The Women of Colour Art Award (WoCAA) is a biannual award delivered by 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning in partnership with the Rita Keegan Foundation.
The award recognises the inequities and additional barriers that Women of Colour and people of marginalised genders often face within visual arts practice. It aims to provide financial and developmental support to assist UK-based artists and artist collectives of all ages at a key point in their careers.
For this edition, the award focuses on materiality and process. We are interested in how artists engage with materials, methods of making, and experimentation, including practices that bridge analogue and digital approaches. Applications are open to all artistic mediums, including performance and hybrid practices.
Shortlisted artists will take part in a group exhibition at 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, shown alongside and/or in response to the work of Rita Keegan. Five artists will be shortlisted: one artist will receive a £5,000 unrestricted bursary, and four artists will each receive a £500 travel bursary to support research and practice-based endeavours.
Applications are open to artists from the Global Majority who identify as marginalised genders, including women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people, and who feel comfortable in a space that centres the experiences of women. We welcome applications from artists who are emerging, self-taught, working outside traditional art institutions, or returning to practice after a break.
Submission deadline: Monday 2 March 2026, 11:59pm (GMT)
For more information head to https://www.198.org.uk/