VMFA awards 27 fellowships to VA students and artists
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts awarded 27 fellowships to Virginia art students and professional artists in 2012-13 for a total of $157,000. VMFA received 755 applications, which marks the highest number of applicants in the program’s history. “The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is committed to supporting the commonwealth’s artists and art students,” VMFA Director […]
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts awarded 27 fellowships to Virginia art students and professional artists in 2012-13 for a total of $157,000. VMFA received 755 applications, which marks the highest number of applicants in the program’s history.
“The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is committed to supporting the commonwealth’s artists and art students,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “We are grateful to the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg for establishing a VMFA endowment that makes this support possible, as well as others who have added funds to the endowment throughout the years.”
Eleven professional fellowships, each worth $8,000, were awarded. The recipients are (in alphabetical order by hometown): Andrew Zimmerman (photography) of Arlington; Edgar Endress (mixed media-collaborative) of Lynchburg with Peter Lee (mixed media-collaborative) of Oakton, Gwynneth VanLaven (mixed media-collaborative) of McLean and Sean Watkins (mixed media-collaborative) of Springfield; Richard Robinson (film/video) of Orange; Katie Baines (painting) of Richmond; Jeremy Drummond (mixed media) of Richmond; Corin Hewitt (mixed media) of Richmond; Matt King (sculpture) of Richmond; Melanie McLain (mixed media) of Richmond; Dana Ollestad (mixed media) of Richmond; Edward M. Shenk (mixed media) of Richmond; and J.T. Kirkland (painting) of Sterling.
The juror for the professional fellowship awards was Scott Rothkopf, curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
Four graduate students won awards worth $6,000 each. They are: Michael Maizels (art history) of Charlottesville; Samantha Mitchell (crafts) of Grottoes; Hailey Doss (printmaking) of Rocky Mount; and Jon Henry (sculpture) of Washington.
In addition, graduate student Amber Rhodey (film/video) of Vienna was awarded a fellowship worth $3,000 for her final semester.
Ten undergraduate students won awards worth $4,000 each. They are: Amy Harris (painting) of Ashland; Gabriel Kendra (photography) of Falls Church; Natalie Kaminski (sculpture) of Gainesville; Rebecca Kuzemchak (painting) of Glen Allen; Elizabeth Crawford (photography) of Ivor; David Reinhold (film/video) of Midlothian; Alexander Curley (drawing) of Richmond; Barbara Pearsall (sculpture) of Richmond; Sean Donlon (crafts) of Springfield; and Hunter Mayton (mixed media) of Virginia Beach.
In addition, undergraduate student Christina Costello (film/video) of Stafford was awarded a fellowship worth $2,000 for her final semester.
The jurors for the graduate and undergraduate awards were Gary Freeburg, director of the Sawhill Gallery at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. and Dr. Katherine Smith, associate professor of art at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga.
The fellowship funds come from a privately-endowed fund administered by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Fellowship Program was established in 1940 through a generous contribution made by the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg (the husband of Lillian Pratt, donor of the museum’s Karl Fabergé collection). Offered through the VMFA Art and Education Division, fellowships are still largely funded through the Pratt endowment and supplemented by annual gifts from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation and the J. Warwick McClintic Jr. Scholarship Fund.
IMAGE: detail from Specimen 1 by Hailey Doss
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