The state of Texas is added for the first time. In addition to the $10,000 award, an artwork by the winning artist will be exhibited at the museum for an entire year, and they will be invited to Charleston for events honoring the artist
Due to popular demand, the Gibbes has added the states of Texas and Maryland to its call for artists, joining the 12 previous states on the list. Now in its 18th year, the Prize is presented by Society 1858, the Gibbes Museum’s young professionals auxiliary group. In addition to the monetary award, one artwork by the winning artist will be exhibited in the museum for an entire year. The Gibbes will also invite the winner to Charleston in February, 2027 for the official unveiling of their artwork. This invitation is part of a three-day celebration honoring the artist ‒ including the annual Society 1858 Winter Party, and the Amy P. Coy Forum, where the artist will be invited to speak at the Gibbes Museum about their work. The selection jury includes arts professionals, representatives of Society 1858, and the previous award recipient. Read more about the Prize here.
The 2025 winner was Kandy G Lopez, an Afro-Caribbean American artist from Florida. The Gibbes Museum recently acquired one of her works for the museum’s permanent collection. The multidisciplinary artist explores cultural identity, representation, and power through fiber, painting, glass, and mixed media. Since winning the 2025 Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art, Lopez debuted her first international solo exhibition at the Florence Foundation in Paris, her second New York gallery solo show at ACA Galleries, and exhibited at the Armory Art Center, the Ringling College of Art + Design, and the North Dakota Museum of Art.
“I was deeply honored to receive this prize from the Gibbes Museum and Society 1858,” says Kandy G Lopez. “The competition prides itself on being a community-driven, educational experience for artists. And for me, it took on a spiritual experience too, thanks to the hospitality and generosity of the people of Charleston. The support from these unrestricted funds inspires me to continue learning and exploring new ideas that shape my practice.” Read more about the artist at gibbesmuseum.org/1858-prize/kandy-g-lopez-2025-winner.
“The Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art gets to the heart of what the Gibbes Museum of Art is all about, and what it has been about since the museum’s founding aptly in 1858,” says Dr. H. Alexander Rich, the President and CEO of the Gibbes. “Celebrating and supporting living artists who represent the best of the South is core to our originating mission, and each year the Society 1858 Prize highlights not merely an exceptional winning artist but also the breadth of Southern creativity and ingenuity. The Gibbes and Society 1858 are proud to champion emerging and established artists from throughout the region, all of whose work pushes us to think differently about American identity and artistry today.” Since the inaugural prize of 2008, the Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art recognizes the highest level of artistic achievement and welcomes applications from artists working across all media. View previous winning artists and see their work at gibbesmuseum.org/1858-prize.
Some of the past winners have gone on to receive major national awards and accolades, including: the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the United States Artist Fellowship, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Some of the winning artists’ works have been acquired in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, and Art Institute of Chicago, among other institutions. Through the years and in the spirit of supporting living artists, the Gibbes Museum has also acquired several works by Prize winners and finalists for its permanent collection. Society 1858, the Gibbes Museum’s young professionals auxiliary group, supports the museum year-round with social and educational programs tailored for up-and-coming art patrons. Society 1858 takes its name from the year that the Carolina Art Association was established (the Museum's art collection, which began in 1858). Members gather several times a year to explore private art collections, new local exhibitions, and host the annual Winter Party. Funds raised by Society 1858 support the prize competition, as well as exhibition and education initiatives at the Gibbes Museum of Art. Learn more about membership in the group at this link.
About the Gibbes Museum of Art
The Gibbes Museum of Art, a beacon in the American South for arts and culture since 1858 when the Museum’s art collection was founded as the Carolina Art Association, is heralded as one of the earliest and most longstanding arts institutions in the United States. The Museum’s collection spans 350 years, and features some of the country’s most celebrated artists ‒ including contemporary, modern, and historical works. With world-class rotating exhibitions and a dynamic visiting artist residency program, the Gibbes is a Southern museum with a global perspective. The Museum’s mission is to enhance lives through art by engaging people of every background and experience with art and artists of enduring quality, providing opportunities to learn and discover, to enjoy and be inspired by the creative process.
