Call for Submissions: 2026 Emerging Digital Artists Award

2026 EDAA Call for Submissions

Apply by September 15, 2026
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EQ Bank is pleased to launch the 12th edition of the Emerging Digital Artists Award (EDAA), Canada’s award for critical experimentation in digital media.

The 2026 EDAA includes:

• Five $5,000 prizes
• Participation in a group exhibition at Gallery TPW, Toronto, in January 2027
• An annual subscription to BlackFlash Magazine (both print and online) and an annual subscription to Pilot Art List

Additionally:

• For one recipient, a funded opportunity to produce a commissioned artwork for exhibition at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, in 2027-28
• For one recipient, a funded opportunity to produce an Artist Project in the Fall 2027 issue of BlackFlash Magazine, both print and online

In addition to these expanded prize offerings aimed at celebrating and elevating digital practices across the country, this year’s award also features a new digital series by featured artist Pegah Peivandi and an impressive lineup of guest judges from the digital and contemporary art community.

Installation view of Kahani Ploessl, Virtual Shiva, 2025, as part of the 2025 EDAA Exhibition at Gallery TPW, Toronto, January 7 – 31, 2026. Photo: Darren Rigo.

Artists within the first seven years of their professional careers are encouraged to apply. We welcome submissions of screen-based works that are not only created with digital technologies, but also speak to the concerns, ethics, and constructs of virtual space and their production.

Submit your work to one of five categories:

• Still Image: A single image or series of images created through digital processes such as generative imagery, scanning technology, photo manipulation, illustration graphics, or renders of 3D models or virtual worlds.
• Moving Image: A time-based work using digital processes in its creation, including but not limited to video, animation, machinima, and GIF art.
• Screen-Based Interactive: An interactive artwork experienced on a digital display, computer, tablet, or mobile phone such as game art and web art.
• Extended Reality (XR): A virtual, augmented, or mixed reality work experienced through a smartphone, tablet, or headset, or as a 360-degree video.
• Digital Installation: A multi-component, primarily screen-based work produced and presented with digital technologies that engages audiences in physical space.

2024 EDAA recipients Quinn Hopkins, Moni Omubor, Carmilla Sumantry, Caeleigh Long (Studio Ekosi), and Francisco Gonzalez-Rosas at the 2024 EDAA ceremony at Gallery TPW, Toronto. Image: Darren Rigo.

Apply now by following these steps:

• Read full details on How to Apply, including the Terms and Conditions
• When ready, fill out the online application with your artwork submission along with an artist statement, a short artist biography, and artist CV

Deadline for Submissions: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, by 11:59pm ET

Questions about the EDAA can be sent to edaa@eqbank.ca.

For the latest information about the 2026 prize, follow us on Instagram: @edaa_eqb

The EDAA is presented by EQ Bank with our 2026 partners: MacKenzie Art Gallery, Gallery TPW, and BlackFlash Magazine.

About the Emerging Digital Artists Award

The Emerging Digital Artists Award is Canada’s major award for critical experimentation in digital media, proudly presented by EQ Bank. Established in 2015, the EDAA has awarded over $175,000 to 60 artists and celebrated a range of screen-based practices including video, animation, virtual reality, game art, and web art.

About EQ Bank

EQ Bank is Canada’s Challenger Bank™. Guided by our purpose to drive change in Canadian banking and enrich people’s lives, we firmly believe that progress requires challenging outdated norms. We put innovation at the heart of everything we do and use digital to deliver more effortless, transparent and high-value experiences that help Canadians reach their potential.

Top image: Pegah Peivandi, Lasting Impressions, 2026