Atlanta – South Arts, a Regional Arts Organization serving nine states in the Southeast, has announced $39,367 in grants to 24 arts organizations throughout the region. These grants, made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, support organizations presenting out-of-state fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry authors for publicly accessible readings and educational activities.
“Literary arts are profoundly important to the cultural identity of the south,” said Susie Surkamer, executive director of South Arts. “The authors selected by our communities represent new visions and old traditions through vibrant stories, histories, and poetry, and we are glad to play a role in enabling them to share their work.”
South Arts’ literary arts grants support nonprofit and governmental organizations in a nine state region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Approximately half of the events supported by these funds feature authors who reside in South Arts’ region. Grants must be matched at least dollar-for-dollar by the recipient organization.
“We are proud to support readings and educational activities with truly remarkable authors,” continued Surkamer. “Some of the highlights we are supporting this year include readings with Pulitzer Prize winning author Rick Bragg in Carrollton, Georgia; masterclass for high school students with children’s poet and Newberry Award winner Kwame Alexander in Charleston, South Carolina; and a presentation by Fidel Castro’s rebellious daughter Alina Fernandez in Lake Charles, Louisiana.”
In addition to these literary arts touring grants, South Arts recently announced more than $300,000 in grants supporting performing arts presenting and touring.
Applications for South Arts touring grants for nonprofit and governmental organizations in the nine-state region open in the fall of each year with deadlines in May.
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About South Arts
South Arts, a 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 address the role of the arts in impacting the issues important to our region, and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts.
LITERARY ARTS TOURING GRANT LIST
Alabama
- Auburn University Foundation in Auburn received a $2,050 grant to present Naomi Shihab Nye in October 2017.
- Lawrence County Public Library in Moulton received a $1,859 grant to present Karen Spears Zacharias in October 2017.
Florida
- FUNDarte in Miami Beach received a $2,178 grant to present Richard Blanco in June 2018.
- Florida State University Foundation in Tallahassee received a $743 grant to present David Shields in January 2018.
Georgia
- Augusta University in Augusta received a $1,969 grant to present Rebecca Skloot in February 2018.
- Morris Museum of Art in Augusta received a $672 grant to present William Dunlap in September 2017.
- City of Carrollton in Carrollton received a $2,191 grant to present Rick Bragg in August 2017.
Kentucky
- Centre College of Kentucky in Danville received a $2,197 grant to present Phil Klay and Tom Sleigh in February 2018.
- Hindman Settlement School in Hindman received a $2,078 grant to present Jennifer Haigh, Jeremy Jones, and Glenn Taylor in July 2017.
- West KY Community & Technical College in Paducah received a $2,191 grant to present Karen Thompson Walker in March 2018.
Louisiana
- The Festival of Words Cultural Arts Collective in Grand Coteau received a $1,730 grant to present Allison Joseph and Patricia Smith in November 2017.
- McNeese Foundation in Lake Charles received a $2,041 grant to present Alina Fernandez in March 2018.
North Carolina
- The ArtsCenter in Carrboro received a $2,163 grant to present Ken Waldman in March 2018.
- Ashe County Arts Council in West Jefferson received a $1,393 grant to present Tim Gautreaux and Edward Kelsey Moore in September 2017.
South Carolina
- City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs in Charleston received a $2,128 grant to present Kwame Alexander in October 2017.
- The Poetry Society of South Carolina in Charleston received an $810 grant to present Emma Bolden and Bruce Weigl in October 2017.
- Peace Center Foundation in Greenville received a $1,232 grant to present Andrea Gibson in June 2018.
- Town of James Island in James Island received an $838 grant to present Marilyn Nelson and Kwoya Fagin Maples in September 2017.
Tennessee
- Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga received a $2,317 grant to present George Singleton in April 2018.
- Lee University in Cleveland received a $619 grant to present Nathan Poole in October 2017.
- Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate received a $2,019 grant to present Jill McCorkle and William Wright in October 2017.
- Christian Brothers University in Memphis received a $2,150 grant to present Markus Zusak in September 2017.
- Global Education Center in Nashville received a $1,185 grant to present Xa¡nath Caraza in October 2017.
- The Porch Writers’ Collective in Nashville received a $614 grant to present Beth Ann Fennelly and Megan Stielstra in October 2017.