Gibbes Museum of Art Extends Deadline for $10,000 Society 1858 Prize

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston has pushed the submission deadline for the Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art to September 14. The $10,000 award, now in its 18th year, will be presented to a Southern‑based artist whose work will be exhibited at the museum for a full year and who will be invited to a three‑day celebration in Charleston in February 2027.

Eligibility has been broadened to include Maryland and Texas, bringing the list of qualifying states to fourteen: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Artists residing outside these states may also apply if they are originally from one of them. More than 350 entries were received last year.

The 2025 winner, Afro‑Caribbean American multidisciplinary artist Kandy G. Lopez of Florida, received the prize, had a work added to the museum’s permanent collection, and has since shown internationally in Paris and New York.