Art, XR & Impact Opportunities - Week 2 (Sept & Oct Deadlines Inside 🚨)

Hey friends 👋

Last week I published the very first edition of this newsletter and it already grew to over 600 subscribers in just a few days on LinkedIn 🎉. I’m guessing that means you want me to keep sharing these opportunities.

So here’s Week 2 of Art, XR & Impact Opportunities - a curated roundup of grants, prizes, fellowships, residencies, and showcases worth your time. Whether you’re an artist, technologist, or changemaker, I hope this helps you find your next big step 🚀.

🔥 HIGHLIGHTS — Don’t Miss These!

🎮 Epic MegaGrants (Cycle 2) — Deadline Sept 22 — Funding for Unreal Engine projects (games, XR, film, open source). Global. 

🌐 VIVERSE Creator Program — Rolling — Build & publish immersive content in the VIVERSE ecosystem. Global. 

🎓 Radcliffe Fellowship (Harvard University) — Deadline Sept 30 — Prestigious one-year fellowship at Harvard. Global. 

🌋 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Residency — Deadline Sept 26 — Fully funded artist residency inside the park. Global.

💰 GRANTS & PRIZES

🎮 Epic MegaGrants (Cycle 2) 

📅 Deadline: Sept 22, 2025 

📍 Location: Remote (Global) 

👥 Eligibility: Individuals, teams, and studios worldwide 

🔗 https://www.unrealengine.com/megagrants 

✏️ Supports innovative projects using or benefiting Unreal Engine across games, XR, film/TV, open source tools, and education.

🎨 SIMA Awards 2025 (XR & Film) 

📅 Deadline: Oct 9, 2025 

📍 Location: Remote (Global) 

👥 Eligibility: Filmmakers & XR creators worldwide 

🔗 https://simaawards.org 

✏️ Celebrates impactful storytelling. Categories include documentaries and immersive XR experiences driving social change.

💄 L’Oréal Sustainable Innovation Accelerator 

📅 Deadline: Sept 30, 2025 

📍 Location: Remote (Global) 

👥 Eligibility: Startups & innovators worldwide 

🔗 https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/commitments/loreal-sustainable-innovation-accelerator 

✏️ Corporate-backed program supporting sustainability in beauty tech, green packaging, and climate-friendly solutions.

🎓 FELLOWSHIPS

🎓 Radcliffe Fellowship (Harvard University) 

📅 Deadline: Sept 30, 2025 

📍 Location: Cambridge, MA, USA 

👥 Eligibility: Scholars, scientists, artists, and practitioners worldwide 🔗 https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/fellowship-program 

✏️ Highly prestigious one-year residential fellowship at Harvard with stipend, housing, and full access to university resources.

🚀 STARTUP & TECH SHOWCASES

🌐 VIVERSE Creator Program 

📅 Rolling intake 

📍 Location: Global 

👥 Eligibility: XR creators worldwide 

🔗 https://create.viverse.com/creator-program ✏️ Supports XR artists to develop and publish immersive experiences in the HTC VIVERSE platform.

🕹️ Gamefam Creator Fund 

📅 Rolling intake 

📍 Location: Global 

👥 Eligibility: Creators on Roblox, Fortnite, and UGC platforms 

🔗 https://gamefam.com 

✏️ Provides $10K–$100K+ to support new game projects and UGC worlds.

🤖 NeurIPS 2025 AI Startup Pitch 

📅 Deadline: Oct 15, 2025 

📍 Location: Mexico City (in-person pitch) 

👥 Eligibility: Early-stage AI startups worldwide 

🔗 https://neurips.cc 

✏️ Finalists pitch to investors, researchers, and industry leaders during the world’s top AI conference.

🛰️ NASA International Space Apps Challenge 

📅 Oct 4–5, 2025 

📍 Location: Global hackathon (online + in-person in 160+ cities) 

👥 Eligibility: Anyone worldwide 

🔗 https://www.spaceappschallenge.org 

✏️ The world’s largest annual hackathon, using NASA’s open data to solve pressing challenges on Earth and in space.

🏡 RESIDENCIES

🌋 National Parks Arts Foundation — Hawai‘i Volcanoes Artist Residency

📅 Deadline: Sept 26, 2025 

📍 Location: Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, USA 

👥 Eligibility: Artists worldwide 

🔗 https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org 

✏️ Fully funded month-long residency inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park with housing, stipend, and public engagement.

🎨 Vermont Studio Center Open Call 

📅 Deadline: Oct 1, 2025 

📍 Location: Johnson, Vermont, USA 

👥 Eligibility: Artists & writers worldwide 

🔗 https://vermontstudiocenter.org/apply 

✏️ One of the largest international artist residencies in the U.S. Offers fully funded fellowships plus partial funding options.

🌍 REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES (UK / EU / MENA) In Art, XR & Impact Opportunities

⚠️ These are area-specific calls — skip if you’re outside the region.

🇬🇧 Immersive Arts UK (Explore £5K / Experiment £25K / Content £50K) — Deadline Sept 29, 2025 — UK-based immersive projects only. 

🇪🇺 EIC European Prize for Women Innovators (2026 edition) — Deadline Sept 25, 2025 — €100K awards for women founders, open to EU and Associated Countries. 

🇬🇧 UK Games Fund Content Fund (EOI) — Rolling — £50K–£150K, only for UK-registered SMEs. 

🇬🇧 Creative UK Growth Finance Fund — Rolling — Loans £100K–£1M, UK creative businesses. 

🇹🇳 Tunisian & MENA cultural heritage calls — Some regional heritage and cultural preservation opportunities (more coming in future issues).

✨ That’s it for this week! If you apply, let me know so I can celebrate your wins 🎉 

📣 Share this with a friend looking for their next opportunity in art, XR, or impact 💡

See you next week 🌟

🙋 Special Call: If you’re interested in volunteering to preserve Tunisian cultural heritage sites, email ines@tanitxr.org to collaborate on a very impactful project - Tanit XR.

Want more like this? Subscribe to my weekly XR + Art + Impact newsletter on my website. You can also catch it on LinkedIn — and if you missed last week’s edition, you can read it there too.