Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Visual Arts

The Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Visual Arts, administered by South Arts, recognizes and supports outstanding visual artists residing in the nine-state Southern region—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts organization, partners with state arts agencies to elevate artistic excellence and cultural vitality in the American South. Through this fellowship program, the organization seeks to acknowledge the diversity, innovation, and creative depth of the region’s visual artists while fostering national visibility for their work. Each year, one artist from each eligible state is awarded a $5,000 State Fellowship based on artistic excellence. The nine state fellows then compete for the prestigious Southern Prize awards: a $25,000 grand prize and a $10,000 finalist award. Both Southern Prize recipients also receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia. Fellows are featured in a traveling regional exhibition that showcases their work across multiple venues throughout the South. All awardees are required to participate in the exhibition and attend the Southern Prize awards ceremony in late summer 2026, with travel and lodging expenses covered by South Arts. The fellowship supports practicing visual artists working across a range of eligible categories, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, mixed media, multi-disciplinary, sculpture, and vernacular art. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and have lived in one of the nine South Arts states for at least two consecutive years prior to the application. The program excludes students currently enrolled in academic programs, film/video/media arts (except when integrated into mixed or experimental media), and South Arts employees or board members. Applications open on October 1, 2025, via the Salesforce portal, with an informational webinar scheduled for October 28, 2025. Artists may request a fee waiver by December 3, 2025, and must submit completed applications by December 10, 2025. A national panel reviews submissions in a two-tier process, selecting state fellows first and then determining the Southern Prize winner and finalist. Award notifications will be issued by April 2026. Selected works must be available for the touring exhibition beginning in summer 2026 for up to 24 months. The Southern Prize and State Fellowships funds are unrestricted, allowing recipients full discretion in their use, though South Arts encourages awardees to reinvest in their artistic practice. Recipients must provide a final report detailing how the funds supported their work. Applications require a $25 fee (or approved waiver), artist statement, résumé or CV, and up to ten high-quality work samples created within the past five years. Further details and assistance are available by contacting Emmitt Stevenson at South Arts or visiting the program’s Salesforce application portal.

Applicants should focus on artistic excellence and coherence of visual presentation; provide high-quality, recent work samples that best represent their practice.