Opportunity
The Virginia useum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program is a vital source of funding for the visual arts in Virginia. VMFA is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline and has awarded more than $3.8 million in fellowships to Virginians.
Information
The Fellowship Program was established in 1940 through a generous contribution made by the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg. Offered through the VMFA Education and Outreach Division, fellowships are still largely funded through the Pratt endowment, supplemented by annual gifts from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, the J. Warwick McClintic Jr. Scholarship Fund, and the VMFA Foundation’s Annual Giving Fund.
Conditions of Awards
Awards are made to those applicants of the highest artistic merit and are not based on one award per medium. Please select the discipline that most closely corresponds to the nature of your work. Artists who can clearly demonstrate a history of ongoing collaboration may apply together with one set of documentation, but must fill out separate application forms, noting names of collaborators. Collaborative applications must be delivered or mailed in one package. Collaborating winners will receive one grant award to divide among themselves. Award money will be paid in ten monthly installments, August –May.
Applicants may apply for work or study in only one of the disciplines listed below:
* Crafts
* Drawing
* Film/Video *
* Mixed Media**
* Painting
* Photography
* Printmaking
* Sculpture
* Art History (graduate students only)
* Film/Video applicants may submit personally conceived works in the following categories only: Narrative (includes fiction, dramatized events and authorized adaptations of literary or dramatic works); Animation (includes the animation of graphics or three-dimensional objects); and Experimental (works that may expand the traditional definition of film or video forms; live-action or animation techniques can be used).
**Refers to the combination of two or more media to create one work, including emerging media.
(Note: Awards are not offered for architecture, commercial design, or theater arts)
Deadline
Mailed applications must be postmarked by Friday, November 14, 2008. Hand-delivered applications must be brought to the main entrance of the Pauley Center on the west side of the Museum campus, by 5 pm, Friday, November 14, 2008. The Museum does not accept application materials via fax or other electronic means. Late applications will not be considered.
Print, fill out, and mail VMFA a 2009-2010 Fellowship Application Form.
This form is a PDF file requiring Adobe® Acrobat® Reader.
Selection Process
Fellowship applicants’ works are reviewed anonymously by jurors. Professional awards are decided by a juror of national reputation and Student awards by a panel of distinguished regional arts professionals.
Notification of Awards
Applicants are notified of awards by letter the first week in February. VMFA does not provide written or verbal explanations regarding the awards. CDs and DVDs of fellowship award recipients will be retained as a permanent record. By submitting your work, you authorize that moving and still images may be used for promotional purposes at the discretion of VMFA. This may include and is not limited to display on our Web site, downloadable and print media, artwork, and related text.
Types of Fellowships
$8,000 Professional Fellowships
A complete application must contain the following materials:
1. Fellowship Application Form (front only).
2. Work sample (one copy) of at least eight images of individual works on a PC-fromatted CD-R labeled with the applicant’s name, representing works completed in the last 3 years. Film/Video category only: DVD with a 15-minute sample of three works completed within the last 3 years. Include a title page with links to each work and running times.
3. One typed copy of your current résumé.
4. A one-page typed artistic statement about the work you are submitting (200 words max).
5. Self-addressed, stamped (not metered) envelope with adequate postage and packaging to return work samples. Materials sent without return postage will not be returned.
6. Self-addressed, stamped postcard marked “Entry Received” which will be mailed to you to confirm receipt of your application. Please do not call to inquire about the status of your application.
$6,000 Graduate Fellowships and $4,000 Undergraduate Fellowships
Requirements
Eligibility
(Please read carefully as some criteria have changed) You are eligible to apply if you are an undergraduate or graduate student or a professional artist (not seeking a degree at the time of the application deadline or during the grant period) who agrees to remain in the state during the grant period. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States, as well as current legal residents of Virginia or a registered in-state student. Professionals must have been a resident for at least 24 consecutive months and students 12 months prior to this application. Applicants must be able to provide verification of residency upon request. Students must be enrolled, or planning to be enrolled, full time for the entire academic year at an accredited college, university, or school of the arts. Partial fellowship awards may be considered on a case-by-case basis for full-time students in the last semester of a degree program.
In the Film/Video category, only noncommerical, noninstructional works over which the applicant has exclusive control of content and primary creative responsibility will be accepted. No music videos, footage of installations, or other medium will be considered.
Note: Recipients of a VMFA Professional Fellowship after September 2004 or full-time VMFA employees are not eligible. No artist may receive more than three Fellowships in any category.
A complete application must contain the following materials:
1. Fellowship Application Form (front and back).
2. Work sample (one copy) of at least eight images of individual works on a PC-fromatted CD-R labeled with the applicant’s name, representing works— four of which were completed in the last 3 years. Film/Video category only: DVD with a 15-minute sample of three works, one of which was completed within the last 3 years. Include a title page with links to each work and running times. Art History category only: three research papers or published articles (two copies of each which will not be returned).
3. Most recent transcript officially stamped and sealed.
4. One copy of your current résumé.
5. Self-addressed, stamped (not metered) envelope with adequate postage and packaging to return work samples. Materials sent without return postage will not be returned.
6. Self-addressed, stamped postcard marked “Entry Received” which will be mailed to you to confirm receipt of your application. Please do not call to inquire about the status of your application.
Important:
* Do not submit your application in folders or binders.
* Do not submit more than has been requested; excess items will be removed.
* Digital images must be in the JPEG format at 300 dpi with a file size of no more than one megabyte (1 MB) each. Do not use GIFs, TIFFs, or other formats. Each image must be numbered to correspond to the checklist on the application. When saving the files, be sure to complete the step to “finish” the CD.
* DVDs must be labeled with artist’s name, title of work, primary creative responsibility, date completed, and original format running time. Indicate the category of each work: Narrative, Animation, or Experimental. Send copies only.
Contact
http://www.vmfa.museum/fellowships_2009.html
