South Arts
/OVERVIEW: South Arts supports both individual artists and arts organizations that present touring artists from out of state, with an eye toward enriching the economic, social, cultural, and educational vitality of the South. The fund connects the arts to key state and national policies and advances excellence in the arts. It supports most styles of art, but only awards grants to artists and organizations located within its nine-state region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee).
IP TAKE: Whether an individual artist or a presenting organization, most arts grantseekers in Appalachia will find something here. This funder is accessible, but grantmaking is competitive, given the volume of applicants. There are a lot of programs here and they are swapped out from time to time, so be sure to read carefully to find the one that is the best fit.
PROFILE: Created in 1975 and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts seeks to advance “Southern vitality through the arts.” It is part of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations group of funders, and its grantmaking spans the region, and includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. South Arts supports individual artists working in most styles of art and artist collectives through its Artist Grants and Fellowships, and it supports community arts organizations via its Community Organization Grants.
Grants for Arts and Culture, Arts Education, Creative Writing, and Theater
South Arts has several programs that target different types of art, including specific kinds of performing arts; however, the vast majority of this funder’s grantmaking supports art across genres and styles. Cross-Sector Impact Grants is the only program that supports arts and non-arts partners alike. This program offers grants of up to $15,000 to fund collaborations between one arts organization or artist, and one non-arts organization. This program also differs from South Arts’ other programs in that it has a two-step application process which requires an initial letter of interest from its applicants. After a staff review, groups with promising projects will be invited to submit a full application.
Touring support is one of South Arts’ primary focus areas. The Presentation Grants program makes grants of up to $7,500 for presenting organizations within South Arts’ nine-state region to host a Southern artist for a performing arts, literary arts, visual arts, or film engagement. Eligible groups must be able to provide a 50% cash match. Express Grants is another touring program and focuses on bringing out-of-state Southern artists to small rural communities. Express grants must be applied for at least 60 days in advance and are for up to $2,000. Applicant communities must house 50,000 people or less.
South Arts supports Southern traditional art forms. It defines traditional art as “shared aesthetics, practices and values of families, geographic communities, occupational groups, ethnic heritage groups, etc.” Examples of traditional art include “Afro-Cuban batá drum, Catawba pottery, Zydeco music, Indian Bharatha Natyam dance, Anglo American quilting, Peruvian retablos, African American gospel music, Chinese zheng, Cherokee storytelling, and Minorcan net making, among others.” The Traditional Arts Touring Grants program funds projects that “bring a traditional artist/ensemble and a scholar/folklorist for multi-day residencies in Southern communities.” Grants range from $1,000 to $5,000. The Folk & Traditional Arts Cross-Border Mentor-Apprentice Program funds projects that foster relationships between mentors and apprentices “that cross state borders in Central Appalachia.” Mentor and apprentice applicants must reside in different states. Mentors receive a $3,500 honorarium “for their time and expertise and to cover teaching expenses such as supplies and equipment.” Apprentices “receive a $1,500 stipend for supplies, minor equipment, and fund travel to the mentor artist’s home, workshop or other designated sites.”
The In These Mountains program works to preserve and perpetuate folk and traditional arts in Appalachia. Several sub-programs are housed here, including Documentation of stories and traditions, an Emerging Traditional Artists Program that hosts workshops and provides $5,000 in project support, a Folk Arts Education initiative that connects K-12 students with folk and traditional arts education programs, and support for Mentor Artist and Apprentice Teams. It also houses a grants program called In These Mountains: Project Grants, which offers “grants of $10,000 for organizations to conduct projects that promote the sharing, teaching, learning, preserving, and documenting folk arts and traditional culture of Central Appalachia.”
The Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants is a professional development program. It is a $1,000 grant designed “to support the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators, strengthen program design, and increase organizational capacity.” Grantseekers should contact South Arts to discuss eligibility before applying. The Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grant provides artists with grants of up to $2,000 to “take advantage of a milestone opportunity in [their] career.” It only funds individuals and does not support groups of artists such as musical groups or theater companies. South Arts encourages applicants to reach out to discuss their project before submitting a full application.
South Arts Resilience Fund is a major award that provided funding of up to $100,000 to help arts organizations recover from fallout from COVID-19 “more resilient than before.” The program is different from similar sources of funding in that it focuses on long-term resiliency rather than just helping to keep the lights on during the coronavirus pandemic. The program appears to be closed; however, it is still featured on the South Arts website.
Established in early 2023, the Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Literary Arts seeks to “acknowledge, support, and celebrate the highest quality literary work being created in the American South.” The program awards writers with prizes totaling $80,000 each year. The genre of focus rotates annually between fiction, drama and playwriting, poetry, creative nonfiction and young adult fiction.
Finally, South Arts organizes and funds several Programs and Conferences designed to facilitate professional development and networking opportunities for presenters, artists, and audiences. Many of these focus on a particular genre or style of art, so grantseekers will need to tailor their proposal accordingly.
Grants for Visual Arts
The South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships program is South Arts’ primary funding vehicle for visual artists. It awards approximately ten artists with a spot in a touring exhibition and a total of $80,000 in grants. It will not consider applicants who are full-time students or who have not been a legal resident within the nine states served by South Arts for at least two years. Film, video, and other types of media are ineligible for funding; grantseekers should review program guidelines and FAQ to see if their project is a good fit.
Grants for Film
Southern Circuit supports independent film by helping to “provide audiences with the opportunity to meet filmmakers and learn about the art of filmmaking, and encourage community engagement using film as a conduit for discussions about social and community issues.” Participating filmmakers receive a travel stipend and funds to screen their work and engage with audiences.
Grants for Music
Jazz Road is a touring and residency program that seeks to bring jazz music and musicians to communities throughout the US. It has two grants programs. Jazz Road Tours supports small tours for emerging and mid-career musicians. Grants range from $5,000 to $15,000. Jazz Road Creative Residencies “allow artists to spend multiple weeks in collaboration with a presenter and a community to develop/perform new work, foster new connections, and share resources.” This program only funds individual, mid-career professional jazz artists with “a noteworthy record of work experience and accomplishments in the jazz field.” Grants range from $5,000 to $40,000.
Grants for Dance
Momentum: Dance Touring Initiative for Southern Companies supports the professional development of five Southern modern dance or contemporary ballet companies for three-years. The program is a component of the Dance Touring Initiative, “a multi-year project to enhance the presentation and touring of modern dance and contemporary ballet throughout the South.” It includes mentorship, networking, conference showcasing and exhibiting, meetings with presenters, tour-prep residencies, and funds to help cover touring costs.
Important Grant Details:
Grant amounts and application guidelines vary by program. Review the program pages for full application guidelines. Grantseekers can look over previous fellows and grantees in the searchable Database and view application deadlines here.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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