Virginia Centre for the Creative Arts

Why do artists from around the world leave their studios behind to come to the VCCA? It's all about the work. Many artists find they accomplish more in a matter of weeks at VCCA than they can in a year at home. The VCCA also offers a chance to work privately but in proximity to more than twenty other highly accomplished artists with fresh insights, new ideas and stimulating conversation. All of this, far from the distractions and disruptions of everyday life in quiet, spacious, light filled studios. The commute is not bad either: a short walk from the Fellows' Residence up a gravel path, the mountains of the Blue Ridge hazy in the distance.

Every residency includes a comfortable, private bedroom, three meals a day, and a private studio.

Admission to VCCA is highly selective, based on a review of applications by panels of professional artists. There are separate panels for each category (poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, playwrights, performance, film and video artists, painters, sculptors, photographers, installation artists, composers and cross-disciplinary artists) with over fifty panelists serving at any one time. These panelists undergo periodic review to ensure that selection to VCCA is being made by the highest caliber artists in each discipline. Panelists are also rotated regularly to ensure that particular styles or tastes are not continuously represented. The basis for admission by an application is professional achievement or promise of achievement.

Artists are accepted at VCCA without consideration for their financial situation. We ask Fellows to contribute according to their ability. The actual cost to us of a residency is $180 per day.