Summary: “The Torrance Art Museum is now accepting applications for NOMAD, a three-day pop-up exhibition on August 7–9, 2026. NOMAD is a community-focused event where Southern California artists showcase recent work, connect with peers, and engage a wider audience. The exhibition highlights the region’s diverse 2D and sculptural talent and emphasizes creative exchange, collaboration, and relationship-building. This year, NOMAD will take place at Del Amo Crossing (21535 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503), an open-plan concrete-floor space in the heart of the South Bay. Over 150 artists are expected to participate. The event will also feature TRYST, an international art fair spotlighting alternative galleries and artist-run initiatives.”
Deadline: Applications remain open until all spots are filled
Location: Del Amo Crossing, Torrance
Exhibition Dates: 8/7/26 - 8/9/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: No fee

Summary: “For the first time we are filling the walls with local artists for a long term exhibition & shop. We’re calling local artists in painting, drawing, photography, textile art, ceramics, and material-driven work that lives on or against the wall. This is a chance to apply and place your work inside a shared home, seen daily by a rotating community of hundreds of visitors each month, & available for purchase through the Dear Tomorrow’s online shop. Each piece lives in the house for the duration of the season, forming a collective installation that evolves as work is added and sold.”
Deadline: Submissions are rolling until full
Location: Dear Tomorrow, Community Art House, Oceanside
Exhibition Dates: 6/1/26 - 9/21/26
Mediums: Painting, drawing, photography, textile art, ceramics, and material-driven work that lives on or against the wall
Entry Fee: No fee

Summary: “The Gallery of Hermosa invites artists to submit work for Colors of the Coast, a  group exhibition celebrating coastal life. Timed to coincide with two of Southern California’s highly attended cultural events - Fiesta Hermosa and Hermosa Beach Fine Arts Festival - this exhibition will be seen by thousands of visitors from across Los Angeles and beyond. We are seeking high-quality, original artwork in all styles, genres, and mediums. From representational to abstract, traditional to experimental, impressionistic to photography, plein air to surreal.. artists are encouraged to interpret the coastal theme broadly and creatively.”
Deadline: 5/10/26
Location: Gallery of Hermosa, Hermosa Beach
Exhibition Dates: 5/23/26 - 6/14/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $35

Summary: California Creative Arts is accepting submissions for “Untitled Chaos” an art exhibit at The Gallery in The Colony Theatre. This exhibit coincides with The Colony Theatre’s spring-summer productions.
Deadline: 5/11/26
Location: The Colony Theatre Gallery, Burbank
Exhibition Dates: 5/19/26 - 7/13/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: “This is a California Creative Arts hosted show. Members receive priority. If you are not a member, you can join here. We are a nonprofit. Your membership fee is tax deductible, and you keep 100% of your sales. Non-members, if accepted, must become a member or pay a one-time participation fee of $40 (it’s only $10 more for a one-year membership).”

Summary: “This is a group show juried by Melody Jean Moulton of Trash Lamb Gallery & Colleena Hake of La Matadora Gallery. The theme of this exhibition, Momentum Magi, combines both the Lunar New Year’s energy, “Fire Horse” as well as symbolism from this year’s tarot card, “The Magician.”  Fire Horse energy is associated with ambition, passion, transformation, momentum, visibility, decisive action, and acceleration.  It is expansive and bold.  The Magician (or Magi) symbolizes manifestation, resourcefulness, and personal power, highlighting the individual’s participation in the divine act of creation. It signifies new beginnings, focused intention, and using one's talents to bring ideas to life, encouraging bold action and self-belief.”
Deadline: 5/13/26
Location: La Matadora Gallery, Joshua Tree
Exhibition Dates: 6/13/26 - 7/5/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: No fee

Summary: “La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, California, showcases figurative and narrative paintings and unusual sculptures. The Exhibition will take place on August 7, 2026 and run through August until the 31st, 2026. Artists need to be 18+ years of age to participate. Wall hanging artwork must not exceed 20 inches on the longest dimension. Sculpture work cannot exceed 20 inches in width or depth.” 
Deadline: 5/15/26
Location: La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 8/7/26 - 8/31/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: No fee

Summary: “The Manhattan Beach Art Center’s Annual Community Exhibition is an open-call showcase celebrating the creativity of artists who live, work, and engage with the Manhattan Beach community. This juried exhibition invites submissions across a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and mixed media.”
Deadline: 5/15/26
Location: Manhattan Beach Art Center, Manhattan Beach
Exhibition Dates: 7/24/26 - 10/4/26
Mediums: All except video art, artwork that makes a sound, or artwork that requires power.
Entry Fee: No fee

Summary: The OC Fair is now accepting submissions for its 2026 competitions. The visual arts category consists of two sub categories: photography and fine arts.
Deadline: 5/15/26
Location: OC Fair, Costa Mesa
Exhibition Dates: 7/17/26 - 8/16/26
Mediums: Photography, fine art painting, fine art drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics
Entry Fee: $15

Summary: “Duality: the state of having two distinct, often opposite, elements or aspects, Art with the elements of bold contrasts, pale & stark, black & white, night & day, low key photography, liminal and static. You may submit up to three pieces of art to this exhibition if you’re a San Diego resident or a member of the EAP, art must be your original work.”
Deadline: 5/16/26
Location: Escondido Arts Partnership, Escondido
Exhibition Dates: 6/13/26 - 7/2/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: Members: $20 for one, additional $5 for each piece. Public: $30 for one, additional $5 for each piece

Summary: “We’re looking for the wacky, wild, unexpected, and uniquely expressive. Show us the work that makes people stop, stare, smile, question, and feel something unforgettable. Think bold color, strange beauty, surreal moments, ecstatic emotion, playful chaos, dreamy escapes, and everything in between.”
Deadline: 5/17/26
Location: Covet Art Gallery, Oceanside
Exhibition Dates: 6/6/26 - 7/11/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $25

Summary: California Creative Arts is accepting submissions for their art exhibit at The Gallery in the Salit Conservatory.
Deadline: 5/20/26
Location: Salit Conservatory, Burbank
Exhibition Dates: 5/27/26 - 7/20/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: “This is a California Creative Arts hosted show. Members receive priority. If you are not a member, you can join here. We are a nonprofit. Your membership fee is tax deductible, and you keep 100% of your sales. Non-members, if accepted, must become a member or pay a one-time participation fee of $40 (it’s only $10 more for a one-year membership).”

Summary: “Splash of Color celebrates the expressive force of color in all its forms — vibrant or subtle, harmonious or clashing, controlled or spontaneous. This open call invites artists of every age and working in every medium to explore how color speaks through their unique creative voice.”
Deadline: 5/24/26
Location: ACE Gallery, Oceanside
Exhibition Dates: 6/27/26 - 7/30/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $25

Summary: “It’s time to break out your color wheel! We want artwork made with colors directly opposite on the wheel, make your art pop!”
Deadline: 5/29/26
Location: Carter Sexton Artist’s Materials, Valley Village
Exhibition Dates: June 2026
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $15 per accepted piece

Summary: “Ah, summer in San Diego. The landscapes are flush with blooms and the mornings often with foggy gloom. If you like to paint florals or rich, summery landscapes—bring it. If you capture the gray fog of "June Gloom"—show us. If you express these rich hues with abstract elements—let us see it!”
Deadline: 6/5/26
Location: Art on 30th, San Diego
Exhibition Dates: 6/13/26 - 7/10/26
Mediums: All 2D artworks are welcome as well as any 3D artwork (glass/ceramic sculpture) that fits on a pedestal
Entry Fee: $35 for 2 pieces goes here

Summary: “An exhibition exploring mini golf, play, and object interaction—specifically moments where one object hits another. We are seeking work that engages with:
- Movement + motion
- Collision + impact
- Games, play, and playful systems
- Mini golf interpretations (literal or conceptual)”
Deadline: 6/7/26
Location: Los Angeles Makery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 7/9/26 - 7/26/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $25

Summary: “The Los Angeles Makery is proud to present “I. E. Takeover,” a group exhibition spotlighting artists from the Inland Empire and those deeply connected to its culture, communities, and evolving creative landscape. We’re looking for bold, original work that reflects the spirit of the I.E.—its grit, beauty, contradictions, and identity. From suburban sprawl to desert expanses, warehouse shows to backyard studios, this exhibition aims to capture the raw and diverse voices shaping the region today.”
Deadline: 6/7/26
Location: Los Angeles Makery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 7/9/26 - 7/26/26
Mediums: All
Entry Fee: $25

Summary: “The Artists Gallery invites residents of the United States 18 years or older to submit artwork for exhibition to Made in the USA: Breath of Freedom. This call for art is open to interpretation, with various styles and mediums accepted.”
Deadline: 6/15/26
Location: TAG Gallery, Los Angeles
Exhibition Dates: 7/15/26 - 7/31/26
Mediums: Painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, digital art, 3D / Installation, and video art. No AI.
Entry Fee: $40

Summary: “Even though air is invisible, it shapes how we experience every place we enter. Temperature, humidity, light, sound, and even memory fill the atmosphere around us. This exhibition looks for artworks that make viewers feel the emotional or physical presence of air—its weight, its stillness, or its movement.”
Deadline: 6/20/26
Location: Woodward Contemporary, San Diego
Exhibition Dates: 7/18/26 - 8/15/26
Mediums: All except digital art
Entry Fee: $40

Summary: This juried exhibition invites artists to submit up to 3 works for consideration. Artists must live, work, or exhibit within San Diego County or Tijuana, Mexico. This year’s show is juried by artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya.
Deadline: 6/30/26
Location: Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla
Exhibition Dates: 8/1/26 - 10/10/26
Mediums: 2-D and 3-D media (no functional or craft art), or video
Entry Fee: $15 for Athenaeum members; $20 for nonmembers

Summary: “There’s something subversive about softness. Knot Sorry pulls fiber art out of the polite, domestic corner and into the spotlight where it belongs — bold, labor-intensive, intimate, and impossible to ignore. This exhibition celebrates work made by hand, by time, by tension. Quilts that carry stories. Garments that feel like armor or confession. Threads that bind, unravel, and reassemble meaning. We’re interested in fiber as both material and message. The slow process. The repetitive act. The history stitched into every surface. And the ways artists are pushing these traditions into something sharper, stranger, more personal.”
Deadline: 7/1/26
Location: Not Shockboxx, Hermosa Beach
Exhibition Dates: 8/8/26 - 8/29/26
Mediums: Fiber art
Entry Fee: $30

Summary: “Time to explore your imagination. In 9 categories, Oil. Acrylic, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Other media, Photography, Digital Art, Textile, and Sculpture bot floor and wall standing. We encourage entries from all 2D and 3D artists regardless of their experience, must be 18 years or older.”
Deadline: 7/15/26
Location: North Coastal Art Gallery, Carlsbad
Exhibition Dates: 8/2/26 - 9/5/26
Mediums: Oil; Acrylics; Watermedia; Other Media includes: Pastels/ Drawing/Printmaking/Alcohol ink; Mixed Media/Collage; Photography; Digital Art; Sculpture\Wall hanging Sculpture; and Textiles. Giclée’s are accepted but not judged.
Entry Fee: Members: $35, Non-members: $40 to enter up to 2 pieces.

Summary: “This juried exhibition invites artists working in all forms of digital-based media to share their visions. High Rez embraces the full spectrum of digital expression. A space for precision, experimentation, craft and play, for the deeply human and the digitally born. Use digital tools and platforms to create visual or audio art. Join us in exploring how pixels become presence, and how digital tools continue to reshape what art can be. San Diego artists may submit original artworks created using digital tools and pixel-based technologies.”
Deadline: 7/18/26
Location: Escondido Arts Partnership, Escondido
Exhibition Dates: 8/8/26 - 9/4/26
Mediums: Digital-based media
Entry Fee: EAP Members: $20 for one, additional $5 for each piece. Non-members: $30 for one, additional $5 for each piece