Amid economic hardship and political backlash, artists remain some of the South’s most valuable truth-tellers and bridge-builders. Despite cuts to public arts funding and essential benefits, Southern artists continue to shape how communities mourn, organize, imagine, and rebuild. They are an integral part of how change happens. If we want a more equitable South, we must invest in and make space for artists as planners, partners, and leaders.
This investment matters because art enables people to understand and care about issues in a personal and human way. As Antonio Alanis puts it, “Art builds trust… it shows people they’re not alone.” His commissioned illustration for State of the South brought a thriving South to life visually as a crowded kitchen table, enabling us to feel a sense of possibility rather than simply reading about it. When we see ourselves reflected in a vision of the future, we become more inspired to find ways to contribute to bringing it to life.
Policymaking can feel distant. In the face of complex issues, such as legislation or structural inequities, art can ground us in what is real. They open windows into conversations that might otherwise seem abstract or inaccessible, translating data and jargon into stories people can connect with. This translation work is particularly crucial in the South, where communities have experienced generations of being talked about rather than talked with by policymakers and researchers.
Artists are catalysts, not accessories
Art has the ability to shape the way people enter difficult conversations. Artists bear witness, changing the framing or the pace at which people absorb information. They create the conditions where vulnerability becomes possible, where people can move beyond their defensive positions to find common ground. We see this catalytic effect throughout the region. From Civil Rights songs to Black Lives Matter murals, Southern movements have always been artistic movements too.
MDC and State of the South are building infrastructure that includes artists from the start
Recognizing the power of art and artists, MDC has evolved State of the South to include gathering spaces where data meets music, dance, and story. Artists serve as collaborators and co-facilitators, offering unique interpretations of themes like access to health care and housing. Weaving art throughout convenings helps personalize and bring to life the real-world implications of the data and policies discussed.
The Duval Displaced, Duval Dis Place art exhibit that opened at Yellow House in March 2026 as a part of State of the South Jacksonville illustrates the impact of this arts integration approach. 15 local artists, Yellow House, and MDC came together to create an exhibit about the impact of development and climate pressures on Jacksonville, and the ways that local communities are responding to these pressures. Concepts like displacement, cultural erasure, and resilience were discussed, not just with words, but with paint, photography, clay, and collage.
When artists shape how information gets shared and discussed, the conversation itself transforms. Participating visual artist Chris Clark shared that in this way, art is not just for decoration—or if it is, it’s decoration for soul. To hear more from the artists and exhibit visitors, please watch this short documentary by Jacksonville’s own, Elevated Media.
The myth that art is expendable is a barrier to justice—and to truth-telling
Too often, this essential infrastructure faces elimination. “We can’t afford the arts” often translates to “we don’t understand their value.” Public arts funding gets cut alongside safety net programs, yet these are the very tools people use to survive and tell the truth. “Art is a motor. It keeps us going when everything feels bleak,” Antonio reminds us. Art is how the South remembers and how it resists being rewritten.
At the closing session of State of the South Jacksonville, The Black Jacksonville Collective, a local group of artists, writers, and organizers, shared their experience putting together their project, Front Porch History: Mapping Undiscovered Stories of Black Jacksonville. Through the project, they tell the stories of everyday Jaxsons who made a difference in their communities. With brightly colored portraits of some of the Jacksonville residents included in the project behind them, members of the Collective shared that it’s difficult to stand on the shoulders of giants if you don’t know who those people in your community were. They encouraged the audience to reflect on this question: if you don’t tell your community’s stories, who will? In this way, incorporating artists into efforts for change isn’t just about imagining a different future—it’s also about grounding in our history and elevating the work of the people who came before us.
A Call to Action: Invest in Artists as Change Agents
The path forward requires intentional investment and engagement. To funders, continue to prioritize the arts as a powerful strategy for advancing justice, health, and community impact. Investing in artists amplifies the reach and relevance of your work. Consider long-term partnerships rather than project-based grants, as building trust and deep community relationships takes time. To artists, you belong here. Your voice matters, even when it receives pushback. Your work of bearing witness, imagining alternatives, and creating spaces for difficult conversations is essential to the health of our democracy.
To communities and civic leaders, are artists at your planning tables? If they’re missing, you’re missing part of the solution. Artists understand how change really happens: not only through policy and programs, but also through the slower, deeper work of shifting how people see themselves and their possibilities.
The South has always created while reckoning with its past and shaping what comes next. Let’s fund the future we’re dreaming of. When we invest in Southern artists, we invest in the South’s capacity to heal, to grow, and to lead the nation in showing what genuine community looks like.
Click here for more information about State of the South.
For more information about supporting artists in the South, visit South Arts.
