New open calls are always available on Creatives Unite, but there is no better time period to apply to a creative open call that fits your needs than the start of the new year! In January, we are sharing with you a curated choice of open calls in a variety of fields to help you achieve your 2026 professional goals.
By Nasia Bania2026 is here, and January offers a selection of open calls in a variety of fields like culture, health, media, gaming, textiles, journalism, and artistic mobility. This month’s list brings together six opportunities that support research, production, residencies, and professional development, with a strong focus on European cooperation and cross-sector engagement. These calls provide entry points for initiating new projects, strengthening existing practices, and setting priorities for 2026.
Sector: Collaborative Arts, Health & Wellbeing, Social Practice, Education
Deadline: February 2, 2026 (Stage 1 – Expression of Interest)
The Culture and Health Platform’s European Call for Projects supports collaborative initiatives at the intersection of culture, health, and social care. Co-funded at European level and coordinated by Culture Action Europe, the call invites artists and artist collectives to work in partnership with non-cultural organisations such as hospitals, care homes, social NGOs, mental health services, and educational institutions.
Eligible projects may take place in healthcare, social care, or educational settings and can include artistic residencies, community-based programmes, or artistic interventions embedded in care contexts.
Support provided:
- Eight working grants of €8,000 each
- Funding awarded following a two-stage application process
- Selected projects will be supported as of May/June 2026
Read more here.
Sector: Artist Residencies, Cultural Mobility, Cross-Border Exchange
Deadline: March 16, 2026
Culture Moves Europe’s Call for Residency Hosts supports legal entities that wish to host artists and cultural professionals as part of a residency project. The call is part of Culture Moves Europe, a Creative Europe–funded programme promoting artistic and cultural mobility across Europe. The scheme enables organisations to design and implement residency projects while providing financial support to both hosts and participating artists or cultural professionals. T
Support provided:
For host organisations: Hosting allowance of €50 per day, per resident, Accessibility support (if applicable): €375, €675, or €1,200, depending on residency duration
For each resident: Daily allowance of €30 per day
Travel allowance:
- €400 for distances under 5,000 km
- €800 for distances over 5,000 km
Who can apply:
- Legal entities registered and based in a Creative Europe participating country (including overseas territories and outermost regions)
- Organisations with the capacity to host artists or cultural professionals from other Creative Europe countries
- Entities active in one of the eligible sectors: architecture, cultural heritage, design and fashion design, literature, music, performing arts, or visual arts
- Both newly established and well-established organisations are eligible
Read more here.
Sector: Journalism, Media, Democracy, Public Interest News
Deadline: February 4, 2026
Creative Europe’s Journalism Partnerships – Pluralism call supports intermediary organisations that strengthen independent news media operating in areas of high relevance to democracy. The action focuses on reinforcing media freedom, pluralism, and civic participation by redistributing funds to news media actors working at local, regional, community, and investigative levels, as well as in other public-interest news fields.
Support provided:
- Total call budget of €6.9 million
- Maximum grant per project: €2.5 million
- Co-financing rate of up to 90% of eligible costs
Who can apply:
- Intermediary organisations active in the media sector
- Eligible applicants include media associations, NGOs, non-profit and civil society organisations, foundations, universities, research centres, journalistic funds, training bodies, public authorities, and profit-making entities
- Applications may be submitted by a single organisation or a consortium
- Applicants must be established in a Creative Europe participating country
Read more here.
Sector: Design & Fashion, Textile Innovation, Sustainability, Research
Deadline: February 28, 2026
The IMASUS (Imagineering Sustainability) project invites designers, researchers, companies, and material innovators to contribute to a Europe-wide mapping of sustainable and innovative textile materials. The open call targets material developments that challenge current textile and fashion production systems and contribute to more sustainable and circular practices.
Who can apply:
- Designers and creative practitioners working on experimental or innovative textile materials, at any stage of development
- Universities, research labs, and institutes active in materials science, textile engineering, biotechnology, or sustainability research
- Companies and startups developing biomaterials, recycled textiles, new fibres, bio-based composites, or waste-to-material innovations
- Applicants based in Europe working on materials with clear sustainability and circularity potential
Read more here.
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Main Image: Leonard von Bibra on Unsplash edited by CU
