Submit Now To Become Our Artist Of The Month For January 2026

At the start of every new year, many women artists pause, not because they’ve stopped creating, but because they’re wondering what comes next. You may have spent years making work quietly, fitting creativity into the spaces life allows. Late nights. Early mornings. Between responsibilities, expectations, and roles that rarely leave room just for you. And yet, you keep creating.

You sketch ideas that feel deeply personal. You experiment, doubt, return, and begin again. You follow instinct more than certainty. You make work that carries your experiences, your questions, your resilience. Work shaped by patience, persistence, and care. Sometimes it feels unfinished. Sometimes it feels urgent. Sometimes it surprises even you. But too often, that work stays unseen, not because it isn’t strong enough, but because opportunities can feel distant, intimidating, or simply not made with women in mind. This is exactly why opportunities for women artist’s matter.

For many women, creating art has never been the hardest part. Being visible has. Sharing your work can feel vulnerable, especially when you’ve spent so long creating without external affirmation. You may have questioned whether your voice is clear enough, whether your work fits anywhere, whether now is the right time. These doubts are not a failure; they are part of the reality of making art in a world that hasn’t always made room for women’s stories.

At Women in Arts Network, we believe women deserve spaces where their creativity is taken seriously, their stories are valued, and their work is never treated as an afterthought. Spaces where artists are met with curiosity rather than judgment, and where their work is allowed to exist on its own terms. This belief is at the heart of our Artist of the Month program.

Each month, we thoughtfully select multiple women artists from around the world to highlight their work and their journey. This is not about competition or comparison. It’s about visibility with care. About creating moments where women artists are not simply displayed, but genuinely seen, where their work is contextualised, respected, and shared with intention.

The beginning of a year holds a particular kind of openness. January does not demand certainty or perfection. It offers a chance to begin differently. To decide, quietly but firmly, that this year you will not keep your work hidden out of hesitation. That you will allow your art to take up space. That you will trust what you’ve been creating enough to let it be seen.

As January arrives, submissions for Artist of the Month are now open. This is your opportunity to step forward, to share your work and your story, and to begin the year with intention rather than waiting. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You only need the courage to take one step.

This could be the moment you look back on and say: this is where I chose to share my art.

Why the Beginning of the Year Matters?

The beginning of a year carries a kind of honesty that’s hard to ignore. It’s the moment before routines settle back in, before expectations take over, when everything still feels slightly open. It’s when you start thinking about your art again, not in a big, dramatic way, but in small, honest questions. What do I want to give more time to this year? What kind of work do I want to make? What have I been quietly putting off?

For many women artists, January brings mixed emotions. You might feel inspired, but uncertain. Ready for growth, yet hesitant to take the first step. You may want to share your work more openly this year but worry about how it will be received. That push and pull, between wanting more for your art and protecting yourself from disappointment, is something many women artists know well.

This is exactly why early-year opportunities matter. They help you move before doubt has time to grow louder. They offer momentum when motivation is still present, and they turn reflection into action. Instead of telling yourself maybe later, you’re given a reason to step forward now.

Artist of the Month is designed for this moment, not when everything feels perfect, but when intention is clear. It meets women artists where they are, offering a chance to begin the year by choosing belief over hesitation and allowing their work to move forward.

Women have always been creating. What’s changing now is the space being made for those voices to be heard, recognised, and engaged with more openly. Across the arts, there is a growing awareness that creativity thrives when diverse perspectives are given room to exist side by side and that women’s contributions are an essential part of that landscape.

Why Opportunities for Women Artists Matter Today

Today, more platforms, curators, and audiences are actively seeking women artists, not as a trend, but as part of a broader shift toward a more inclusive and representative art world. This moment brings possibility. It brings movement. And it brings opportunities that didn’t always exist in the same way before.

Still, many women artists carry habits shaped by years of working quietly waiting until the work feels perfect, hesitating to step forward, or assuming there will be more time later. Not because they lack confidence or talent, but because creating thoughtfully often comes with humility and care. That care is a strength, but it also deserves support.

Opportunities like Artist of the Month exist to meet artists within this shift, not by separating women from the wider creative conversation, but by ensuring their work is present within it. The program doesn’t ask women to prove themselves or compete for attention. It simply offers a clear, welcoming space to share work, be acknowledged, and connect with a wider audience.

Visibility here is not about standing apart, it’s about standing alongside. It’s about contributing to a creative ecosystem where all voices can be heard, and where women artists feel encouraged to take up space without hesitation.

This moment matters because momentum matters. And when artists step forward at the right time, opportunities have a way of multiplying.

Who This Program Is For

This program is intentionally inclusive.

It is for:

• Emerging artists finding their voice
• Mid-career artists seeking renewed momentum
• Women returning to art after a pause
• Multidisciplinary creators
• Writers, performers, photographers, designers
• Artists working traditionally or digitally

There are no age limits. No geographic restrictions. No expectation that you fit into a specific category or aesthetic.

If you are a woman who creates with sincerity, this program is for you.

Why You Should Submit Your Work

Submitting your work is not about feeling completely confident, it’s about giving your creativity the chance to move forward. Many women artists tell us they hesitated before applying, not because they doubted their talent, but because they weren’t sure if the moment was right. Looking back, they often describe that decision as an important step, not just for their practice, but for how they saw themselves as artists.

When you submit your work, you create space for growth. You give shape to your ideas and allow your voice to be heard more clearly. You begin to see your practice not just as something personal, but as something that can connect, resonate, and inspire beyond your own world.

Submitting your work can help you:

• Acknowledge the value of what you’ve been creating
• Express your creative voice with clarity and intention
• Present your work professionally and thoughtfully
• Open the door to new audiences and opportunities

Even if you’ve been creating quietly for years, choosing to share your work is a meaningful moment. It’s a way of recognising your own effort and allowing your art to take its next step.

Applying isn’t about proving anything. It’s a positive act of self-belief and an invitation to see what becomes possible when your work is given room to be seen.

Artists Featured and Celebrated by Women in Arts Network

Throughout 2025, Women in Arts Network had the honour of celebrating women artists whose work spoke with honesty, depth, and individuality. Each artist brought a distinct voice, practice, and perspective reminding us that creativity takes many forms and deserves to be seen in its own time and way.

Here are the incredible artists we celebrated during 2025:

• Maria de Lourdes Berbeyer Bazan
• Michele Leung
• Cecelia Wilken
• Ayesha Tariq
• Trish Findlater
• Lauryna Rakauskaitė
• Elena Schertler
• Mosaz Zijun Zhao
• Ava Farahani
• Nara Evangeline Guichon
• Tina Bopiah
• Cher Pruys
• Irena Oze

Each of these artists took a step forward and allowed their work to be shared, discovered, and connected with new audiences. Their features became moments of visibility, reflection, and growth, both for them and for the community that encountered their work.

This month, you can become one of them.

What Happens When You Become Artist of the Month

Being selected as Artist of the Month is not a fleeting moment, it’s a structured, thoughtful opportunity designed to support your growth.

A Customized Feature on Our Website

Each selected artist receives an exclusive feature on our website. This includes:

• An introduction to your practice
• Context around your creative journey
• A curated presentation of your work

This feature remains part of our archive, allowing your work to continue reaching new audiences long after the month ends.

Dedicated Monthly Campaigns

Your feature is actively shared through:

• Our email newsletters
• Our social media platforms

This connects your work with a global audience of artists, collectors, curators, and art lovers who are actively seeking women’s voices.

Exclusive Q&A Interview Feature

You’ll be invited to take part in a Q&A interview where you can:

• Speak about your inspirations
• Reflect on your process
• Share challenges and growth

Many artists describe this as a grounding experience, one that helps them articulate their practice with clarity and confidence.

Professional Exposure Beyond the Platform

Being Artist of the Month positions your work in front of:

• Galleries
• Art organisations
• Curators and collaborators

This exposure often leads to conversations, invitations, and opportunities that extend well beyond the feature itself.

How To Submit

• Select up to 3 of your strongest works and upload clear, high-resolution images or videos
• Add a short description for each piece, sharing its meaning or process
• Write a brief artist bio about your background and what inspires your work
• Complete the online submission form and check that everything is attached.

Eligibility and Participation

• Open to women artists worldwide
• Open to all creative disciplines
• No age, nationality, or experience restrictions
• Digital submissions accepted
• No membership required

What matters is your willingness to share your work.

Start the Year by Becoming Artist of the Month

We know how much time, heart, and skill go into your creations. Your work is built slowly—through practice, reflection, and returning to your ideas again and again. We also know how easy it is to keep waiting. Waiting to feel more confident. Waiting for clarity. Waiting for the moment when everything finally feels ready.

But your art does not need to wait.

The Artist of the Month program exists for women artists who are ready to take a step forward now, exactly as they are. It’s not about having a perfect portfolio or a finished story. It’s about giving your work a moment of visibility and allowing it to be seen, valued, and shared with care.

Being Artist of the Month is a chance to bring your art out of the private space where it has been quietly living and into a wider conversation. It’s an opportunity to share not just what you make, but who you are as an artist, your process, your questions, your journey. For many women, this moment becomes a turning point: a reminder that their work belongs in the world and deserves attention.

Choosing to apply isn’t about proving yourself. It’s about choosing belief over hesitation. It’s about saying yes to an opportunity designed to support women artists and meet them where they are.

If you’ve been wondering what comes next for your art, becoming Artist of the Month could be part of that answer. Not because it promises everything but because it offers a meaningful beginning.