emerging traditional artists program

South Arts is pleased to announce the FY26 Emerging Traditional Artists Program (ETAP), a component of the In These Mountains, Central Appalachian Folk Arts and Culture initiative. This program recognizes and supports a new generation of traditional artists that have demonstrated a high level of skill in, commitment to, and leadership in their traditional art form. Artists must reside in an Appalachian Regional Commission-designated County in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee. Awards provide financial support to ETAP participants to ensure the continuation of traditional knowledge and artistic skills within their cultural communities.

Selected ETAP artists will receive $5,000 awards (with limited restrictions) to support learning opportunities including training, networking, and promotion. These opportunities should equip traditional artists to expand their own knowledge/practice and to increase the impact of their work within their communities.

In addition to cash awards, selected artists will participate in a series of networking and team-building workshops (both online and in-person) with other ETAP awardees, at no cost to themselves, and will be paired with a member of the 2024 ETAP cohort for peer mentorship.

What are folk and traditional arts?

The South is home to an abundance of folk and traditional art forms. Folk and traditional arts share the aesthetics, practices, and values of families, geographic communities, occupational groups, ethnic heritage groups, etc. Folk and traditional arts are learned orally, or by observation and imitation, often through a mentor 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.

For the purposes of this application, the folk and traditional arts of Central Appalachia include music, handcrafts/material culture, and foodways. Some examples of traditional arts practiced in Central Appalachia are Cherokee stamped pottery, African American buck dancing/clogging, Anglo American ballads, Latin American foodways traditions, Bharatanatyam Indian dance, Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, and many more.

Program Goals

The Emerging Traditional Artists Program advances the purpose of the In These Mountains initiative to “provide intergenerational opportunities to share, teach, learn, preserve, document, and carry forward the folk and traditional arts and culture of Central Appalachia.” For emerging traditional artists who have demonstrated a commitment to their artform and community and exhibit a high skill level, this award will provide resources for learning opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible.

A learning opportunity can take many forms. Here are a few examples:

• Online opportunities for continuing education and collaboration.
• Establishing/growing network by traveling within the Appalachian region or beyond to meet other leaders/potential mentors in your art form.
• Taking courses and purchasing software/hardware needed to build an effective online presence.

Ultimately, each awardee has the freedom to determine their own learning opportunity—on their own or, if they wish, with assistance from South Arts staff and/or mentors/leaders within their own communities. Funding has limited restrictions, and awardees are not required to submit a final report, produce a commissioned work, or engage in any public program.

Through the series of professional development convenings (one in-person, three virtual) and peer mentorship, ETAP is designed to build long-term relationships between traditional artists across the region, beyond state and local boundaries, through:

• Building a cohort of emerging traditional artists in Central Appalachia who are committed to the advancement of folk and traditional arts.
• Encouraging and equipping artists to be advocates for their traditional art forms and for the traditional culture of their communities.
• Deepening participants’ understanding of the importance of public arts support in the United States.

Awardees will sign a letter of commitment expressing their intention to participate in ETAP and to attend two virtual workshops and one in-person convening. Over the course of the award period (December 1, 2025 - June 15, 2026), recipients will participate in a recorded interview with South Arts staff or other representative about their art and the learning experience resulting from their ETAP award.