South Arts returns to the Bo Bartlett Center for 2024 Southern Prize, State Fellowships exhibition
September 2, 2025
Some of the South’s most exceptional contemporary artwork will be on display at Columbus State University’s Bo Bartlett Center beginning Tuesday, Sept. 2. The 2024 South Arts Southern Prize & State Fellowships for Visual Arts exhibition will showcase work by some of the region’s most talented visual artists.
Since its launch in 2017, the Southern Prize & State Fellowships program has championed the finest contemporary art emerging from the American South. It strengthens the region by advancing excellence in the arts, connecting the arts to key state and national policies, and nurturing a vibrant quality of life.
South Art provides vital support and recognition to artists representing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Its nine state fellowships, each of which includes a $5,000 prize for the artist, have been awarded by a national jury based on artistic excellence that reflects the diverse creative expression of the South.
From among the nine state fellows, one artist receives the prestigious $25,000 Southern
Prize for demonstrating the highest artistic excellence, while a runner-up will be
awarded $10,000. Both Southern Prize recipients will also get a two-week residency
at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia.
Left to right: “Ancestral Light Capture for Africatown Series: Bay Bridge from Eastern
View” (detail), 2022, pinhole photographic image printed on cotton-blend fabric, Anthony
'Tony' Bingham, Alabama State Fellow; “Memento Morididdle” (detail), 2024, hand cut
paper and found frames, Charles Clary, South Carolina State Fellow; and “queen of
the field” (detail), 2017, mixed media handwoven tapestry from roadside fragments
on wool warp with cochineal, Zipporah Thompson, Georgia State Fellow.
On Thursday, Sept. 18, patrons and the community are invited to a reception at 6:30
p.m. celebrating the opening of both South Arts 2024 and Coulter Fussell's inaugural “Hot Water” quilt exhibition. On Thursday, Oct. 2, beginning at 5 p.m., the center will host an artist talk featuring
South Carolina fellow Charles Clary.
The exhibition is made possible through generous support from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and Southern First Bank, with additional sponsorship from the George & Ann Swift Family Foundation.
It is open for viewing through Saturday, Dec. 6, each Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for holidays. Admission is free.
About The Bo Bartlett Center
The Bo Bartlett Center is an 18,425-square-foot interactive gallery space housed in a former textile warehouse on Columbus State University’s RiverPark Campus. Designed by award-winning architect Tom Kundig, the center serves as an experiential learning center and cultural hub for the visual arts, enhancing the university and community’s cultural and educational environment through exhibitions and cross-disciplinary programming.
For more information about these exhibitions and the center’s calendar of events, visit bartlettcenter.columbusstate.edu.
Main image: composite of the 2024 South Arts Southern Prize & State Fellowships for the Visual Arts
Media contacts:
- Julie Umberger, Gallery Coordinator, Bo Bartlett Center, 706.507.8432, umberger_julie@columbusstate.edu
- Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu