South Arts’ new Express Grant program is an opportunity for presenting arts organizations in rural Southern communities (with populations of 50,000 or below) to receive fee support to present Southern guest performing or literary artists from outside of the presenter’s state. These quick turnaround grants offer more flexibility for programming that may not fit within South Arts’ annual grantmaking schedule. Touring support is awarded to theater, music, opera, musical theater, dance, fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry projects that contain both a public performance or reading and an educational component. The maximum request is 50% of the artist fee, up to $2,000. These grants are very limited and awarded on a first-come/first-served basis; so early submission is encouraged. A dollar-for-dollar cash match is a requirement.
Projects must take place between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.
Express Grant applications must be submitted online by at least 60 days prior to the project start date.
Only presenting organizations in rural communities are eligible for this grant program. For the purposes of these guidelines, a standard definition of rural is a population of 50,000 or below.