Fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA)

In the summer of 2023, I was honoured to receive a fully-funded fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Amherst, Virginia. The residency was truly a gift of time and space. The local fellows inspiring, the staff friendly and full of knowledge of the place, and the environment; from the pristine grounds, impeccable mountain views, to the newly renovated and luxurious residential building, created the ideal backdrop for creativity.

My Art Studio at the Barn

Located in a renovated 1930s Normandy-style barn, The Studio Barn as it is called, a short walk from the Residential Building. The space pictured here has been one of the most spacious places I’ve been able to call my studio.

Sculpture along the walkway

A VCCA handbook explains that this stone sculpture was one of the original existing pieces prior to the land purchase and conversion to an artist residency.

studio wall

My attendance at VCCA was shorter than I had hoped (due to some international flights I could not change), but the time I spent there was an explosion of creativity.

the renovated barn space

A few metres from my studio space, is a huge renovated barn. A couple days of the week, the wonderful Paige Critcher, teaches yoga here and the classes are life-changing!

VCCA Office

In between the Residence building and the Studio bard, is the VCCA office, where a friendly staff are able to answer any questions and just have a friendly chat on the porch. Aside from the library, the office also boasts an amazing collection of published works by VCCA fellows.

I’ve attended several residencies prior to VCCA, beginning in the Catskills New York, to the Banff Center in the Rocky Mountains right after my MFA, and in 2019, I spent a summer in La Rochelle, France, at the Centre Intermondes. I’ve experienced communal space living to more isolated self-directed residencies. VCCA, with its beautiful private suites and spacious studios in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains really tops the list. Meals are prepared each day, from a lighter healthy buffet breakfast, salad entrees for lunch, and then a buffet banquet-style dinner (the kitchen staff joked with me about the VCCA 15, and yes it is a thing). In the evening, writers and composers will share their recent projects in the living room, or visual artists will invite the cohort back to the studio barn for a studio visit.

the Living Room at the residence building

Working on a painting at my Studio Space

after dinner drinks at the patio

fellows in the tv room getting together for an artist talk

swimming pool by the residence

paintings in progress at the studio

On my last night, I invited everyone over dinner to my studio for an impromptu visit. It’s always great to hear feedback from a group of supportive creative people from different walks of life, writers, composers, and visual artist.