Wednesday Lemonade
April 7, 2021
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In the spirit of springtime traditions at Mt. San Angelo, it's time to switch this community newsletter from "Wednesday Cider" back to "Wednesday Lemonade." We imagine gathering outside on the porch with a pitcher of lemonade to share in each other’s’ work.
Happily, we don't have to imagine for much longer. We are well on our way to reopening Mt. San Angelo's gates to Fellows starting this July. We write to you today with good news about our dining services, introductions to newly-named fellowship recipients, and a reminder about our May 15 application deadline for Fall-Winter residencies.
Last April marked our very first "Wednesday Lemonade" newsletter and the beginnings of our pursuit to create virtual initiatives that could support and sustain our community during the pandemic. A year later, we're glad to be making in-person plans again, but we're also proud to keep building on our online programs. Today we announce more guests in our ongoing Fireplace Series, and we share our latest monthly playlist highlighting work by VCCA composers. We remind you to send us your news, browse our Bookshop, and stay connected in Virtual VCCA.
Instead of our usual in-person fundraising gala this spring, VCCA is hosting an online benefit auction in May 2021. We look forward to showcasing work by leading visual artists, and we hope you’ll join us in this opportunity to collect art by Fellows and friends of VCCA.
All this and more in today's newsletter. But first, blooms.
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statement on violence against asian americans |
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From VCCA's Executive Director and Board President |
To our VCCA Community — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an escalation of anti-Asian sentiment and growing racism toward Asians throughout the country. We at VCCA would like to be clear: We condemn any acts of violence against any individual or community based on race or background.
As we begin to reopen our doors for Fellows’ residencies this July, trust that at VCCA, you will have time, space and the support of fellow artists to create. All are wanted and welcome at VCCA. We will not tolerate racism or bias of any sort. We care deeply about our Fellows and members of the entire VCCA community, and remain committed to creating a safe, more equitable, and open space for all.
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LONG VIEWS
VCCA is excited to present LONG VIEWS, our first-ever online auction! The auction will feature artwork by VCCA Fellows and friends. Bidding will take place over two weeks and can be done from a web browser on your phone, tablet, or computer. Proceeds will directly support VCCA’s operations and mission. Save these dates:
May 2, 2021: Preview Access Begins
May 7, 2021: Bidding Opens to the Public
May 15, 2021: Auction Closes with Virtual Livestream Program at 5 p.m. ET
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VCCA is pleased to announce we've contracted with Meriwether Godsey Inc. for our food services at Mt. San Angelo.
Meriwether Godsey is an employee-owned, women-run company committed to stewardship, reduced waste, and sourcing food locally. They have a great reputation for innovative menus and close attention to food sensitivities and allergies. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., the company partners with regional businesses and schools, including our neighbors at Sweet Briar College. Throughout the pandemic, Meriwether Godsey has worked successfully with organizations to provide meals safely and according to CDC guidelines.
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announcing recent fellowship recipients |
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We can't wait to begin welcoming Fellows back starting in July, and we're pleased to announce a few recently named recipients of fully-funded fellowships who will be among those Fellows heading to Mt. San Angelo in 2021 and 2022. |
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Alonzo Davis Fellows
We're pleased to announce two 2021-22 recipients of the Alonzo Davis Fellowship, a two-week fully-funded residency for outstanding American writers, visual artists, and composers of African or Latin American descent, named for VCCA Fellow and former Board member Alonzo Davis, a renowned visual artist and educator.
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David Dominique is a Richmond-based composer/performer whose output includes jazz, chamber music, electronic music, rock and theater. Photo by Joey Wharton
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Angela Morales, a graduate of the University of Iowa's nonfiction writing program, is the author of The Girls in My Town, a collection of personal essays.
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NEA Military Veteran Fellow
Reinetta Van's work encompasses her experience as a female naval officer, mother, and activist over four decades on the front lines of multivariant sociopolitical transformation. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts-funded fellowship supporting VCCA residencies for U.S. military veteran artists.
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Steven Petrow LGBTQ Fellow
Carter Sickels is the author of the novel The Prettiest Star (Hub City Press), a Kirkus Best Book of 2020, Finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and a Best LGBT Book of 2020 by O Magazine. He is the 2021 recipient of a fully-funded two-week residency made possible by Washington Post columnist and VCCA Board member Steven Petrow.
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Richard S. and Julia Louise Reynolds Poetry Fellow
Originally from Arkansas, Patricia Spears Jones is an award-winning poet, writer, playwright, and cultural critic who has lived in New York City and briefly in Boston since 1974. She will join us in Summer 2021 as a recipient of the Richard S. and Julia Louise Reynolds Poetry Fellowship, a fully-funded, three-week residency for poets. Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
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Hoping for a residency between October 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022?
We continue to accept applications for an expanded, seven-month scheduling period. Writers, visual artists, and composers interested in Fall-Winter residencies at Mt. San Angelo in Virginia must apply by May 15, 2021.
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Friends & Fellows Celebrate Artistic Cross-Pollination |
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Maggie Smith is the author of five books, including Keep Moving, Good Bones, and a new collection of poems, Goldenrod, forthcoming from One Signal/Simon & Schuster in July 2021. Her poems and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Poetry, The New Yorker, the Washington Post, and The Paris Review.
Along with new poems, she'll be reading some poems from her third book, Good Bones, which were directly inspired by Katherine Fahey’s artwork.
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Multidisciplinary artist Katherine Fahey combines the crafts of storytelling, papercutting, and shadow puppetry. Her pieces are either based on stories or songs. Katherine’s work is usually in the form of a crankie, a bygone form of visual performance, involving a cranked scroll of artwork in a box.
She'll be presenting a new mini-crankie called Grateful, a reminder to be thankful for what we have, instead of focusing of what we don’t.
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Save the date for May 20, when we'll welcome two longtime friends who reconnected at VCCA in 2009. Visual artist Marilyn Banner will take us on a visual journey from her early work to recent encaustic paintings inspired by close-up views of sand, stone, and lichen. Author Ellen Prentiss Campbell will read from her forthcoming novel Frieda’s Song (the cover image is from a painting by Marilyn!). Learn more.
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In last month’s Fireplace Series event, we were grateful to see recent installation works by visual artist In Kyoung Chun, hear a story from Valerie Miner's latest story collection, Bread and Salt, and enjoy conversation among our guests, host Lex Williford, and viewers. Recordings of the event are available on VCCA's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
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Announcing Our April 2021 Playlist |
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We're honored to feature six composers this month, with a tribute to Martin Boykan who passed away on March 6, 2021, and would have celebrated his 90th birthday next week. He is survived by his wife, VCCA Fellow and visual artist Susan Schwalb, whom we thank for sharing his concerto with us for this playlist.
- Rick Baitz | Hall of Mirrors
- Polly Pen | Arlington
- José Miguel Candela | Islas Temporales – Asuntos del Alma (a José Vicente Asuar)
- Vienna Carroll | Strawberries and Glory
- Jerome Kitzke | The Paha Sapa Give-Back
- Martin Boykan | Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Music submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.
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🧡 Stay safe, and be well.
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