1858's prize for contemporary southern art

The Gibbes Museum (Charleston, SC) and Society 1858's Prize for Contemporary Southern Art is awarded to an artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of art in the South. The winner will receive a cash award of $10,000 and their work will be on display at the Gibbes Museum of Art for a full year beginning in February 2026.

Presented annually, the Prize recognizes the highest level of artistic achievement and welcomes applications from artist working across any media. Artists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia are encouraged and eligible to apply. Previous winners have subsequently received awards from the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Additionally, winning artists' work has been received into the permanent collections of The National Gallery of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

The 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art is presented by Society 1858, a member auxiliary group of the Gibbes Museum of Art. This group of dynamic young professionals supports the Gibbes Museum with social and educational programs tailored for up-and-coming art patrons.