Atlanta, GA — October 30, 2025 — South Arts is pleased to announce the recipient class of its Cultural Sustainability program, awarding more than $1.17 million in general operating grants to 17 organizations located among its nine-state region. The grant initiative serves as part of a national program in partnership with The Wallace Foundation and the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs), acknowledging the invaluable impact that arts and cultural organizations make among their communities.
Launched in 2024, the national Cultural Sustainability program invited organizations around the nation to apply for support offered by the six USRAOs. The initiative was designed to provide general operating support and collaborative learning opportunities for arts organizations rooted in communities of color with annual operating expenses under $500,000. Since the launch, each USRAO has developed a unique granting program and guidelines for their region, approximately 100 grants nationwide that total $6.6 million.
South Arts’ program strives to advance the expansiveness of the arts sector while engaging with and advancing the operations of organizations among its region that have faced historical barriers to national support. Examining how arts organizations founded by, with, and/or for communities of color define and develop their well-being and that of their communities, this program aims to provide support that benefits the communities of recipient organizations and develop new knowledge and insights to catalyze broader impact across the region.
“We are thrilled to announce the progress of the Cultural Sustainability program and its awards to organizations that encompass our region’s vast range of arts and cultural disciplines, backgrounds, and operational structures,” said Gretchen McLennon, interim South Arts president and CEO. “These seventeen organizations not only enrich and inform the artistic legacy of our nine state region but also engage and support the communities of color that are embedded in our nation’s historical and cultural fabric. Through this initiative, we hope to uplift these organizations and support their impact in these communities and beyond.”
This group of recipients represents a broad range of artistic disciplines and creative mediums, from community theaters, presenting organizations and dance studios to poetry workshops and preservation projects. Among this cohort, 12 of the 17 organizations are receiving a grant from South Arts for the first time. This group of recipients also includes one or more organizations based in each state of South Arts’ nine-state region—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee—furthering South Art’s mission to advance the vitality of the arts across the entirety of its locality.
| Augusta Mini Theatre Augusta, GA | Briarwood Arts Center Jackson, MS |
| African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) Atlanta, GA | The Mash Up Jackson, MS |
| Descolonizarte Teatro Orlando, FL | Knox Asian Festival Knoxville, TN |
| Arching Oaks Art & Culture Center Eustis, FL | The Pop Up Project Chattanooga, TN |
| The Flourish Birmingham, AL | The Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina Beaufort, SC |
| Theatre of the Performing Arts of Shreveport Shreveport, LA | Wassamassaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians Summerville, SC |
| HHN2L INC Louisville, KY | Catawba Cultural Center Rock Hill, SC |
| I Was Here, Inc Lexington, KY | South Indian Fine Arts Academy Cary, NC |
Techmoja Dance and Theatre Company | |
In addition to individual grants, each recipient organization will have the opportunity to participate in collaborative learning experiences rooted in themes, such as repair, solidarity, healing, wellness, preservation, and advocacy.
Cultural Sustainability is part of The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, which funds arts organizations rooted in communities of color to advance their well-being, enhance understanding of their contributions to community. Through this work, Wallace aims to help to build a more equitable and sustainable arts ecosystem.
For more information on Cultural Sustainability, South Arts’ class of recipients, and forthcoming projects and opportunities, please visit southarts.org.
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.
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. We serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which we work. We partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage, and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2023, the USRAOs invested over $18.4 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 2,400 grants that reached more than 1,000 communities.
About The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan research foundation, with a mission to help all communities build a more vibrant and just future by fostering advances in the arts, education leadership, and youth development. We collaborate with grantees and research partners to design and test innovative approaches to address pressing problems in the fields we serve. The evidence-based insights we share—searchable online and free of charge—support policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to improve outcomes, enhance community vitality, and help all people reach their full potential.
Press Inquiries
Hilena Haileselassie
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HHaileselassie@southarts.org
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