South Arts is pleased to announce its Summer 2026 grant cycle, opening applications for three initiatives: Arts in Community, Emerging Traditional Arts, and In These Mountains Infrastructure Grants. Applications for the Arts in Community applications are open until September 1, 2026, while Emerging Traditional Arts, and In These Mountains Infrastructure Grants will remain open until September 30, 2026.
Established in 1976, South Arts is a regional arts organization dedicated to supporting and expanding the artistic landscape of the Southeast region—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This season’s open grant cycle reflects that commitment with each initiative designed to meet artists and organizations where they are, while providing critical financial support and growth opportunities across the South.
At the heart of this cycle is a shared belief that art thrives when it is embedded in community. The Arts in Community Grants put that belief into practice, supporting deeper engagements between Southern artists and the communities. The grant supports hosting partners engaging artists working in film, traditional arts, visual arts, performing arts, and literary arts with project-based grants up to $10,000.
Eligible projects require a Southern artist or company visiting another Southern state for a minimum of two public-facing activities—a public presentation of the artist’s work (a film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement activity (a workshop, demonstration, lecture, facilitated discussion, or master class).
The same investment in community connection extends to the next generation of tradition-bearers across the region. Through the Emerging Traditional Artists Program (ETAP), South Arts recognizes and supports emerging artists who have demonstrated a high level of skill, commitment, and leadership in their traditional art form, and are poised to carry that knowledge forward. For FY27, the program serves artists living in eligible Appalachian Regional Commission and Delta Regional Authority communities, as well as members of state or federally recognized Native American tribes.
ETAP recipients receive $5,000 awards to support learning opportunities including training, networking, and promotion, equipping each artist to deepen their practice and expand their impact within their communities. Awardees will also participate in a virtual networking and team-building workshops, peer mentorship, and professional development opportunities. Eligible artists must reside in an Appalachian Regional Commission-designated county in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee, or reside in a Delta Regional Authority-designated county in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Tennessee. Eligible artists may also be a member of a state or federally recognized Native American tribe.
While ETAP invests in the individuals keeping traditional culture alive, In These Mountains (ITM) Infrastructure Grants invest in the organizations that support them. Created in 2018, the ITM initiative was established by South Arts to support traditional artists and organizations engaged in handcrafts/material culture, foodways, and music across Central Appalachia. The Infrastructure Grants advance that mission by strengthening the operational foundation those organizations depend on.
ITM Infrastructure Grants offer $30,000 awards to three folk art and traditional culture organizations annually for non-programming expenses, helping organizations sustain or advance operations by supporting expenses that are often underfunded or financially out of reach.. Open to a broad range of nonprofits including cultural, faith-based, libraries, museums, presenters, and festivals, applicants must be located in and serve at least one ARC county in Kentucky, North Carolina, or Tennessee. One award will be given per state, totaling three awardees to be announced in December 2026.
“The South is home to some of the most vital artistic traditions in the world, and some of the most underinvested. These grant programs are part of how we change that equation. Arts in Community, ETAP, and the ITM Infrastructure Grants each address a different layer of what it takes for Southern artists and arts organizations to thrive, not just survive,” said Doug Shipman, South Arts President & CEO. “When we invest in a tradition-bearer, an arts presenter, or an organization keeping a mountain music community intact, we're strengthening the cultural infrastructure that makes the entire region more alive, building on the work these artists and organizations already lead. The South doesn't need to prove its creative relevance. It needs the resources to match it.”
South Arts thanks the funders whose support makes this grant cycle possible. Arts in Community Grants are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Emerging Traditional Artists Program is supported by The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. In These Mountains Infrastructure Grants are supported by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. This support expands South Arts' ability to serve artists, organizations, and communities across the region with resources shaped for their work.
Applications for the Arts in Community applications are open until September 1, 2026, while Emerging Traditional Arts and In These Mountains Infrastructure Grants will remain open until September 30, 2026.
For more information on eligibility of these three initiatives and additional opportunities from South Arts, please visit southarts.org.