South Arts

08/06/2026

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

During National Make a Will Month, consider how your generosity can continue supporting Southern artists, culture bearers, and communities for generations to come.

By including South Arts in your estate plans, you can help ensure Southern creativity continues to thrive for years to come.

Learn more about planned giving through www.southarts.org/legacy-gifts.
🎨Your legacy can inspire generations.

08/03/2026

Say hello to a few of the incredible artists on our Southern Artist Spotlight Grant roster! This new pilot program helps presenters bring Southern artists directly into their communities, drawing from a curated group of creators whose work has shaped and inspired the region. Presenters can request up to $8,000 for dance or $5,000 for film, music, literary arts, traditional arts, and visual arts, based on the artist's fee.

A few artists you'll find on the roster: 🎨 Charles Clary (Conway, SC) – intricate, autobiographical 2D works born from personal loss 🎶 Amina Scott Quintet (New Orleans, LA) – jazz storytelling on upright and electric bass 🎬 Fraser Jones (Atlanta, GA) – documentary filmmaking that blends absurdist comedy with earnest portraiture 🎹 Greg Satterwhite (Atlanta, GA) – soulful, sophisticated piano ✍️ F.E. Choe (Greenville, SC) – speculative ecofiction featured in Augur, Clarkesworld, and beyond

Know a presenter who'd love to bring one of these artists to their community? Share this post!

07/30/2026

🎬 The 2026–2027 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers has arrived.

Fourteen official selections. Ten celebrated finalists. Countless storytellers behind them. One extraordinary season of documentary film and conversation across the South.

For nearly 50 years, Southern Circuit, the South's only tour of filmmakers, has connected independent documentary filmmakers with communities through screenings and conversations that continue long after the credits roll.

None of this happens without the people who open their doors to host these screenings. This year, we're proud to partner with 12 screening partners across the South, from the Arts Council of Central Louisiana to CineOdyssey Film Festival in Charlotte, to bring these films and the conversations they spark directly to their communities.

Whether you're a longtime documentary fan or discovering Southern Circuit for the first time, we invite you to join us for a season of films that inform, inspire, and spark meaningful dialogue.

🎟️ Tour screenings begin this fall.

Explore this season's films, meet the filmmakers, and find a screening near you.

🔗 Learn more - https://www.southarts.org/news/south-arts-announces-2026-27-southern-circuit-tour

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07/23/2026

Nine artists across the South began with something ordinary.

A broom.
A block of clay.
A spool of thread and a family's stitching patterns.
A camera pointed at everyday Black Southern life.

Each one turned into something extraordinary.

Meet our 2026 South Arts State Fellows for Visual Arts. 🎉

🎨 Caitlin Ezell Waugh | Louisiana |
🎨 Johana Moscoso | Tennessee |
🎨 Jeff Schmuki | Alabama |
🎨 Kerry Phillips | Florida |
🎨 Zaire Linnex Miles-Moultrie | North Carolina |
🎨 Brejenn Allen | Mississippi |
🎨 Sergio Suárez | Georgia | .suarez
🎨 Jay Owens | South Carolina |
🎨 Dianna Settles | Kentucky |

Each artist has been named a 2026 State Fellow for Visual Arts. From this cohort, a national jury will select the Southern Prize winner and finalist, with $25,000 and a Hambidge Center residency awaiting the winner, and $10,000 for the finalist.

Experience their work together beginning August 11 at Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center.

This is one exhibition you won’t want to miss!

07/21/2026

07/20/2026

We're Hiring: Human Resources Generalist

South Arts is looking for a people-first HR Generalist to join our Atlanta team. In this role, you'll be the steady hand behind recruitment, onboarding, payroll, and everything in between, making sure the people doing the work of amplifying Southern art and artists are genuinely taken care of.

We're looking for someone detail-oriented and empathetic who can move easily between the practical (payroll, compliance) and the personal (employee relations, coaching).

📍 Hybrid
💰 $70,000 – $75,000
📬 See full listing and apply here: www.southarts.org/about/careers

Tag someone who would be perfect for this!

07/15/2026

THE WAIT IS OVER. SUMMER 2026 GRANTS ARE NOW OPEN. 🎉

Applications are officially open for three South Arts funding opportunities designed to strengthen artists, organizations, and communities across the South.

✨ Arts in Community For organizations presenting Southern artists through public programs and community engagement.

✨ Emerging Traditional Artists Program (ETAP) For emerging traditional artists ready to deepen their practice and carry cultural traditions forward.

✨ In These Mountains Infrastructure Grants
For organizations preserving and sustaining the traditional arts and cultural heritage of Central Appalachia.

It's your turn.

🔗 Learn more and apply through at southarts.org/grants-opportunities.

07/13/2026

Black storytelling is Southern culture.

We’re proud to partner with National Association of Black Storytellers - NABS and Mid Atlantic Arts to support culture bearers who preserve and share the rich storytelling traditions of Black Appalachia.

One Fellow from each eligible state, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, will receive $5,000 in unrestricted funding, a one of a kind award created by a Black Appalachian artist, and National Association of Black Storytellers membership during their award year.

🗓️Apply by August 3rd.
🔗https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPjbyfaaO9r5pVt5ILjwVQ3KAxdW50uoBxI2blOn0VT39KHQ/viewform

Celebrating the history, heritage, and culture of Black communities across Appalachia through storytelling.