South Arts Traditional Arts Touring Grants

What are Traditional Arts?

The South is home to an abundance of traditional art forms whether they are indigenous to the region or reflect the traditions of recent immigrant communities. Traditional arts are shared aesthetics, practices, and values of families, geographic communities, occupational groups, ethnic heritage groups, etc. Traditional arts are learned orally, or by observation and imitation, often through a master artist instructing an apprentice. They are usually maintained without formal instruction or academic training. Some traditional arts have a deep-rooted history with little change, while others are constantly evolving and adapting to their changing environment. 

Examples of traditional art forms (performing and visual arts) being practiced in the South include Afro-Cuban batá drum, Catawba pottery, Zydeco music, Indian Bharatha Natyam dance, Anglo American quilting, Peruvian retablos, African American gospel music, Chinese Zheng, Cherokee storytelling, and Minorcan net making, among others.

Program Goals

The Traditional Arts Touring Grant Program works to increase public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the traditional arts in the South, through funding projects that bring a traditional artist/ensemble for a two-day residency in Southern communities.

This funding program is open to a wide variety of organizations, including community cultural organizations, schools/colleges/universities, libraries, museums, performing arts presenters, etc. The program serves both communities and traditional artists.

South Arts are 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. We acknowledge the current realities and impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on cultural arts programming. For the 2021-2022 grant cycle, we will accept applications for live, in-person performances and education activities; or live virtual presentations and educational activities. Traditional artists who reside in an organization’s state are eligible for inclusion in the project application.

South Arts staff can direct you to potential resources and networks to identify traditional artists.

Applicants are strongly advised to contact Teresa Hollingsworth (Director, Film and Traditional Arts), at thollingsworth@southarts.org or 404.874.7244 x14, to discuss your project before you submit your application.

Important Dates & Deadlines
Application Deadline: November 1, 2021
Applicants will be notified within two weeks of the deadline.
Projects must take place between January 1 - June 30, 2022.
Eligibility Requirements
The following is a top-level list of the main eligibility requirements necessary to be considered for a Traditional Arts Touring Grant. Please refer to the full list of eligibility requirements in the program's Guidelines.

• Applicant must be a nonprofit organization, an official unit of government, or an educational organization based within South Arts' nine-state service area.
• Eligible projects must include the following:
  • Engagement of a traditional artist or ensemble (meeting the description above of a traditional art form) that resides in the South Arts’ region for, at minimum, one live public presentation and two live educational activities
  • A residency of a minimum of two days
  • A public presentation
• Projects must take place in the applicant’s state
• Applicant must provide a 1:2 cash match.

Organizations currently receiving funding through South Arts’ Presentation Grants or Literary Arts Touring Grants are not eligible for this grant program. 

A full list of eligibility criteria and other project requirements is provided in the guidelines.