Today's newsletter also offers details on the next virtual event in our monthly Fireplace Series and a link to listen to the August 2021 edition of our composer playlist. Plus, we're already looking ahead to September which will bring an in-person Fellows reunion in New York City, the reopening of Le Moulin à Nef in France, and the deadline to apply to Summer 2022 residencies and fellowships in Virginia. Today's Fellows messages come from Christine Koubek Flynn, Karen Bell, and Pat Valdata.

Pictured below: Trilogy the red bull roams along the driveway; A rabbit leads the way; At sunset on the new moon in July, Craig Pleasants gathered with current Fellows for a ritual burning of Corona V to celebrate new beginnings and to prepare for a new version of Heliotrope at Mt. San Angelo.

VCCA is proud to be partnering with Meriwether Godsey to serve Fellows three prepared meals each day. Director of Dining Services Katy Murray says, "MG is excited to be here working alongside the incredible staff at VCCA!! Glad to provide food to all the wonderful Fellows!!" Photos by Katy Murray.

With borders open and Fellows willing to travel, the wonderful staff at VCCA's artist residency program in Auvillar, France, are preparing to open up Le Moulin à Nef on September 13! We will be monitoring the Delta variant closely and observing all guidelines and recommendations set forth by the French government.

This September, we'll resume our annual tradition of hosting Fellows and friends for an in-person gathering in New York City.

Make a plan to join us Saturday, September 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET, at Foley Gallery on the Lower East Side.

Sign up to attend. More details to follow!

Carter Sickels and Steven Petrow will join our host Iraj Isaac Rahmim for this month's virtual Fireplace Series event.

Carter Sickels is the 2021 recipient of VCCA's Steven Petrow LGBTQ Fellowship, established by VCCA Board member and Fellow Steven Petrow in 2017 to support artist residencies for those who self-identify as LGBTQ. We’re excited to bring these two Fellows and writers together for an evening of readings and conversation. Each of them worked on their latest books at residencies at Mt. San Angelo.

Carter Sickels' novel The Prettiest Star —winner of the 2021 Southern Book Prize and named a Best LGBT Book of 2020 by O Magazine — examines the AIDS crisis of the 1980s through the lens of rural America.

Steven Petrow’s Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old is part memoir and part manifesto on aging. As Andrew Weil, MD, said, “Petrow’s book will help you plan, think, and redefine what it means to get older — and even laugh while doing it.”

Save the date for Thursday, August 19. The live stream will begin on VCCA's Facebook page and YouTube channel at 7:30 p.m. ET.

In a presentation streamed live from the living room of the Fellows Residence at Mt. San Angelo, 2021 Anne Spencer Fellow Marisa Williamson shared a "lineage of projects" born out of her early performance work focused on the historical persona of Sally Hemings. You can support her current work on Unsettling Grounds online.

Thanks to Fellow Sonja Curry-Johnson for hosting the evening and to special guest Shaun Spencer-Hester for discussing the legacy of Anne Spencer, the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum, and VCCA's Anne Spencer Fellowship (now accepting applications from composers!).

A recording of the event is available to watch on VCCA's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Enjoy music this month from five VCCA Fellow composers:

Music submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.

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.

"I received a 2021 Elizabeth George Foundation grant for my novel-in-progress based in part on an essay I wrote about VCCA's impact on me as a writer."

"I have a piece in the members exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. The show runs through August."

"My third novel Eve's Daughters, written at the VCCA, won first prize for novels from the Delaware Press Association and Honorable Mention from the National Federation of Press Women."

🧡 Stay safe, and be well.

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