities. Application deadline: April 30, 2024. Learn more on the NEA website: https://www.arts.gov/grants/challenge-america.


This post was updated on April 2, 2024.

Newsletter Signup

Subscribe and keep in touch with news from the SFCA and the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum.