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May 2026 brings a wide range of opportunities for artists working across visual art, digital practice, film and interdisciplinary fields. From major international grants and residencies to open calls and competitive awards, this month highlights multiple pathways for creative development, funding and global visibility. Opportunities are grouped below to support easier navigation and selection. Exhibitions and open calls Feminitt Caribbean Open Call Safe Cycle Week Exhibition

Barbadian artist Aaron Trotman works at the intersection of precision and perception. Using pencil as his primary medium, he produces highly controlled portraits that extend beyond surface representation. His drawings are not simply images to be viewed, but works that shift depending on how they are encountered. Omenala IV, charcoal and ultraviolet ink on paper by Aaron Trotman. Image courtesy of the artist via Instagram. At the centre of his practice is the use of ultraviol

At first glance, it might seem like just another international exhibition. But the Venice Biennale has long been one of the most influential platforms in the global art world. It is a space where countries shape how they are seen, culturally and creatively. This year, Grenada returns once again. And while it may read as a national milestone, the significance stretches far beyond one island. Grenada Pavilion Venice 2025. Courtesy GAC Grenada Arts Council More than representati

At first glance, World Art Day feels like a celebration. A moment to pause. To admire. To share beauty across timelines and borders. But for Caribbean artists, the day carries a quieter question: Who gets to be seen? While art from this region is rich with history, movement, and meaning, it is still too often treated as peripheral in global conversations. Collected as aesthetic, but not always respected as discourse. Celebrated in moments, but rarely sustained in systems. Wor

In a single glance, it feels familiar, almost nostalgic. Scenes of everyday life unfold across the canvas: figures in motion, shared spaces, quiet domestic moments. But to stop there would be to misunderstand what is actually happening. What you’re looking at is not just an image. It is a collage. This is the work of Bahamian artist Jessica Whittingham. Her practice draws from everyday moments, shared spaces, and the quiet patterns of daily life. But instead of presenting the

Conversations about Caribbean art often gravitate towards visibility. Who is being shown, who is being collected, who is travelling, who is being written about abroad. While visibility matters, it is not the most urgent need. The current moment calls for something quieter and more foundational. What Caribbean art needs right now is not acceleration, but conditions. One of the most pressing needs is time. Time to research, to experiment, to fail without consequence, to return

Carnival is often experienced as celebration. Colour, music, movement and public joy define how it is usually seen. Yet beneath the surface, Carnival also carries memory, identity and history that extend far beyond the moment itself. Across the Caribbean and its diaspora, Carnival operates as more than a festival. It becomes a living archive of culture, shaped by generations and carried across geographies. It is within this wider context that contemporary artists continue to

Osmeivy Ortega is a Cuban artist known for his refined approach to engraving and printmaking, particularly woodcut. His work stands out for its strong visual language and careful attention to texture, contrast, and form. Trained at San Alejandro Academy and later at Instituto Superior de Arte, Ortega has built a practice that combines technical discipline with symbolism. Animals appear often in his compositions, serving as quiet references to emotion, instinct, and the connec

As the next edition of the Venice Biennale approaches, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026, attention turns once again to the artists shaping the future of contemporary art, including voices from the Caribbean and its diaspora. Held every two years in Italy, the Biennale remains one of the most influential platforms in the art world, bringing together international artists, curators, and audiences. The 2026 edition is expected to continue this global dialogue, with growin

This April, Caribbean artists have a range of exciting opportunities to expand their practice, gain international exposure, and access funding. From fully funded residencies to international competitions and grants, here’s what’s open this month. Exhibitions Caribbean Creatives Exhibition Annual exhibition showcasing Caribbean and African diaspora visual artists. Early submissions are encouraged due to limited space. Deadline: April 26, 2026 Location: Urban Art Gallery, Phi

Hurvin Anderson is currently presenting an exhibition at Tate Britain, on view until August 23, 2026, bringing together works that reflect on Caribbean heritage, migration, and the shifting nature of belonging. How does place shape the way an artist sees the world? For Anderson, landscape is never simply a setting. It becomes a space of memory, migration, and quiet reflection. Rooted in both the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, his work moves between geographies, tracing the

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the creative landscape. Images can now be generated in seconds, styles imitated with striking accuracy, and visual concepts produced at a speed that would have once seemed impossible. For artists around the world, this has sparked both curiosity and concern: is AI simply another tool, or does it represent a deeper shift in how creative work will be valued? For Caribbean artists, this conversation carries particular weight because ar

The Caribbean is a symphony of textures. From the rough grains of sunbaked coral walls to the smooth silk of tropical flowers, the region’s tactile richness has long inspired creativity and calm. Bringing this sensory world into your home doesn’t just enhance aesthetic appeal, it can shift your mindset, foster mindfulness, and awaken creativity. 1. Embrace Natural Fibers Think beyond cotton and polyester. Linen, raffia, jute, and sisal are staples in Caribbean décor for a rea

As March unfolds, artists across the Caribbean and beyond have access to a new wave of opportunities to develop their practice, access funding, build international networks and explore new creative directions. The Caribalent Opportunities Hub features a regularly updated selection of residencies, grants, fellowships and open calls designed to support artists at different stages of their careers. Below is a curated list of opportunities currently open to Caribbean and intern

In the Caribbean, creatives are celebrated. Their work is shared, reposted and admired on social media. Galleries display their pieces. Festivals showcase their talent. Yet when it comes to proper payment, the response is often hesitation, negotiation or requests to work for exposure. Art is labour. It is research. It is skill. It is cultural preservation. And it is economic contribution. Caribbean creatives, painters, sculptors, designers, writers, photographers, filmmakers

At the entrance of the University of Puerto Rico, Carolina Campus, a jaguar rises in form and strength. It does not merely decorate the space. It claims it. The sculpture, titled El Jaguar , signals arrival, identity and power. It is here, in the language of monument and material, that Marcos Daniel Vicéns has found his voice. Working from his studio in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, Vicéns has established himself as one of the island’s compelling contemporary sculptors, bridging in

Ernesto Estévez García did not arrive at hyperrealism through theory. He arrived there through memory. His first encounter with painting was not in an academy but at home, watching his mother paint simply because she loved it. There was no grand ambition attached to it. Just colour, time and quiet devotion. That intimacy shaped him long before he chose landscape as his language. As a young man, Ernesto spent hours exploring caves and remote corners of Cuba’s terrain. These we

February often reduces love to romance. Flowers, dinners and fleeting gestures framed by Valentine’s Day dominate the narrative. Caribbean art tells a different story. Here, love is quieter, heavier and deeply communal. It appears not only between lovers, but between generations, neighbours, ancestors and land. Across the Caribbean, artists speak love fluently, but in languages shaped by survival, care, resistance and memory. To understand Caribbean love, we must look beyond

What would happen if artists were not constantly preoccupied with survival. If creativity was not something squeezed into evenings, weekends, or moments of exhaustion, but treated as real work that deserved stability. This question is no longer hypothetical. In Ireland, it has been tested, measured, and proven. In 2022, the Irish government launched the Basic Income for the Arts , a national pilot programme that provided artists, musicians, and creative workers with a guarant

How do we grow when life constantly shifts beneath our feet? When movement and stillness intertwine, where do we find balance? These questions lie at the heart of Guyanese artist Dominique Hunter’s ongoing Cusp series, a striking exploration of transformation, presence, and resilience. Through her use of the human form, nature, and symbolism, Hunter captures the tension of what she calls mini migrations, the repeated uprootings and resettlings that shape both personal and cre