Launched in 2017, the South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships celebrate and support the highest quality art being created in the American South. This exhibition is the first time South Arts will bring together work from the nine State Fellowship recipients, one from each state within the South Arts region. An independent jury panel selected the nine state fellows from more than 800 applicants based solely on artistic excellence. Each artist will receive a $5,000 award. A second jury panel will select two finalists for the Southern Prize. One will receive an additional prize of $10,000, and the other, the $25,000 Southern Prize and a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences in Rabun Gap, Ga. The exhibition at 701 CCA will be the only opportunity to see the work of all fellowship winners together.

The 2019 State Fellowship award recipients are: Jamey Grimes (Alabama), Amy Gross (Florida), Bo Bartlett (Georgia), Lori Larusso (Kentucky), Stephanie Patton (Louisiana), Rory Doyle (Mississippi), Andrew Hayes (North Carolina), Virginia Scotchie (South Carolina) and Andrew Scott Ross (Tennessee).