Concept
Starting artists don’t lack information about competitions, residencies, and grants—there’s simply too much of it, scattered across dozens of websites, chats, and mailing lists, often in English. The artist must check the relevance, requirements, and integrity of the organizers independently.
LastCall, the digest for competitions and residencies for emerging artists, automatically gathers these opportunities, filters out unsuitable options, vets the final selection, and explains everything in simple terms: whether it’s suitable for a beginner, what needs to be submitted, and what the deadline is.
Data Sources for Media
The digest includes only verifiable announcements. Sources are divided into four groups: some confirm the announcement, others help locate it, a third serve as leads, and the fourth allows for assessing the organizer’s credibility.
Organizer Websites
This is the primary source of data. Museums and contemporary art centers, foundations, art residencies, galleries, festivals, and support programs publish participation requirements, submission deadlines, and application forms on their own pages. Only the organizer’s webpage serves as confirmation for the announcement. If this page is absent, the opportunity will not be included in the digest.Platforms and Newsletters
Specialized platforms, event listings, and organizational newsletters show new announcements. They are used as a feed: the announcement is first discovered here and then verified against the organizer’s website. These sources themselves do not constitute confirmation.Community
Telegram channels, chats, VKontakte groups, and reader suggestions help uncover announcements that automatic searching might miss. These are leads, not confirmations: publication based solely on a chat message is not permitted.Organizer Verification
Verifiable information is collected for each organizer: the presence of a legal entity and contacts on the website, registration in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE), past editions held, published lists of participants and winners, and artist testimonials. Automation only collects this data; a human makes the final decision on acceptance.General Data Processing Scheme
The LastCall project is built upon the interaction of two processes: machine processing and human editorial refinement. They sequentially complement one another—automated services handle information retrieval and organization, while the editor is responsible for verification, selection, and tailoring the content for the audience.
Machine Processing begins by gathering information from open sources: official websites of art institutions, foundations, galleries, and organizers, as well as email newsletters, RSS feeds, and open Telegram and VK channels. The services search for new open calls, grants, and residencies, extracting key data from the announcements: title, organizer, opportunity type, country, deadline, cost, and participant requirements. This information is then distributed into a unified database, redundant listings are removed, and the opportunities are sorted and undergo initial filtering based on LastCall criteria. At this stage, the system also tracks application deadlines and changes to the announcements. The result is a structured list of opportunities, ready for editorial review.Human Processing begins after the automated collection and filtering. The editor verifies each opportunity against the original official source, clarifies participation terms, and assesses the organizer’s reliability. Special attention is given to the proposal’s accessibility for emerging artists: whether an author without extensive professional experience can participate, how complex the application is, and what value it might bring. The editor also identifies potential risks—hidden fees, opaque selection criteria, and other dubious conditions. After verification, they decide whether to include the opportunity in the digest and tailor the information for the reader: explaining the essence of the offer, the requirements, necessary documents, and the application procedure in plain language.
Guidelines for Automated Services
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