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New opportunity to join South Arts team

Help keep the program budget growing

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Until filled

In the past three years South Arts has tripled its budget ($3M - $9M).

We want to continue this momentum and anticipate significantly increasing the program budget within the next 3-5 years. South Arts is seeking a dynamic individual with a proven track record that can accomplish that goal. This position reports to the president & CEO, is part of the executive management team, and will be expected to be a major contributor of vision and leadership, helping to accomplish the strategic plan and fulfill South Arts’ mission of advancing Southern vitality through the arts. Our major sources of funding have been government and foundations, to include:
  • The National Endowment for the Arts,
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
  • Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,
  • and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.
These will continue to be important sources and we want to increase our foundation footprint, but South Arts also wants to diversify its funding streams by moving into corporate and individual contributions. South Arts is not a membership organization and is not planning to become one. We serve nine southern states and anticipate that advancement will be an effort in each state. South Arts is one of six regional arts organizations in the U.S. and has been primarily serving the performing arts field. A recent example of the organization’s programming initiatives is a multimillion-dollar national grant program related to jazz artists touring across the U.S. In the past three years South Arts has expanded to serve a broader range of art forms and constituents. Diversity, equity and inclusion are key values of this organization. It is an exciting growth period for South Arts, and we are looking for someone who wants to be a valuable part of that growth.

Advancement responsibilities

  • Design development strategies and oversee ongoing development efforts for the organization working with the executive management team, board and staff to identify funding opportunities, targets and approaches that integrate with South Arts’ program plan and overall strategic plan
  • Work directly with the Vice President of Programs to identify revenue streams for programs
  • Work closely with the Communications Director to advance South Arts
  • Design and implement an annual individual giving campaign
  • Support and partner with the President & CEO and Board of Directors on all major fundraising initiatives and staff the Advancement Committee
  • Develop all fundraising proposals, including corporate sponsorship and local and national grants
  • Oversee grant compliance and reporting
  • Help the organization define performance measures for fund development and systematically monitor results
  • Devise and implement special fundraising projects as needed (e.g. programmatic campaigns, etc.)
  • Oversee all donor information using the Salesforce database system, provide statistical analysis to the board and the executive team as needed, and support staff responsible for daily Salesforce functions and donation tracking and processing
  • Hire, train, and mentor any additional staff, interns or contractors in the advancement office
  • Identify and steward prospective donors
  • Stay on top of fundraising trends and the nonprofit community
  • Respond to donor and prospect inquiries in a timely fashion
  • Use prospect research tools and your donor database to build donor relationships
For additional responsibilities, qualifications, and instructions on applying, please click here.

Jason Rapp

South Arts announces the 2021/2022 Southern Circuit

S.C. adds a new screening partner venue

Today, South Arts announced the 24 screening partner venues and 10 films and filmmaking teams selected for the 2021/2022 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.

This long-running South Arts program connects U.S.-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South to share their work, discuss the art and process of filmmaking, and engage with audiences about issues impacting their communities. All films will be screened online for audiences of each screening partner venue, with each screening followed by a pre-recorded 30-minute conversation with the filmmakers discussing their film's subject matter and the filmmaking process. Each film will be available for attendees to view on demand during a four-day window allowing viewers to stop and resume at their leisure. As a precaution for health and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmakers will not tour in the Fall. Films will be presented online, though some screening partners may also host in-person screenings for their communities. In-person screenings and discussions with filmmakers in attendance will resume for Spring 2022. “This year’s selections broach a range of important, timely topics including border and immigration issues, confederate monuments, healthcare justice, and domestic violence,” said Teresa Hollingsworth, program director. "South Arts has a strong commitment to equity and inclusion in all of our programs. We are proud to affirm that commitment in our selection of feature-length documentaries and their creators, with many sharing a direct connection to the subject matter and communities represented.” Curious about where you can take in the films? South Carolina's screening partner venues are:
  • The Arts Center of Clemson; Clemson, SC
  • Presbyterian College; Clinton, SC
Here are the films and filmmakers for the new season:
  • And So I Stayed – Daniel A. Nelson and Natalie Pattillo, Directors
  • At the Ready – Maisie Crow, Director
  • Duty Free – Sian-Pierre Regis, Director
  • Lily Topples the World – Jeremy Workman, Director
  • Los Hermanos/The Brothers – Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, Directors
  • My Name is Pauli Murray – Betsy West and Julie Cohen, Directors
  • Not Going Quietly – Nicholas Bruckman, Director
  • The Neutral Ground – CJ Hunt, Director
  • Proper Pronouns - Megan Daniels, Director
  • Stateless – Michèle Stephenson, Director
Since its inception in 1975, Southern Circuit has brought some of best independent filmmakers and their films from around the country to communities throughout the South. The program is made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jason Rapp

South Arts opens arts org grant programs

South Arts is committed to providing resources so that arts and cultural organization have the tools and capacity to thoughtfully plan and present Southern artists for communities.

It recently posted new guidelines for two grantmaking programs: Express Grants and Professional Development & Artist Planning Grants. Applications are being accepted now from arts organizations in South Arts’ nine-state primary service area, which includes South Carolina.
  • Express Grants are a quick turnaround funding opportunity for organizations in rural communities (defined for this program as having 50,000 people or less). Organizations may apply for up to $2,000 to support the fees to present Southern film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from within or outside the presenter's state. Eligible artforms for support include film (documentary, fiction, experimental and animation), performing arts (theater, music, opera, musical theater and dance), literary arts (fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry), and visual arts (crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media). Projects must include both a public presentation (film screening, performance, reading or exhibition) and an educational component.
    • COVID-19 update for Express Grants: South Arts recognizes that in-person projects might not be possible. Applications will be accepted for virtual presentations and educational activities. Applications to engage local and in-state artists are being accepted
  • Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants ensure that arts organizations have access to the tools and resources to best serve their communities. Organizations may apply for up to $1,000 to support either staff’s expenses to attend conferences, festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and other professional development opportunities, or arrange for an artist's travel expenses for onsite planning meetings with the organization. South Arts strongly believes professional development for presenters/programmers/curators is integral to success, including traveling to see new works and attending convenings. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and multidisciplinary presenting organizations.
    • COVID-19 update for Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants: South Arts recognizes that travel for professional development might not be possible. Applications will be accepted for virtual professional development opportunities, as well as staff training.

Jason Rapp

Tuning Up: Federal ARP funding webinar + Dreskin, Flowers news

Good morning! 

"Tuning Up" is a morning post series where The Hub delivers curated, quick-hit arts stories of interest to readers. Sometimes there will be one story, sometimes there will be several. Get in tune now, and have a masterpiece of a day. And now, in no particular order...

Who's tuning up on a Friday? We are!

Don't miss...

The NEA and South Arts are joining forces to present a webinar on two NEA programs to distribute American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds (more info on those here). Join the webinar TUESDAY, JULY 13 FROM 3-4:30 P.M. to explore these new programs, learn how to register your organization to be eligible for federal funding, gain other resources, and participate in a Q&A session. First-time applicants are encouraged to apply, and this workshop will provide content for first-timers as well as previous NEA applicants.

News from State Art Collection artists!

  • Head to Hampton III Gallery for a new exhibition: Jeanet S Dreskin: 100 Years. Four of Dreskin's works are included in the State Art Collection. The exhibition began yesterday and runs through Aug. 21. Preview online here, or visit in person Tuesday-Friday from 1-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery received the S.C. Governor's Award for the Arts in 2019 in the organization category. 3110 Wade Hampton Blvd., Suite 10 in Taylors. Free.
  • Speaking of Governor's Award recipients, Tom Flowers, a recent, posthumous lifetime achievement recipient, left behind a vast collection of artwork. Beginning tomorrow, some of it could be yours. His family is auctioning off much of it to, in part, fund the scholarship fund in his name at Furman University. Flowers taught there for three decades and was head of the art department as well, and the State Art Collection includes two of his works. The auction runs Saturday, July 10 at noon to Saturday, July 24 at noon.
 

Jason Rapp

Fletcher Williams III named Southern Prize finalist

Big award, residency await

[caption id="attachment_46889" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Fletcher Williams III stands in his art studio among works in progress. Fletcher Williams III (Photo by Andrew Cebulka)[/caption]

At the fifth annual Southern Prize and State Fellowships Award Ceremony last evening, a South Carolina artist figured prominently.

While Florida artist Marielle Plaisir was named 2021 Southern Prize winner and received an award of $25,000, Charleston artist Fletcher Williams III was named Southern Prize Finalist and received a $10,000 award! Both Southern Prize recipients also receive a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. Both were chosen from among nine 2021 state fellows announced by South Arts in April. The Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge and celebrate the highest quality artistic work being created in the American South. Each state fellow will be included in an exhibition at the Bo Bartlett Center at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia from Aug. 20 to Dec. 20, 2021, and touring to additional locations in the region (dates/locations TBD) in 2022.

More about Fletcher Williams III

Bio

Fletcher Williams III (b. 1987) is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and painting. Williams received his BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement in Science and Art (2010). He maintained a studio practice in Long Island City, Queens, and later Crowns Heights, Brooklyn before returning to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, in 2013. Upon his return to Charleston, Williams remained an independent artist and began producing solo exhibitions throughout the City of Charleston and North Charleston, the latest being a site-wide solo exhibition, Promiseland (2020), at the Historic Aiken-Rhett House Museum.

Artist statement

My work engages the rituals and traditions of the American South. My interest in the way we seek to establish place and identity has prompted a working methodology that utilizes found and natural materials and an exhibition practice that incorporates public and historic sites. I often paint with Spanish moss, builds house-like structures with salvaged wood and tin roof, and fashion delicate sculptures out of handwoven palmetto roses. My approach is architectural and figural, tactile, and multi-sensory and unveils my curiosity for both people and place, material, and process. To view selected artworks, visit his page on SouthArts.org.

About South Arts

South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The 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 support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.

Jason Rapp

South Arts launches $40,000 jazz residencies

Second phase of national jazz initiative

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday, July 1, 2021

South Arts is now accepting applications for the second phase of its national jazz initiative: Jazz Road Creative Residencies.

Through Jazz Road Creative Residencies, artists can apply for grants of $5,000-$40,000 to develop their own personalized residency and further explore their artform. Applications are open through July 1, 2021. “We are so excited to expand our programs for jazz musicians across the United States,” explained Sara Donnelly, program director with South Arts. “With a Jazz Road Creative Residencies grant, artists will have the flexibility to design and propose their own project, which can be anything from dedicated time writing new work to immersive engagement in a community or completing a new recording. We are putting the direction and power directly in the hands of the artists.” Although the concept for Jazz Road Creative Residencies was planned a few years ago, South Arts reframed the plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The shelter-in-place mentality has forced jazz artists into periods of incubation and renewal,” continued Donnelly, “while building up the hunger for new and deeper connections across communities and in collaborations.” Jazz Road Creative Residencies will give artists the financial bridge necessary to close this growing gap between their plans for creativity and securing the resources to make it happen. The concept and definition of “residency” is left broad, so artists can make a proposal suiting their needs for artistic creation and connecting with audiences. An artist’s proposed project may be conducted on their own, in collaboration with other artists, and/or in partnership with organizations. Applicable projects must be one to three weeks in duration and occur between October 2021 and June 2022. Artists may request up to $40,000 and no matching funds are required. Applications are due July 1, 2021. Jazz Road, a national program funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is led by South Arts in partnership with the five other U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and Western Arts Alliance/WESTAF). Jazz Road Creative Residencies is the second ongoing grant opportunity in this project, adding to the Jazz Road Tours opportunity. Through Jazz Road Tours, artists may request up to $15,000 to support multi-city tours connecting with new audiences across the country. To learn more about Jazz Road or begin an application, visit www.southarts.org or call 404.874.7244.

About South Arts

South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The 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 support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.

Jason Rapp

South Arts names 2021 State Fellows

[caption id="attachment_46889" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Fletcher Williams III stands in his art studio among works in progress. Fletcher Williams III (Photo by Andrew Cebulka)[/caption]

South Arts has named the ten visual artists (eight individual artists and one team) receiving the 2021 State Fellowship awards.

Each fellowship—one per state in the South Arts region—comes with a cash award of $5,000 and inclusion in an exhibition opening this fall at the Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, Georgia. The State Fellows are also now in consideration for the two larger Southern Prize awards. One fellowship recipient will be named the Southern Prize winner receiving an additional $25,000 cash award, and another fellow will be named the Southern Prize Finalist receiving an additional $10,000; both Southern Prize recipients will also receive a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. The two winners will be named at a virtual ceremony on June 17 celebrating the work of all ten State Fellows. The 2021 State Fellowship recipients are:
  • Tameca Cole. Mixed Media. Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Marielle Plaisir. Mixed Media. Hollywood, Florida.
  • Myra Greene. Craft. Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Joyce Garner. Painting. Prospect, Kentucky.
  • Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun. Photography. New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Ming Ying Hong. Drawing. Starkville, Mississippi.
  • Jewel Ham. Painting. Huntersville, North Carolina.
  • Fletcher Williams III. Mixed Media. North Charleston, South Carolina.
  • Raheleh Filsoofi. Multidisciplinary. Nashville, Tennessee.
“The 2021 Southern Prize and State Fellowship recipients represent the amazing creativity of our region,” explained Susie Surkamer, President and CEO of South Arts. “Although they each speak with a unique voice through their work, their combined diversity is a great showcase of what it means to be an artist living, working, creating, and thriving in the South.” Launched in 2017, the Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support, and celebrate the highest quality art being created in the South. More than 850 artists applied for consideration this past fall and winter, and jurors reviewed each application to recommend the State Fellowship recipients. Another national panel of jurors will review the State Fellows to determine the Southern Prize winner and finalist, both of whom will be named at a virtual ceremony in June 2021. Visual artists living in South Arts’ nine-state region and producing crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and multidisciplinary work were eligible to apply. To view work by the 2021 State Fellowship recipients and register to attend the June 17, 2021 Southern Prize ceremony, visit www.southarts.org. An exhibition featuring the 2021 Southern Prize and State Fellowship recipients will be open at the Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, Georgia, from Aug. 20-Dec. 20, 2021.

More about Fletcher Williams III

Bio

Fletcher Williams III (b. 1987) is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and painting. Williams received his BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement in Science and Art (2010). He maintained a studio practice in Long Island City, Queens, and later Crowns Heights, Brooklyn before returning to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, in 2013. Upon his return to Charleston, Williams remained an independent artist and began producing solo exhibitions throughout the City of Charleston and North Charleston, the latest being a site-wide solo exhibition, Promiseland (2020), at the Historic Aiken-Rhett House Museum.

Artist statement

My work engages the rituals and traditions of the American South. My interest in the way we seek to establish place and identity has prompted a working methodology that utilizes found and natural materials and an exhibition practice that incorporates public and historic sites. I often paint with Spanish moss, builds house-like structures with salvaged wood and tin roof, and fashion delicate sculptures out of handwoven palmetto roses. My approach is architectural and figural, tactile, and multi-sensory and unveils my curiosity for both people and place, material, and process. To view selected artworks, visit his page on SouthArts.org.

About South Arts

South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The 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 support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.

Jason Rapp

Federal funding webinar for artists, arts orgs

From South Arts & Arts Action Fund

U.S. Capitol Building shown against partly cloudy sky with caption of: Federal funding opportunities, March 31, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan in addition to the CARES Act, there are opportunities for artists, arts organizations, and communities to utilize federal resources supporting their work.

Join South Arts for a webinar Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. with Nina Ozlu Tunceli of the Arts Action Fund (the national arts advocacy organization affiliated with Americans for the Arts) to learn about:
  • Types of assistance available to individual artists and arts organizations through the new federal relief funding.
  • Tips, tricks, and how-tos of accessing relief funding, dates, deadlines, etc.
  • Ideas on programmatic partnerships that could be funded using Community Development Block Grant or other "non-arts" funding included in the relief packages.
  • How the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Paycheck Protection Program may help you and your organization.
Can't attend the webinar? South Arts will record it and make it available on their website within 48 hours.

Jason Rapp

South Arts offering slew of artist, arts org grants

Act fast, some deadlines looming

Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grants

  • Up to $2,000 to take advantage of a milestone career opportunity
South Arts recognizes that an invitation to a major, milestone opportunity is not always enough to make it feasible for an artist to participate. Even with stipends or payments, overall expenses can make such an opportunity inaccessible. In order to ensure that artists from our region (AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN) can take full advantage of major opportunities, South Arts offers Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grants. This grant program is open to artists who work in:
  • visual arts,
  • craft,
  • traditional arts/folklife,
  • photography,
  • performing arts,
  • literary arts,
  • film,
  • media arts,
  • interdisciplinary arts or multimedia arts.
The Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grant supports a milestone opportunity in an individual artist’s career that is likely to lead to substantial and significant career advancement. Grants of up to $2,000 are available to support opportunities taking place between April 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022. Applications are due at least 60 days prior to activities. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until this program’s funds are depleted, so we encourage artists to apply as soon as they are able. Because of COVID-19, applications are being accepted for virtual opportunities. South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). Artists with disabilities, artists who are black, indigenous or people of color (BIPOC) and those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+), are particularly encouraged to apply.

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

  • APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, March 22, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET
Cross-Sector Impact Grants provide up to $15,000 to support "arts and..." projects developed by partners—one arts organization or artist, and one non-arts organization—harnessing the power of collaboration. Want more info? The informational webinar is now available on the South Arts website. Submit a Letter of Interest by Monday, March 22, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Presentation Grants

  • APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, May 3, 2021
  • Webinar opportunity on Tuesday, March 30 at 11 a.m. ET
Presentation Grants provide organizations up to $7,500 to present a Southern artist in a performing arts, literary arts, visual arts, or film engagement. This new grant program replaces our previous Performing Arts Touring and Literary Arts Touring grants. Due to COVID-19, eligible projects may involve virtual activities by the guest artist and/or projects that engage local artists. Want more info? Join us Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11 a.m. ET for an informational webinar. Submit a Presentation Grant application by May 3, 2021.

Jason Rapp

Tuning Up: SEPF, Hub City Press news

Good morning! 

"Tuning Up" is a morning post series where The Hub delivers curated, quick-hit arts stories of interest to readers. Sometimes there will be one story, sometimes there will be several. Get in tune now, and have a masterpiece of a day. And now, in no particular order...
In-person SEPF scheduled. Cancelled last year like so many things, the Southeastern Piano Festival announced its plans to return to an in-person format this year. Make plans now for events June 12-20. Pre-college pianists aged 13-18 have just days to apply for its Arthur Fraser International Concerto Competition (which was held late last year via livestream). Community-facing highlights include the competition and public performances by a stellar roster of international guest artists. Hub City Press is a recipient of a South Arts Resilience Fund grant supporting their ability to pivot in the face of the pandemic, and emerge more resilient than before. With these funds, Hub City Press reshaped their editorial team to better tell the untold stories of the South, connect with unheard voices across the region, and transform the landscape for Southern literature. Read their story on the South Arts website.      

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