EDGE AWARD

Kole Nichols, 2026 Edge Award Winner

Kole Nichols (B. 1998) is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work often utilizes the languages of printmaking, drawing, painting, and sculpture as an expanded approach to art-making in order to navigate his conceptual interests. Nichols was born and raised in Alabama, where he attended both the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama, where he received his MFA. Nichols currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he works as both an artist and educator.

Recent exhibitions in which he has been featured include a solo show at Institute 193 (2025), whitespec at whitespace (2024), Hawkins Headquarters (2023), and Monaco (2023). Their work has also been included in recent group shows at the Wiregrass Museum of Art (2024), Johnson Lowe Gallery (2024), Agnes Scott College (2024), and Scott Miller Projects (2024).

The 2026 Edge Award Finalists are Demetri Burke, Crystal Jin Kim, Kimberly Fulton Orozco, and Visakha Jane Phillips.

The 2026 Edge award Exhibition will take place at Swan Coach House Gallery in April, 2026.

EDGE AWARD HISTORY AND PRIZE DETAILS

In 1999, as a response to dwindling public support for individual artists in the metro Atlanta area, the Forward Arts Foundation instituted the Emerging Artist Award (EAA). In 2019, the Emerging Artist Award was renamed the Edge Award in honor of Betty and Bob Edge, who helped found the award twenty years prior.

Artists are nominated by a rotating panel of independent arts professionals from the Atlanta arts community. All panelists are active participants in the Atlanta arts community and recognized as experts in their field. The winner and four finalists are chosen by the panel after two rounds of jurying. The award is overseen by non-voting Forward Arts Foundation Edge Award Committee members and Swan Coach House Gallery staff who serve as administrators.

Criteria for the award: artists must be early-career or under-recognized; have no major solo exhibitions; no current or exclusive gallery representation; must reside in the metro Atlanta area for at least two years prior to being nominated; and must be out of an educational institution for one year prior to nomination.

Each Edge Award winner receives $10,000 to pursue new work, a 2-week residency at the Hambidge Center, mentorship opportunities, and a solo exhibition at the Swan Coach House Gallery. The remaining four finalists receive $2000 each and exhibit one piece in the Swan Coach House Gallery front space during the Edge Award Exhibition.

Previous Edge Award Winners

Emerging Artist Award Winners, 1999-2019