1. Portfolio of Activities
FY 2011

2. Fast Facts
• Formerly known as the Southern Arts Federation
• Established in 1975 as a nonprofit regional arts organization
• Founded to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the
public value of the arts
• Annual portfolio of activities is designed to address arts-related
issues important to our region; linking the South with the nation and
the world through the arts
• Works in partnership with nine arts state agencies in the South:
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee
• Partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts

3. Mission Statement
South Arts strengthens the South through advancing excellence in the arts,
connecting the arts to key state and national policies and nurturing a vibrant
quality of life.
Vision of Progress
The South is a thriving region in the U.S. with the arts integral to its vitality.
“South Arts…Building a Better South
through the Arts.”

4. Smart Agenda
• We have identified a “smart agenda,” in which combined leadership,
involving the arts as a vital resource, can build a better South
• The six agenda areas: Economy; Education; Technology; Advocacy;
The Arts Sector; The Public Sector and Public Engagement
• Partnerships and alliances must be expanded or developed
• South Arts will serve as a convenor to bring leadership voices in the
arts, business, education, economic and community development
together to make affirmative and timely impact

5. FY 2011 Portfolio of Activities
South Arts’ annual portfolio of activities is designed to move our
mission forward and respond to the current environment. The
portfolio includes continuing activities, primarily serving the
field, and strategic activities, which are often in partnership
and expand us into new areas.

6. FY 2011 Portfolio of Activities
• ArtsReady
• Presenting 101
• Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of
Southern Craft and Traditional Art (National Tour)
• Dance Touring Initiative (DTI)
• Research and Development
• Performing Arts Exchange (PAE)
• Regional Touring
• Southern Artistry
• Southern Circuit

7. • Every artist and arts organization should Be
ArtsReady; have a plan in place to be resilient
in the face of any interruption to their business
• The Be ArtsReady campaign builds awareness
for the need for readiness planning; “Plan for
What If, Not Why Me”
• After an emergency, information is needed
about response and recovery resources
• www.BeArtsReady.org is a destination site for
information on readiness, response and
recovery
• ArtsReady V1.0 (launching in 2011) - web-based
tool designed to help arts organizations develop
their own personalized readiness plan

8. Presenting 101
• A series of informative
workshops for performing arts
presenters-new and experienced
• Participants will use the
workshops and resource
materials as a launching pad for
their ongoing research and
learning
• Workshops held at the three
2010 regional performing arts
conferences: Western Arts
Alliance, Midwest Arts
Conference, and Performing Arts
Exchange.
• In early 2011, the Presenting 101
curriculum will be made available
to the field at large, with online
resources.

9. Tradition/Innovation (National Tour)
• National tour is launching in June, 2011
• Major push to acquaint Americans with
the best of their cultural and artistic
legacy from the South.
• A combination of contemporary craft and
traditional art allows people to explore
the threads between different
approaches to creating artwork.
• There are 48 pieces in the exhibit, an
audio guide, a Visitors Guide, and an
extensive website:
www.traditioninnovation.org

10. Dance Touring Initiative (DTI)
• A major effort to develop stronger dance
presenters and audiences for modern
dance and contemporary ballet in the
region
• Goals of this initiative:
– To assist presenters in their ability to
more effectively present dance by
promoting greater understanding and
audience engagement
– To move presenters from sporadic to
regular dance presenters
– To create a strong network of dance
presenters
• 11 presenter participants
• Three-year initiative (2010-2012) made
possible through the support of the
National Endowment for the Arts

11. Research and Development
• We are developing research projects to document and understand:
– The size and impact of the creative sector to the South’s economy
– The extent and impact of arts education delivery to K-12 students in the South
• We are collaborating with the other five Regional Arts Organizations
and other partners in international cultural engagement
• We are identifying our best role in serving the visual and literary arts
sectors in the region: new ways to connect living writers and
audiences; recognizing and sharing the South’s rich and unique
literary history; building a Southeast network of visual arts
museums; and sunsetting the current Southern Visions visual arts
touring program

12. Performing Arts Exchange (PAE)
• Annually presented by South Arts
• The primary marketplace and forum for
performing arts presenting and touring
—artists and work, ideas, learning, and
information—in the eastern United
States
• Offers opportunities to attend
professional development seminars,
experience one-of-a-kind
performances, and to network with
some of the best in the performing arts
field
• PAE 2011 will be held in Baton Rouge,
LA; PAE 2012 in Miami Beach, FL
• www.pae.southarts.org

13. Regional Touring
• Matching grants to performing arts and literary arts
presenters
• Each project brings a performing artist, ensemble or
writer into a Southern community for public
readings/performances and educational/outreach
activities
• Technical Assistance grants support intensive work to
strengthen the infrastructure of presenting organizations

14. Southern Artistry
• A free, online registry that
showcases Southern visual and
media artists, writers, performers,
and teaching artists who have
been nominated by their state arts
agency based on the quality of
their work.
• Users can search for artists by
state, discipline, type of services
offered, etc.
• Users have the ability to contact
the artist directly and view/sample
their works.
• www.southernartistry.org
*Painting “Belly Button” by Patricia Lee
Brady

15. Southern Circuit
• The nation’s only regional tour of
independent filmmakers, which
provides communities with an
interactive way of experiencing
independent films
• Transforms independent films from a
solitary experience into a communal
one
• 2010-2011 season roster includes 18
filmmakers and their films touring to 26
communities throughout the Southeast
region
• http://southerncircuit.blogspot.com/
* “Dive” by Jeremy Seifret and “Pelada” by
Gwendolyn Oxenham and Ryan White

16. Learn more about South Arts
www.southarts.org
www.facebook.com/southartswww.twitter.com/southarts
www.youtube.com/southarts www.southarts.org/newsletter

17. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Mollie Lakin-Hayes Teresa Hollingsworth
Deputy Director Senior Program Director
mlakinhayes@southarts.org thollingsworth@southarts.org
Questions….