Southard Art Awards

The Southard Award is the School of Art and Design’s most prestigious competition. Students submit a written proposal selected for a public presentation of creative work. The objective for the competitive process is provide students with an opportunity to develop the materials, documentation and conceptual sophistication, needed in order to pursue advanced academic or professional opportunities upon graduation from UNC.

 Jurying Process

A panel of jurors will review completed applications; a selection of finalists will be chosen from the application pool. Finalists will prepare and present a 15-minute artist talk wherein they will be asked to discuss their research, artistic works, technical processes, etc. Each finalist will receive a scholarship award with one grand-prize winner receiving up to $3,000. In addition to presentations, finalists will be asked to submit a few pieces of artwork to be exhibited during the Annual Southard Awards event. 

 View the current Southard Art Award application

Application Requirements

This application is open to all students within the School of Art and Design. Students who were previously finalists in past Southard Awards are not eligible to be finalists again. Students interested in applying must submit all of the following items (incomplete submissions will NOT be reviewed).

Visual Arts Applications

• Artistic Portfolio

   (5-10 pieces, max 20 images) - Saved as a single PDF
  Present a cohesive body of finished work that demonstrates a clear conceptual throughline or theme. Include high-quality images of each piece that are clear and well-lit, showing the details and craftsmanship of the work. See Portfolio Formatting Guidelines below.

• Research or Portfolio Statement

  (250-500 words): Submit a research or portfolio statement that focuses on your body of work and its connections to broader contexts. Address the following:

  • The central idea or message of your work.
  • How your work connects to historical and contemporary art movements, artists, or academic disciplines and/or research you conducted to inform your work, including cultural, historical, or theoretical influences.
  • How your artistic decisions, materials, and techniques support your conceptual goals.
  • How this work connects to your future artistic or scholarly goals.
• Annotated Bibliography

  (Chicago Manual Style): Include at least 5-10 sources that have influenced your work, such as academic texts, journal articles, exhibitions, or other artists' works. Write a brief annotation (2-3 sentences) for each source, explaining its relevance to your work.

• Portfolio Formatting Guidelines
  • First page: image list of artworks in the order in which they appear (include title, medium, dimensions, year created). Label detail images accordingly. 
  • One image per page, fit image to page
  • For video-based work, paste link to external site such as YouTube or Vimeo

  Save all materials in PDF format with your name in the file. Example: Jane Doe_Portfolio, Jane Doe_Annotated Bibliography

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Scholarly Research in Art History Applications

• Final Copy of Research Paper/Project

  Art History papers should include Chicago Manual of Style footnotes or endnotes, supporting images, and an annotated bibliography. 

• Research Statement

  (250-500 words): Submit a research statement that focuses on this Art History paper/project and its connections to broader contexts. Address the following:

  • The research process you conducted to inform this paper/project, including cultural, historical, or theoretical influences.
  • How this work connects to your future artistic or scholarly goals.
• Annotated Bibliography

  Include at least 5-10 sources that have influenced your work, such as academic texts, journal articles, exhibitions, or other artists' works. Write a brief annotation (2-3 sentences) for each source, explaining its relevance to your work.

• Formatting Guidelines

  Save all materials in PDF format with your name in the file. Example: Jane Doe_Title of Paper, Jane Doe_Research Statement