Elizabeth and Mallory FACTOR PRIZE for Southern Art

The Prize

Established in 2007, the Elizabeth and Mallory Factor Prize for Southern Art honors an artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of the South. The Prize is accompanied by a cash prize of $10,000 and is administered and presented by the The Gibbes Museum of Art.

A panel of judges considers artists who are from, reside in or work in the following Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Factor Prize is also designed to create an archive of information about Southern artists that can be used by curators, collectors, academicians and the public. The repository of artist information that this Prize process creates is available online as a resource for anyone interested in the current state of art in America.

The Process: DEADLINE 2/28/2012

Submissions are accepted via this Web site throughout the year. Submissions for the 2012 Prize should be posted by February 28, 2012. A panel will convene in March to select a Short List of Finalists. The Gibbes Museum of Art chooses the winner and then announces the winner at a celebration at the museum in May.

Artists may nominate themselves and may update their records as often as they see fit. Third parties are also free to nominate eligible artists.

The Donors

Elizabeth and Mallory Factor are devoted collectors and patrons of the arts. The Factors relocated to Charleston from New York City in 2006 and maintain a family home in Gastonburg, Alabama. Elizabeth Factor, an attorney, served on the board of the Drawing Center in New York City and on the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Photography Committee. Mallory Factor, a merchant banker and consultant, serves on many corporate and not-for-profit boards including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the American Theatre Wing and the TONY Awards Administration Committee.

According to the donors, “we are establishing this prize to focus on the artists working in the South or on Southern issues.” The donors hope that the establishment of the Prize will increase awareness across the country for the depth of creation in the visual arts that occurs in the South.

The Gibbes Museum of Art

Located in Charleston’s historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American works with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents special exhibitions annually.

“The museum’s support of living artists dates to 1858 and this award builds upon that 150-year tradition,” says Executive Director Angela Mack. “The Gibbes Museum of Art is honored to administer this Prize which so closely matches our core mission.”