Welcome back to VCCA's community newsletter focused on keeping Fellows, staff, and supporters connected. Spring is here, and so our "Wednesday Cider" newsletter has cycled back to "Wednesday Lemonade" — a celebration of warmer days and cooler beverages. Thanks for joining us here in the spirit of sharing our work. As usual, the VCCA community is abuzz with activity, news, and upcoming events.

VCCA is happy to be included in the pages of Virginia Living magazine — and now on their website!

With thoughtful words by Sarah Sargent and gorgeous photography by Sera Petras, the piece offers a glimpse of the unique creative energy and history of our artist residency program at Mt. San Angelo in Virginia. Enjoy!

VCCA is throwing a party on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Patrons of the arts are invited to join VCCA Board, friends, and supporters at Mt. San Angelo, home to VCCA’s flagship artist residency program in the rolling foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, for a special evening featuring:

Many thanks to those who joined us at Mt. San Angelo last weekend! Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Saturday Volunteer Day due to rain and a high wind advisory. But Sunday was beautiful, and we had a wonderful turnout for Open Studios. Thanks to the current Fellows in residence who generously took time out of their residency to open up their studios to visitors. We'll do it all again in the fall!

In March, VCCA staff from Amherst, Charlottesville, and Richmond came together for a training with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities — one of a series of diversity and inclusion sessions VCIC's Jacqueline “Jacquie” Johnson has led for VCCA staff and Board members over the past few years.

Extra thanks to Jacquie for taking a photo (wielding Paige's fancy camera, no less!) of the whole VCCA gang.

In March, Katy Murray, VCCA's Director of Dining Services from Meriwether Godsey, made a three-layer carrot cake as part of her year-long challenge to bake her way through the cakes of The Magnolia Bakery Handbook.

She experimented with a naked frosting technique for this cake. She says, "I don't know if I achieved that or if it just looks like I ran out of icing!" She's at odds with the whole concept — "Load that icing on!"

Thanks to the generosity of many, our beloved Maison Vieilhescaze — VCCA's charming Fellows residence at le Moulin à Nef in Auvillar, France — will be undergoing a "refresh" over the next year.

We started the project in mid-March, just before opening to Fellows for our 2023 residency season. New bed linens, pillows, and comforters have made each of the four already-lovely rooms welcoming and comfy in a new way.

We're hoping to update the common living areas next, of course being careful to keep the character of this ancient country home in mind.

Applications are open for Winter 2024 residencies at Mt. San Angelo in Virginia. Residencies of flexible lengths will be scheduled between January 1 and April 30 of next year. As always, writers, visual artists, and composers in residence will receive a private studio, private lodging, and three meals a day in a supportive artist communtiy.

Following are the fully-funded fellowships available for the Winter 2024 scheduling period. Check your eligibility and spread the word to others who could benefit:

Fellows, 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.

"After over 20 years of work (including four VCCA residencies) my book AMERICAN BREAKDOWN: Our Ailing Nation, My Body’s Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life (Harper Wave) launches May 9!"

Kate Doyle's debut short story collection, I Meant It Once, is forthcoming from Algonquin Books on July 18, 2023, with advance praise from Brandon Taylor, Claire Lombardo, Kevin Wilson, and Cara Blue Adams.

"Patchy Ways, a collection of my recent poems, has been released by CyberWit Press."

At a VCCA residency in January 2014, Annette Gendler set out to write a children's book based on a story from her family history. A blog post on her website addresses the question: "How long did it take to create Natalie and the Nazi Soldiers?"

Browse our VCCA Fellows page on Bookshop for a wide variety of books by Fellows published since the pandemic.

VCCA Fellows: To tell VCCA about your forthcoming books, send us your news.

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