OPEN CALLS
Competitions & Exhibitions
WINTER 2026
Student Comic Anthology
The Arts Initiative is seeking comics for their second Student Comic Anthology to be printed& distributed in the fall! Students may submit up to two comics of no more than four pages each. A selection committee will review the submitted comics to select those that will be printed in the Anthology.
Questions? Email arts-submissions@umich.edu
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Comics should be:
Hand drawn or digital
Any theme, story, or style
Single frame or multi-frame
No more than 4 pages
Deadline to submit:
Friday, April 10, 11:00 p.m.Selection Process:
A selection committee will review the submissions and choose comics to be printed in the Anthology. -
All students enrolled at the University of Michigan during the Winter 2026 semester are eligible.
Students of all majors are encouraged to submit.
Students may submit up to two comics for consideration.
BIRD-SAFE DECAL DESIGN CHALLENGE
Help create a bird-friendly campus! Submit your design concept for window decals that make glass surfaces visible to birds.
The winning design will be used to retrofit windows at a campus hot spot for bird strikes, preventing impact-related deaths and injuries.
Find templates & more details here.
Questions? Email CampusAsLab_OCS@umich.edu
WINTER 2026
Poetry Exhibition
Theme: Tomorrow
Thank you to everyone who submitted poems to the Arts Initiative and MESA’s Student Poetry Exhibition. Selected poems will be displayed in the Michigan Union from April 3–17.
Questions? Email arts-submissions@umich.edu
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Deadline to submit:
Thursday, March 12, 11:00pmTheme:
TomorrowSelection Process:
A selection committee will review the submissions and choose poems to be displayed in the Michigan Union from April 3–17. -
All students enrolled at the University of Michigan during the Winter 2026 semester are eligible.
Students of all majors are encouraged to submit.
Students may submit up to two works for consideration.
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Poems must be 10 lines or fewer.
All entries must be submitted through the submission form before the deadline.
Limit two poems per student.
If your work has specific formatting that needs to be preserved, upload a PDF using the form’s upload button. Please title the file with the title of the poem.
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NOTICE: By submitting this form, you agree that the poem you are submitting is your creative work and you have the legal rights to distribute your submitted poem. Once submitted, the Arts Initiative and MESA reserve the right to use your poem in marketing materials or on the website, yet you always maintain copyright over the images and can request removal of the image from our website(s) whenever you choose.
WINTER 2026
Photography Competition
Theme: Glow in the Dark
Winners will be announced shortly!
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Deadline to submit:
Thursday, February 5, 11:00pm
Finalists exhibited online and in-person for voting:
February 16–27
Finalists will be exhibited for voting both online and in-person on all 3 campuses.
Students with U-M IDs can vote online for two submissions.
Winners announced:
Late February.
Finalists will be notified before the official announcement.
All applicants will be notified when the finalists are posted.
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First Place will receive $200.
Second Place will receive $100.
Third Place will receive $50.
Winners will be announced via our weekly email, Arts Info.
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All students enrolled at the University of Michigan during the Winter 2026 semester are eligible.
Students do not need to be enrolled in a photography class or studying photography.
Students may submit up to two photos for consideration.
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All entries must be submitted through the submission form before the deadline.
One completed entry form per student.
Limit two submissions per student.
Photos must be submitted as a png or jpeg.
Please title the file with the name of the drawing.
Submissions missing information will not be considered by the judges.
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By submitting work to the competition, you agree that you have the legal rights to distribute your submitted image. Once submitted, the Arts Initiative reserves the right to present your work in print materials and on our website, yet you always maintain copyright over the images and can request removal of the image from our website whenever you choose.