Five Creative Open Calls in the MENA That Are Actually Worth Your Application

From Riyadh to Venice via Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a wave of creative open calls is turning up the volume on MENA-based talent. Whether you're an artist, architect, singer, or scientist—these competitions are more than just clout-chasers.

They're opportunities to exhibit, perform, or research on major stages, with real backing and regional resonance.

Below, we round up four of the most exciting calls for applications—and how you can be part of them.In a region pulsing with creative momentum, 2025 is proving to be the year of opportunity for Arab talent. From the backstreets of Al Shindagha to the global runways of Paris, from Venice’s architectural halls to Riyadh’s music stages—Arab designers, artists, architects, researchers, and singers are being invited to apply for world-class platforms that don’t just promise exposure, but offer funding, mentorship, and real career development.

If you’ve been waiting for your moment, it’s here. These five open calls across fashion, art, architecture, music, and science are redefining what it means to build a career in the creative industries—from the Arab world, for the world.

1. XPERFORM 2025 — Singers, This Is Your Moment

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Deadline: Auditions June 28–29, 2025
Apply via MDLBEAST

The Middle East’s answer to a talent incubator with teeth, XPERFORM is where raw vocal talent meets regional industry powerhouses. Think: mentorship from icons like Shamma Hamdan, Rawan Alfassi, Dafencii, and now, Aziz Maraka.

Last year, Lamia Khattab's win led to a mainstage performance at Soundstorm. This year, it could be you. If you’re a vocalist ready for stage lights, real feedback, and a regional spotlight, this one’s a no-brainer.

Why it matters: Winners get platformed at XP Music Futures, the MENA region’s largest music industry gathering. Exposure? Guaranteed.

2. Sikka Art & Design Festival 2026 — A Stage in the Heart of Dubai

Dubai, UAE
Deadline: September 1, 2025
Apply via Dubai Culture

If you’re a visual artist, designer, ceramicist, performer—or any creative with something to say—Dubai Culture’s open call for the 14th Sikka Art & Design Festival is the platform to beat.

Held in the evocative Al Shindagha Historic Neighbourhood, the festival draws 160,000+ visitors and celebrates emerging and established GCC talent through murals, live music, installations, workshops, and pop-ups.

Why it matters: Your work becomes part of a citywide conversation on culture and creative identity—plus access to curators, collectors, and collaborators.

National Pavilion UAE — Biennale di Venezia 2027 Architecture Open Call

Venice, Italy (via UAE)
Deadline: September 30, 2025
Apply via National Pavilion UAE

Calling all architects, designers, historians, and curators from the MENASA region: the National Pavilion UAE wants your vision for the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale.

This is not just a simple design gig but is all about storytelling and unearthing an untold narrative from the UAE’s architectural DNA and presenting it to the world’s most prestigious architecture platform.

Why it matters: Past pavilions have won Golden Lions and sparked global conversations. This is your chance to anchor your ideas in history while imagining the future.

AFC Fashion Fund — $500,000 to Build the Next Arab Fashion Icon

Dubai, UAE + Global
Deadline: Rolling, check arabfashioncouncil.com/fashionfund

The Arab Fashion Council has launched its most ambitious initiative yet: a $500,000 fund to scale one Arab ready-to-wear designer into global fashion relevance. This isn’t just money—it’s two years of hands-on brand-building, global showroom access in Paris and Dubai, a capsule collaboration with a major brand, and mentorship from an elite advisory board.

Why it matters: This is the closest thing the region has to a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund—with a sharp focus on sustainable, export-ready fashion from the Arab world.

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NMSS Research Grant Cycle III — For the Science-Inclined Visionaries

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Abu Dhabi, UAE
Deadline: Letter of Intent by August 24; full application by September 28, 2025
Apply via NMSS UAE

Prefer a lab coat to a paintbrush? The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s (NMSS) grant isn’t flashy—but it’s high-impact. With up to AED 1.5M in funding, this third cycle targets research advancing MS treatment across precision medicine, neuroprotection, remyelination, and more.

Applicants must hold a PhD or MD and be affiliated with a UAE-based academic or medical institution (international partners welcome).

Why it matters: This is research that could change lives—backed by serious money and regional visibility.

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Whether you live for acoustics or architecture, installation or immunology, the Middle East and North Africa is offering up global-facing platforms—and they’re open right now. These are true blueprints for the next chapter in regional creativity.

So open that tab, polish that portfolio, and apply.

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