Atlanta, GA — February 11, 2026 — South Arts is pleased to announce the 2026 recipients of the Arts in Community Grants — an annual initiative awarding arts organizations across the region with a focus on bolstering engagement between Southern communities and artists. These grants provide the opportunity to increase access to the arts, expand audiences, and reach a wide range of participants across the Southern region.
The Arts in Community program aims to uplift organizations acting as stewards in their communities to showcase the South’s diverse and vibrant artistic culture. Recipients of the award are organizations dedicated to ensuring access to the resources and communities artists require to thrive. Providing critical funding for public engagement activities such as readings, performances, film screenings, exhibitions, workshops, and master classes, these grants address communities' needs across South Arts’ nine-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
“The arts have a unique ability to bring communities together to build connections and jointly discover new and creative ways to thrive,” said Doug Shipman, South Arts President and CEO. “The organizations funded through this year’s Arts in Community Grant are undertaking deep and innovative efforts across the South to engage individuals in vibrant programs that will make the lives of participants and the broader community richer and brighter. We are so pleased with the array of this year’s grantees.”
Rooted in the mission to advance Southern vitality through the arts, this program is open to nonprofit artist ensembles and organizations for projects that cross Southern state lines. Supporting communities across the urban–rural spectrum, funds will help fortify cultural traditions, education programs, and deeper engagement between artists and their communities.
The 2026 Arts in Community Grant Recipients include:
| African Diasporic Arts and Education Florida | Huntsville Community Drumline Alabama |
| Aiken Music Festival South Carolina | I Was Here, Inc. Kentucky |
| Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Inc. Louisiana | La Factoria, Inc. Florida |
| Atlantic Center for the Arts, Inc. Florida | LEAF Global Arts North Carolina |
| Boston Urban Music Project North Carolina | Louisiana Humanities Foundation Louisiana |
| Brevo Theatre, Inc. Florida | New Dialect Tennessee |
Charleston Jazz South Carolina | Opa-locka Community Development Corp. Florida |
| Charlotte Ballet North Carolina | Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, Inc. Florida |
| Charlotte Film Society North Carolina | Staibdance, Inc. Georgia |
| Child of this Culture Foundation, Inc. Florida | Stewart Owen Dance, Inc. North Carolina |
| City of Oxford, Alabama Alabama | The Time is Now Douglass Redevelopment Corp. Tennessee |
| Djoli Kelen, Inc. Georgia | Troy Arts Council Alabama |
| EmpowerLit- Literacy & Beyond Tennessee | Tulane University Louisiana |
University of Tennessee | |
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts in Community Grants are offered as part of South Arts’ annual programming to support artists, arts organizations, and communities across the region. For more information on Arts in Community, eligibility requirements, and to learn how to apply, please visit South Arts' website.
About South Arts
South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.
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