Atlanta, GA — South Arts is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the Cross-Sector Impact Grants, a program that celebrates the power of collaboration. This year, 18 organizations have been awarded up to $15,000 each to support innovative projects developed in partnership between arts organizations or artists and non-arts organizations.
“The arts hold a unique power to address the evolving challenges and strengths within our communities,” said Susie Surkamer, President & CEO of South Arts. “Through Cross-Sector Impact Grants, we aim to foster cross-sector partnerships that create new opportunities, enhance impact, and deepen the collective value of our work. We look forward to seeing what projects come from this upcoming cycle of recipients.”
Through these grants, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that highlight the intersection of arts and other sectors. These 18 multidisciplinary projects harness the arts to tackle critical community needs across South Arts’ nine-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
2025 Cross-Sector Impact Grant Recipients
| 21 Dreams Arts & Culture Montgomery, AL | Atlanta Pride Committee Inc. Atlanta, Georgia |
| Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, Inc Santa Rosa Beach, Florida | National Black Arts Festival Atlanta, Georgia |
| Miami-Dade County Miami, Florida | Springer Opera House Arts Association Columbus, Georgia |
| Create Princeton Princeton, Kentucky | ShaLeigh Dance Works Durham, North Carolina |
| Dancing Grounds New Orleans, Louisiana | University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Our Voice Nuestra Voz New Orleans, Louisiana | Berea Arts Council Berea, Kentucky |
| The Walls Project Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Carolina Dance Collaborative Greenville, South Carolina |
| Walter Anderson Museum of Art Ocean Springs, Mississippi | Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment Resource Project Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Hidden Voices Cedar Grove, North Carolina | The Big Ears Festival Knoxville, Tennessee |
Funded in part through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Cross-Sector Impact Grants are offered each year as part of South Arts' portfolio of programming to support artists, arts organizations, and communities across the region. These projects support collaborative efforts that connect the arts with non-arts aspects of local communities. Both the arts organization or artists, and non-arts organizations, must be located or reside in South Arts’ nine-state region to qualify for funding.
For more information on Cross-Sector Impact Grants and the 2025 recipients, please visit South Arts' website.
About South Arts
South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.
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