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Submit an application as an emerging traditional artist demonstrating high skill and commitment to your art form to receive up to $5,000 in funding, participate in professional development workshops, and receive peer mentorship.
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Get matched →The Emerging Traditional Artists Program (ETAP), a component of In These Mountains and expanded for FY27, recognizes and supports emerging traditional artists demonstrating high skill, commitment, and leadership in their traditional art form. South Arts will fund 24 artists total: 12 from the Central Appalachia region, 6 from Delta Regional Authority counties, and 6 from Native American communities.
Traditional arts may include foodways, material culture (handcraft), storytelling, music, and other forms. Examples include overshot weaving, Cherokee basketry, Memphis jookin dancing, Mardi Gras Indian suiting, Catawba pottery traditions, quilting, traditional Vietnamese medicine, and Guatemalan embroidery traditions.
Selected ETAP artists receive $5,000 awards with limited restrictions to support learning opportunities including training, networking, and promotion. Funding can support online education, travel to network with other leaders, courses, software/hardware for building online presence, or other learning opportunities determined by the awardee.
In addition to cash awards, selected artists participate in virtual networking and team-building workshops with other ETAP awardees at no cost and are paired with a mentor from a previous ETAP cohort. Awardees must sign a letter of commitment expressing intention to attend two virtual workshops and one in-person convening.
Every listing links to the organizer's official page. Always confirm deadlines, fees, and entry rules there before you apply.
ETAP builds long-term relationships between traditional artists across the region by creating a cohort of emerging artists committed to advancing folk and traditional arts, encouraging artists to advocate for their traditions, and deepening understanding of public arts support.