Application Fees for Artist Open Calls: What Are You Actually Paying For?

You find an open call that fits your practice.

The deadline fits your schedule. You appear to be eligible. The programme looks worthwhile.

Then, at the final step, you see an application fee.

Maybe it is €10.

Maybe it is $40.

Maybe the organiser charges for every artwork you submit.

Should you pay it?

There is no universal amount at which an application fee becomes reasonable or unreasonable.

A better starting point is to understand exactly what the fee is, what it pays for and how it relates to the opportunity itself.

In this guide, application fee and submission fee refer to money an applicant must pay to submit an application or work for consideration.

1. An application fee pays for applying, not for being selected

This distinction sounds obvious, but it matters.

An application fee is paid to enter the selection process.

You are not buying a place in the residency, exhibition, grant programme or competition.

In Art Omi's 2027 residency cycle, for example, applicants pay a $15 application fee. Art Omi states that this supports the administration required to process applications. ^↗

The residency itself carries no programme fee; residents remain responsible for travel expenses.

Banff Centre uses a similar distinction. Its 2026 Artist in Residence programme lists a non-refundable application fee separately from the costs of participating in the programme. Banff says the application fee covers the processing of the application, including the SlideRoom fee. ^↗

So the first useful distinction is:

application fee = cost of entering the selection process

That is different from what participation may cost if you are selected.

2. Do not confuse an application fee with a participation fee

Several kinds of costs can appear around the same opportunity.

An application fee is a cost of submitting the application.

A participation fee, programme fee or residency fee is a cost associated with taking part in the opportunity rather than submitting the application.

Those costs should not be treated as one number.

A programme might have a small application fee but substantial costs after selection.

Another might charge an application fee while providing accommodation, meals and studio space at no cost to selected residents.

Another might have no application fee but require participants to contribute towards the programme itself.

This is why the question:

Does it cost money to apply?

is different from:

What will participation actually cost me if I am selected?

AOA treats those as separate financial conditions.

3. Does the organiser explain what the fee pays for?

Some organisations state this clearly.

Art Omi says its application fee supports the administration involved in processing applications. ^↗

Banff Centre says its application fee covers the processing of the application, including the SlideRoom fee. ^↗

VCCA says its application fee helps offset administrative costs such as submission-platform charges and staff time. ^↗

That does not automatically tell you whether the fee is worth paying.

But it gives you information.

If an organisation charges an application fee and says nothing about what it supports, you know less about the financial relationship.

The useful question is:

Why is this fee being charged?

4. Is the fee for the whole application or for each work?

Not all submission fees work the same way.

An organiser might charge one fee for the entire application.

Another may allow a certain number of works for the base fee and charge extra for additional images or works.

Another may charge per submitted artwork.

Those structures can produce very different total costs.

Artquest generally does not list opportunities that cost professional artists money to take part. When an application or submission fee is involved, it asks organisers to state how much it costs, whether the fee applies per work or to the whole application, why the fee is charged and whether selected artists are paid. ^↗

So do not record only:

Application fee: €20

Also ask:

€20 for what?

One application?

One artwork?

Three works?

Additional images?

A second category?

The amount shown first may not be the amount you actually pay.

5. Is the fee refundable?

Many application fees are non-refundable.

That means you do not receive the fee back simply because you are not selected.

Banff Centre, for example, explicitly describes its application fee as non-refundable. ^↗

Other calls may have different policies.

Always check before paying.

If the call does not specify a refund policy, do not assume one.

This can also matter when an application is incomplete, ruled ineligible or cannot be assessed for another reason.

The organiser's actual terms determine what happens.

6. Is there a fee waiver or reduced fee?

A listed fee is not always the amount every applicant must pay.

Some organisations provide:

• fee waivers;
• reduced fees;
• exemptions;
• lower fees for particular applicant groups.

VCCA explains that its application fee can be prohibitive for some applicants and provides a process for requesting a waiver. ^↗

PLAYA's 2027 residency charges a $40 application fee, but states that all application fee waiver requests will be granted and that applicants do not need to provide an explanation. ^↗

Banff Centre charges a lower application fee to applicants who identify as Indigenous. ^↗

An application fee therefore needs at least two questions:

What is the standard fee?

and:

Is a waiver, reduction or exemption available?

If the second answer is unclear, check the FAQ or ask the organiser.

7. Consider the fee in relation to the actual opportunity

The same €25 fee does not represent the same decision in every context.

Suppose one opportunity asks for €25 to apply and selected artists receive substantial financial support, professional resources and accommodation.

Another asks for the same €25, while selected artists must also pay exhibition costs, shipping, production and participation expenses themselves.

The application fee is identical.

The overall offer is not.

This does not create a formula for deciding whether either opportunity is good or bad.

It simply means the fee should not be evaluated in isolation.

Look at what selected artists receive.

Look at what they still have to pay.

Look at how much work the application itself requires.

Then decide whether paying to enter the selection process makes sense for you.

8. Your application also costs time

The payment is not the only cost of applying.

An application may require:

• a new project proposal;
• a detailed budget;
• specific work samples;
• translations;
• new documentation;
• references;
• technical plans;
• hours of form filling.

Artquest identifies both time and money as barriers that organisations should consider when designing open-call processes. ^↗

This means a free application can still be expensive.

And a small fee attached to a very simple application may require less total investment than a free call that takes several days to prepare.

Application cost is therefore better understood as:

money + time + additional preparation costs

9. A fee does not prove that an opportunity is good or bad

A legitimate organisation can charge an application fee.

A strong programme can also be free to apply.

The presence or absence of a fee is not enough to judge the entire opportunity.

Art Omi's current 2027 residency cycle charges a $15 application fee. ^↗

Artadia's award applications, by contrast, are free to enter. ^↗

These are different application models.

Neither fact by itself tells you whether the underlying opportunity is worthwhile.

So avoid two shortcuts:

There is a fee, therefore the opportunity is bad.

and:

There is no fee, therefore the opportunity is good.

Neither conclusion follows automatically.

10. But application fees do affect access

Even when an organisation can explain why a fee exists, asking applicants to pay changes who can afford to participate in the selection process.

Artquest generally does not list opportunities that cost professional artists money to take part. When a submission fee is involved, it asks organisers to explain the amount, structure and reason for the fee, as well as whether selected artists are paid. ^↗

Artquest also identifies artists' time and money as barriers that organisations should consider when designing open calls. ^↗

Visual Artists Ireland similarly cautions against opportunity structures that shift financial risk onto artists, particularly where artist payment is weak or absent. ^↗

These are sector positions, not universal rules.

But they explain why fee waivers, transparency and the financial conditions for selected artists matter.

11. No fee is useful information too

Some professional artist opportunities explicitly state that applications are free.

Artadia's awards are free to apply. ^↗

Other programmes provide fee waivers when payment would otherwise prevent someone from applying.

Both are useful pieces of information.

But remember the same principle that applies elsewhere in an open call:

If the fee is not stated, do not automatically interpret that as:

free

The correct reading may simply be:

not specified

Check the actual application page before assuming there is no charge.

Before you pay an application fee

A useful evaluation can be reduced to a small set of questions:

Check	What you want to know
Amount	What is the actual total I will pay?
Structure	Is it per application, per work or per category?
Purpose	Does the organiser explain what the fee supports?
Refund	Is it refundable under any circumstances?
Waiver	Is a waiver, reduction or exemption available?
Application burden	How much additional time and work will applying require?
Selected offer	What do successful applicants actually receive?
Later costs	Are there participation, residency, exhibition or production costs after selection?

There is no universal answer that tells every artist when to pay.

The relevant question is whether this particular fee is acceptable to you in the context of this particular opportunity.

Keep application fees separate from everything else

For Artist Opportunity Assistant, an application fee is not the same thing as:

• an artist contribution;
• a residency fee;
• a participation fee;
• production costs;
• travel costs;
• an artist fee.

They describe different parts of the financial relationship.

Keeping them separate makes a call easier to understand and compare.

It also prevents a common mistake: seeing a financially attractive opportunity while overlooking that applying itself carries a cost.

The important questions are therefore not only:

Is there an application fee?

But also:

How much is it, what does it cover, can it be waived and what does the opportunity offer in return?

Editorial note

Application and submission fees vary widely between programmes, disciplines, countries and application cycles. The examples in this guide illustrate specific approaches and should not be treated as universal standards. Always check the current official call, payment terms and application platform before paying.