South Arts' Presentation Grants support the public presentation of Southern artists and engaging those artists for educational opportunities. Arts organizations in our nine-state primary region - AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN - were eligible to apply this spring for up to $7,500 to support artist fees for engagements occurring between September 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. South Arts is awarding 69 Presentation Grants, totaling $306,952.
Read about the Presentation Grant Recipients Learn more about Presentation Grants
New this year, Presentation Grants replaced our previous Performing Arts Touring Grants and Literary Arts Touring Grants programs, combining them into a singular, more inclusive program. Additionally, as communities continue to grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, eligible projects could include in-state and local artists as well as virtual engagements.
"Supporting the presentation of Southern artists ties back to the core of our mission: advancing Southern vitality through the arts," said Nikki Estes, South Arts' Director of Presenting and Touring. "With our Presentation Grants, we are an integral part of the ecosystem that helps artists get paid for their work, offer audiences access to new artistic experiences, and engages the community in creative ways."
Some highlights of the 69 projects funded through the Presentation Grants include:
- Janie Verret Luster will be a featured artist in the Louisiana Native Basketry section of the Newcomb Art Museum's upcoming exhibition Core Memory which connects computational processes to handmade processes.
- The New Orleans Film Society will host award-winning filmmaker Zac Manuel as part of a three-day residency in conjunction with South Summit 2022, a convening designed to seed conversations and actions around creating, resourcing, and amplifying film and media content in the South.
- To celebrate the publication of Bigger Than Bravery, an anthology about Black joy and resilience during the pandemic, University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Lookout Books will host a forum led by author and editor Valerie Boyd to include a public reading, community storytelling workshop, and panel discussion in April 2022.
- In Fall 2021, Meredith Galleries will host a public multimedia art exhibition on mental health and creativity during COVID-19 with collaborative artworks by Southern artist Julia Caston and local emerging artists; a panel discussion with artists working at the intersection of mental health, art, and advocacy; and a four-part art therapy session offered for BIPOC activists, caretakers, and students.
To see the complete list of Presentation Grant recipients and read about their projects, visit our Grants & Fellowships Recipients page.
Presentation Grants are part of South Arts' portfolio of grants, fellowships, professional development opportunities, and services supporting artists, arts organizations, and communities. Presentation Grants are supported through a partnership agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts. The next application cycle for Presentation Grants is anticipated to open in Fall 2021.