Factor Prize for Southern Art

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The Factor Prize for Southern Art was established in 2007 by Elizabeth and Mallory Factor and The Gibbes Museum of Art. It is given annually with a cash prize of $10,000, to "acknowledge an artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of the South" and is the most generous prize of its type in the region.

Whether they have already produced a body of significant work or whose work shows considerable promise, the recipient's work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media. The prize may be awarded to an artist who has already produced a body of significant work or whose work shows considerable promise. Eligible artists are those who reside, work or are from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Virginia.

Unlike any other award of its type, the design of the Factor Prize creates an archive of information about Southern artists that can be used by curators, collectors, academicians and the public. Nominations will form the basis of this searchable online archive of Southern artists commencing in early 2008.

The shortlist for the prize for 2008 are Jose Alvarez, Radcliff Bailey, William Christenberry, Henri Schindler, Philip Simmons, Stacy-Lynn Waddell and Jeff Whetstone.

On May 19, 2008, the first annual Factor Prize for Southern Art was awarded to Jeff Whetstone, a North Carolina photographer.