Wednesday Cider
February 9, 2022
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Welcome to VCCA's community newsletter focused on keeping Fellows, staff, and supporters connected.
Since the start of February, we've announced a new round of residency applications, reduced application fees, the removal of our letters of recommendation requirement, the creation of a new fund to support fellowships for artists of color, a new fellowship for caregivers, and the establishment of three endowed fellowships by VCCA Board members.
In summary, good things are happening at VCCA, thanks to the support of so many. In today's newsletter, we both recap and add to some of that good news. We're excited to share public congratulations to a VCCA staff member who's stepping into an important new role for our organization. We have a couple of exciting events in Philadelphia on the horizon. We share more glimpses into the new and improved dining experience at Mt. San Angelo. And, as usual, we're happy to pass along good news from Fellows out in the real world. All this and more in today's newsletter. Thanks for reading.
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a trifecta of new fellowship funds |
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Three VCCA Board Members Endow Fellowships for Artist Residencies |
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Richmond-based designer and long-time VCCA supporter Sharon Camp Carter joined the VCCA Board of Directors in 2021 and in 2022 established the Camp-Younts Fellowship to provide a two-week residency at Mt. San Angelo each year for an artist working in any genre. |
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Writer Sandell Morse has established The Spiral Shell Fellowship to support Fellows attending VCCA’s residency program at the Moulin à Nef in Auvillar, France. Morse is a longtime Board member and VCCA Fellow who currently serves as President of the VCCA Abroad Board of Directors. |
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Since 2017, VCCA Fellow and Board member Steven Petrow has annually sponsored the Steven Petrow LGBTQ+ Fellowship. This opportunity will now provide in perpetuity a free two-week VCCA residency to a writer in any genre who self-identifies as LGBTQ+. |
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three ways to support the 50th anniversary fund |
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Support VCCA's 50th Anniversary Fellowships for Artists of Color |
In case you missed it, last week VCCA announced the creation of the 50th Anniversary Fund to provide free residencies of up to two weeks at Mt. San Angelo for at least 50 first-time VCCA Fellows who self-identify as artists of color.
We invite you to read more, share the fellowship opportunity with an eligible artist, and consider supporting the fund with a donation.
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apply for winter 2023 residencies |
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Applications opened on February 1 for Winter 2023 residencies at Mt. San Angelo. Winter residencies will be scheduled between January 1 and April 30, 2023.
With this application cycle, VCCA has lowered its application fee from $50 to $30 and is no longer requiring letters of recommendation as part of the application process.
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shawn washington takes on new role |
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VCCA's "New" Grants & Outreach Manager |
Shawn Washington, who joined VCCA's Richmond-based staff in 2019 as Grants Specialist, has been promoted to the position of Grants & Outreach Manager. Her role in fund development has been enhanced to include additional responsibilities in grants administration, grants management, and grants compliance. She will also lead VCCA's outreach efforts with the goal of increasing the diversity of VCCA's Fellows.
"I'm thrilled to see Shawn take on this important new role at VCCA," says Executive Director Kevin O'Halloran.
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Meriwether Godsey in the Mt. San Angelo Kitchen |
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VCCA staff and Fellows continue to rave about the Meriwether Godsey team at Mt. San Angelo, comprised of Betsy Elmore, Bryan Holleman, and Director of Dining Services Katy Murray. This trio has been putting out an incredible array of food each and every day. Here's a peek at a few special dinners they've dreamed up in the last month: |
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A table set for Burns Night festivities, a traditional celebration of Scottish poet Robert Burns. |
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Vegetable spring rolls from a Chinese-inspired menu in honor of the Lunar New Year. |
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"Callie's Pecan Pie" and a bit of history served up for a dinner in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Join VCCA in Philadelphia This March
The VCCA Fellows Council is planning multiple events in concert with the 2022 AWP Conference & Bookfair, an annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers of contemporary creative writing, to be held in Philadelphia this March.
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Fellows & Friends Gathering
Thursday, March 24, 2022
5 to 7 p.m. at Fergie's Pub
All Fellows are welcome to come by anytime during the two-hour window and are encouraged to bring friends new to VCCA. Drinks and snacks will be provided!
50th Anniversary Reading
Saturday, March 26, 2022
1:45 to 3 p.m. at AWP22
VCCA Fellows Patricia Chao, Ethelbert Miller, Christina Baker Kline, and Patricia Spears Jones will share their residency experiences and read from new work.
VCCA at Table 1229
March 23–26, 2022
AWP22 Bookfair
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Fellows, please share your news. This is a way to tell the VCCA community about your work. We're always especially interested in stories about work created in connection to your VCCA residency.
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"I have a new poetry collection from Blue Light Press, The Glass is Already Broken. Sandra Beasley said of it: 'She shatters open a life centered on marriage and motherhood to reclaim her primal identity underneath. She revisits her choices. These poems grieve but they also reckon, bargain, riddle and joke, lust and croon, with every mode accented by a fine-hewed lineation. Reading these poems, and re-reading them wrecked me in the best possible way.'"
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"Treasures, The Polonsky Exhibition at the New York Public Library includes 71125: Fifty Years of Silence: Eva Kellner's Story, one of two volumes preserving my parent’s memory of internment in several concentration and extermination camps during World War II. This is a permanent exhibition, and the book is in the Fortitude section, and will be rotated with B-11226: Fifty Years of Silence: Eugene Kellner's Story."
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Daron Hagen is shooting his second operafilm, "9/10: Love Before the Fall," on location in Chicago in April. His first, "Orson Rehearsed," has been laureled and screened by over 50 film festivals around the world.
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Heide Trepanier's latest exhibition "This is Fine" will run until March 4 at Reynolds Gallery, 1514 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23220. The show includes detailed, fluid abstract work created in the isolation of the pandemic.
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Jeannine Burgdorf reads a personal essay and discusses it on the Daring to Tell podcast. Episode "This Too Shall Pass" was released December 21, 2021 and is available on all platforms.
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🧡 Stay safe, and be well.
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