How to Find Open Calls for Exhibitions, Residencies & Competitions (A Ceramic Artist’s Workflow)

There are hundreds of open calls posted every week — exhibitions, competitions, residencies — but how do you actually find the right ones for you?

In this video, I’m walking you through the exact system I use to find open calls, residencies, and exhibition opportunities as a working ceramic artist — the same system that helped me land my paid residency in Portugal (and my very first one, in Virginia).

Here’s what I cover:

🔍 How I use Instagram to “train the algorithm” to surface open calls for me — including the exact folder system and hashtags I use
🌐 The platforms and websites worth checking (Zapp, CaFÉ, Res Artis) — and which ones I’ve personally stopped using and why
📰 The ceramics-specific resources I actually rely on: The Residency Review, Ceramics Now, NCECA, and a few magazines worth subscribing to
🤝 Why word of mouth is still my favorite way to find opportunities (and how cold-emailing galleries builds resilience even when they don’t reply)
✅ The quality checks I run before applying anywhere — so you don’t end up paying “vanity gallery” fees like I did early in my career
🗂️ My actual weekly workflow: how I track everything in 30 minutes a month, and what’s inside my “application kit” that lets me apply in two hours instead of two days

Want to start your own open-call list today? I put together a free Open Call Tracker + Resource Checklist — the exact tracker template and source list I personally use to stay organized and never miss a deadline. Grab it on my website (link below) 👇

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:20 Method 1: Instagram
3:10 Method 2: Specialized Platforms (Zapp, CAFE, etc.)
3:34 Method 3: Ceramic Newsletters & NCECA
3:49 The Residency Review Website
5:44 Ceramic Magazines
6:08 Method 4: Word of Mouth
6:47 Method 5: Cold Emailing Galleries
7:28 My Application Workflow & Organization
8:51 Applying & Quality Checks

📌 FREE DOWNLOAD: Open Call Tracker + Resource Checklist → loramceramics.com/blog/how-to-find-open-calls-ceramic-artists

🎓 GO DEEPER
🎨 Textures in Ceramics course (glaze chemistry from scratch + special effects) → https://www.loramceramics.com/textures-in-ceramics/ 🌋 The Glaze is Lava course (full lava glaze research, 5+ hours of test tile reviews) → https://www.loramceramics.com/the-glaze-is-lava 💛 Patreon — all the recipes from these test tiles, 20–40 glazes/month ($15/month) → https://www.patreon.com/c/MariaLoram 🧪 Public glaze recipes → https://glazy.org

I’m Maria Loram — a functional ceramics artist making pieces for interior design. On this channel I share glaze experiments, studio life, workshops around the world, and the real side of running a creative business.
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If you know of any open-call resources I didn’t mention, drop them in the comments — I’m always looking for more!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next video 🤍

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