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The Southern Prize and State Fellowships is open to visual artists in our nine-state region to support, expose, and celebrate the breadth, depth and diversity of artistic excellence.
View Full GuidelinesApplications for the Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Visual Arts will open on October 2. The application guidelines for the 2024 cycle are below.
The South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support, and celebrate the highest quality artistic work being created in the American South. The program is open to individual artists living in the South Arts region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. South Arts is committed to practices and funding that create greater cultural equity, represent the diversity of artistic expression of our region, are inclusive of diverse voices and artistic expression, and are accessible to everyone. The cohort of nine-state fellows will be selected through a two-tiered selection process by a national jury. A second national jury will select the Southern Prize Winner and Finalist. Jurors will make their selections based on artistic excellence that reflects and represents the diversity of artistic expression of the region. This program is open to visual artists in several categories.
The South Arts State Fellowship (state fellowship) is a state-specific prize awarded to artists whose work reflects the best of the visual arts in the South. A national jury will select one winner per eligible state, for a group of nine-state fellows, based on artistic excellence that reflects and represents the diversity of artistic expression of the region. Each of the nine-state fellowship winners will be awarded a $5,000 state fellowship and will compete for one of the two Southern Prizes. State fellowship recipients will be required to attend the awards ceremony in late summer 2023.
The nine-state fellowship recipients will compete for the Southern Prize. The $25,000 Southern Prize will be awarded to the artist whose work demonstrates the highest artistic excellence, and a runner-up will be awarded a $10,000 Prize. Both Southern Prize recipients will also receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. A separate national jury will convene to evaluate the body of work represented by the nine-state fellowship recipients and select the Prize winner and Finalist. Winners of the Southern Prize will be announced at the awards ceremony.
The Southern Prize ceremony and exhibition of state fellows’ works may be planned for fall 2024.
While preparing your Southern Prize and State Fellowships application, please refer to the following guidelines.
Applicants to the Southern Prize and State Fellowships program must meet the following eligibility requirements:
To be eligible to apply for this grant, you must be a legal resident of the South Arts region which encompasses the following nine states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Legal residency in the South Arts region must be for at least two (2) years prior to the application deadline and the artist must maintain residence in the state of residency as submitted on the fellowship application during the entire grant period; have a permanent South Arts residential address, as listed on government issued identification or tax returns. Post office boxes may not be used as a primary address.
To demonstrate proof of South Arts regional residency, you will be required to submit a current state driver's license or a state ID with the application. South Arts staff may request at any time during the application process additional proof of residency requirements including the submission of one or more of the following documents that establishes residency and reflects the artist’s home address(es) over the prior two-year period (January 2022). Please redact sensitive information.
The following categories describe the types of visual arts eligible for the 2024 program. South Arts encourages applications from self-taught (folk art or vernacular art) artists whose work align with the listed categories. Artists must choose only one of these categories that best correlates to the work samples that will be submitted. If work is best described across multiple categories, the applicant should select the multi-disciplinary category.
Only one application per artist per grant cycle will be accepted. Artists who are awarded a South Arts State Fellowship are ineligible to apply to the Southern Prize and State Fellowships program for six years (not earlier than 2030). The winner and finalist of the Southern Prize may not re-apply for a period of 10 years (not earlier than 2034).
Review Process
The group of nine-state fellows will be selected through a two-tiered selection process by a national jury. A second national jury will select the Southern Prize Winner and Finalist.
Review Criteria
The jurors will make their selections based on artistic excellence that reflects and represents the diversity of artistic expression of the region.
Artists will receive notification of the state fellowship award by late April 2024. The Southern Prize winner and finalist will be announced at the Southern Prize awards ceremony.
The Southern Prize and State Fellowship awards are unrestricted and do not have a matching requirement. Each of the 9 competitive state fellowships include a $5,000 award. The Southern Prize winner includes a $25,000 additional award while the finalist includes a $10,000 additional award.
Winners of the South Arts State Fellowships are required to attend the South Arts State Fellowship & Prize awards ceremony, which will take place in fall 2024 to receive their cash prizes at Art & Culture/Hollywood, Hollywood, FL. Winners’ travel and accommodations for the awards ceremony will be paid by South Arts. One round-trip flight (or rental car coverage) booked by the artists and reimbursed by South Arts and one hotel room will be booked and paid for by South Arts. This offer does not extend to any of the winners’ guests.
The winners of the state fellowships (and, therefore, the South Arts Southern Prize winner and finalist) will have their work included in a touring exhibition opening in late Fall 2024; Art & Culture Center/Hollywood, Hollywood, FL. The majority of the work represented in the submitted work samples should be available for a touring exhibition beginning Fall 2024, lasting up to 24 months. South Arts will assume the costs of shipping.
For works that are selected for exhibition, state fellows are required to submit complete works including all components needed for video and/or audio installations.
There is no requirement for how the state fellows and Southern Prize winner and finalist use the awarded funds. South Arts hopes the money would go towards pursuit of artistic achievement, but winners are not required to submit their use of the funds for approval. The funds are expected to be used between May 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. State Fellowship and Southern Prize winners should note that the award money constitutes taxable income and should file accordingly. Please Note: South Arts cannot accommodate any award distribution adjustments related to tax planning. Awarded artists should consult with a professional tax accountant.
Fellowship and Prize winners are expected to write a one-page final report and submit images (if appropriate) on how they used the fellowship winnings.
Additional exposure—in the form of speaking engagements, increased publicity, and more opportunities to display work through South Arts—can be reasonably expected by South Arts Southern Prize recipients and State Fellows.
Applicants to the South Arts State Fellowship program must complete an online application via SlideRoom. The application will be open to receive submissions beginning October 2, 2023. The online submittal process will include the following items:
Make an appointment here for any questions about the requirements or application process for Southern Prize and State Fellowship program.
Have a question about the guidelines or priorities above? It may be addressed in our Southern Prize and State Fellowships FAQ.
Read the FAQAfter reviewing program guidelines, log in to SlideRoom to apply for the Southern Prize and State Fellowships, edit an application in process, and submit any required reports.
Log in to SlideRoomCongratulations to the 2023 Southern Prize for Visual Arts Winner, Victoria Dugger, and the 2023 Southern Prize for Visual Arts Finalist, Michael Webster as well as all of the 2023 State Fellows. Click on a recipient to read more about them and view samples of their work. An exhibition featuring all nine artists is on display at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi, through December 13, 2023, and touring to additional locations throughout the region in 2024.
Visit the Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Visual Arts Exhibition at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum
Kelly Bryant
2023 Alabama Fellow for Visual Arts
Chris Friday
2023 Florida Fellow for Visual Arts
Victoria Dugger
2023 Georgia Fellow for Visual Arts and Southern Prize Winner
Rachel Moser
2023 Kentucky Fellow for Visual Arts
Carlie Trosclair
2023 Louisiana Fellow for Visual Arts
Alexis McGrigg
2023 Mississippi Fellow for Visual Arts
Nadia Meadows
2023 North Carolina Fellow for Visual Arts
Michael Webster
2023 South Carolina Fellow for Visual Arts and Southern Prize Finalist
Beizar Aradini
2023 Tennessee Fellow for Visual Arts
The Southern Prize and State Fellowships is only possible through very generous donations from many individuals, foundations, and organizations.
Recent supporters include: The Warner Fund, Southern First, Cathy Adams, Cheri Snyder, Chris Cathers, Elliot Knight, Fran and Arnold Gellman, Jerry Atnip, John T. Edge, Karen Paty, Kathleen Broda, Mary Regan, Melissa Robinson, Michael Quinlan and Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, Patrick R. and Susie VanHuss, Robert Dozier, and Susie Surkamer.
For further information about the Southern Prize and State Fellowships, contact Emmitt Stevenson.
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