MATTRESS FACTORY ANNOUNCES: 
2024 International Open Call 

Mattress Factory is pleased to announce the International Open Call for artists-in-residence. Each artist will produce a solo exhibition of new work at the museum.  

Submissions accepted from January 4 until February 8, 2024. 

This opportunity is free and open to artists of any medium from anywhere in the world. A distinguished panel of Mattress Factory alumni artists will jury this call, continuing the commitment of Mattress Factory to centering artist voices. The Artist Review Panel consists of Jon Rubin, Harrison Kinnane Smith, and Julie Schenkelberg. The panel will review submissions and select artists for residencies and solo exhibitions at Mattress Factory in 2025 and 2026. 

Mattress Factory alumni artists know better than anyone what Mattress Factory's resources and capacity can accomplish and how special this community is. The panel offers a perspective unlike any other – one that is deeply familiar with the museum, engaged in many aspects of the contemporary art field, and invested in pushing the exhibitions program of Mattress Factory in new directions.

The last International Open Call took place in late 2021 and saw over 1,200 applicants from which the 2023 and 2024 exhibiting artists were chosen. The artist alumni jurors were Vanessa German, Sohrab Kashani, Christopher Meerdo and Sarah Oppenheimer. The artists selected through the first cycle of International Open Call were, Asim Waqif, Andrea Peña, Akwasi Afrane, Azza El Siddique, and Eugene Macki. 

During their residency, artists are free to explore wherever their process leads them while they live and work on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Mattress Factory supports each artist’s process from development through production, installation, and exhibition by providing the following: 

• Artist honorarium*  
• Production and materials budget*  
• Transportation to and from Pittsburgh  
• Accommodation in Mattress Factory residence** 
• Per diem during on-site installation  
• Fabrication and production support  

*Material budgets are project specific and our artist honorarium are aligned with W.A.G.E. certification rates.

**The residency length depends on the needs of the artist.
 

Eligibility and submissions 

International Open Call is open to artists of any medium from anywhere in the world. Artists are invited to submit a portfolio of work and supporting documentation, which will be juried by the Artist Review Panel. 

• A 2-page CV 
• Short bio (200 words) 
• Artist Statement (200 words)  
• Up to 10 media files for consideration 
• Do not include project proposals 

Submissions close February 8th, 2024 at 11:59 PM, EST.
 

About Mattress Factory

Founded in 1977, Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum that showcases site-specific art created by artists-in-residence from around the world. Located in Pittsburgh's historic Northside, just minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, the museum’s public campus includes two historic homes and a converted mattress warehouse. In addition to temporary exhibitions created by artists-in-residence, Mattress Factory also is home to long-term works by Greer Lankton, James Turrell, Winifred Lutz, Yayoi Kusama, and more.  

See for more information