Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants

Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants are available for organizations to support the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators, strengthen program design, and increase organizational capacity. 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.

This funding can support staff’s travel expenses to conferences, festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and other professional development opportunities, or artists’ travel expenses for onsite planning meetings with presenting organizations. These grants support travel expenses (for example, lodging and air/ground transportation), admission/registration fees, and other related expenses. In addition, these grants support expenses for virtual professional development opportunities and staff training (for example, diversity, equity and inclusion training or technology training for virtual engagements).

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have prioritized this commitment to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led and LGBTQIA+ led organizations are represented as both applicants and grantees. In addition, we encourage applications for projects that engage BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists.

New applicants are encouraged to contact Nikki Estes at 404-874-7244 ext. 16 to discuss eligibility prior to submitting an application.

Important Dates & Deadlines
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Applications must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the project start date.
Applicants will be notified by email within four weeks of submission.
Eligible projects must occur between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.