Virginia Artists in the Marketplace taking applications for two-day residency

Virginia Artists in the Marketplace (VA-AIM), a program for Shenandoah Valley artists, is now seeking applications for a one-weekend residency in May. Applications are due April 3.

Details and application materials are available at valleyarts.org/vaaim-2020

VA-AIM is the first residency of its kind in the Shenandoah Valley. The 2020 program represents a collaboration among ​Arts Council of the Valley​, ​Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC)​ and studioELL​. Now in its second year, the program will bring a new cohort together to dive deep into their studio practices and what it means to be a professional artist in today’s contemporary moment.

The two-day residency meets Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17 (10 am to 5 pm each day) in the Blue Ridge Community College Fine Arts Center, Weyers Cave.

VA-AIM sessions will be led by studioELL Founder, Director and Lecturer ​John Ros​. Ros currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. From 2017 to 2019, Ros served as Assistant Professor of Art at James Madison University, and Director and Chief Curator of Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art within JMU’s School of Art, Design and Art History.

The intensive VA-AIM residency includes lectures, workshops and seminars on a variety of professional practice topics: artist resumes/CVs, artist statements, branding, websites and web identities, applying to opportunities, exhibitions, taxes and liability, and more. In addition, cohort members will participate in a group exhibition at the Arts Council of the Valley’s Smith House Galleries in 2021.

Applications are welcomed from all types of visual artists living within the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding areas. Artists from other disciplines (dance, writing, music) may be considered on a case-by-case basis, although materials developed for the program focus on visual artists.

There is no application fee. Accepted artists will pay a $150 registration fee. Three partially-funded, need-based fellowships of $100 each will be offered through ACV and studioELL. Additionally, Blue Ridge Community College, Eastern Mennonite University, and James Madison University have each agreed to provide one fully funded scholarship for a currently-enrolled student accepted into the VA-AIM residency. All fellowship and scholarship awards will be chosen by the Residency Selection Committee.

All applicants will be notified of their status via email by April 17.