Southern Arts offers grant programs promoting regional art and culture.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture. In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs.

Southern Arts has two active grant programs that New Orleans musicians may apply for:

​1. Tradtional Arts Touring Grants, which support projects engaging a traditional artist/ensemble for multi-day residencies in Southern communities. For more info on these grants visit the information page. The submission deadline is Feb. 23. 2023
​2. Express Grants, open to organizations in rural communities of 50,000 people or less,  offer expedited awards of up to $2,000 supporting the presentation of touring artists. The info page for this program, which runs until June 30, 2023, is at Express Grants | South Arts.