Visual Arts Fellowships 2026–27

Eligibility

Professional Artists

1. You must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, as well as a current legal resident of Virginia, and have been so for at least 24 consecutive months prior to the application deadline.
2. You must continue to be a legal resident of Virginia for the Fellowship period of May 2026–May 2027. A legal resident has a valid Virginia driver’s license, and/or pays income taxes in Virginia, and/or is a registered Virginia voter. Applicants must be able to provide verification of residency upon request.
3. You cannot be a degree-seeking student during the Fellowship period of May 2026–May 2027.

Artists who are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply to the Professional category include the following:

1. Recipients of a VMFA Professional Fellowship in the last 5 Fellowship cycles (2025-26, 2024-25, 2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22)
2. Recipients of three or more Fellowships
3. Full-time VMFA employees
4. Undergraduate and Graduate students who will be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program during the academic year of Aug 2026–May 2027.

Students (Graduate and Undergraduate)

1. You must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, as well as a current legal resident of Virginia, and have been so for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the application deadline.
2. You must continue to be a legal resident of Virginia for the Fellowship period of May 2026–May 2027. A legal resident has a valid Virginia driver’s license, and/or pays income taxes in Virginia, and/or is a registered Virginia voter.
3. Students paying in-state tuition to an accredited Virginia college, university, or school of the arts qualify as legal residents of Virginia. If you do not qualify for in-state tuition in Virginia, you may not apply for a VMFA Fellowship until you establish Virginia residency. If you are a legal Virginia resident but attend school full-time outside of Virginia, you may still apply. Applicants must be able to provide verification of residency upon request.
4. You must be planning to be enrolled full-time and qualify as a Virginia resident as outlined above for the entire academic year Aug 2026–May 2027 at an accredited college, university, or school of the arts.

Artists who are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply to either of the student categories include the following:

1. Recipients of three or more Fellowships
2. Full-time VMFA employees
3. Undergraduate and graduate students who will NOT be enrolled full-time in a degree seeking program during the academic year Aug 2026–May 2027.

Fellowship applicants’ works are reviewed in a blind selection by distinguished jurors.

Jurors do not see the applicant’s personal information or the applicant’s resume/CV/transcript.

Awards are based solely on artistic merit.

All applicants will be notified of their award status by postal mail no later than the third week of February 2026. A list of the 2026-27 Fellowship recipients will also be posted on the VMFA website.

VMFA does not provide written or verbal explanations regarding the awards.

You may only submit one application during each fellowship cycle.

Click the link above to open the application. It may be helpful to preview the application and familiarize yourself with its format.

Please note that the application deadline is Friday, November 7, 2025. The application will automatically close and stop accepting applications at 5 pm.

Formstack is known to malfunction if the system is overloaded. We strongly encourage you to complete your application well in advance of the deadline to allow time for work samples to upload and to avoid potential technical issues. Please do not wait until minutes before 5 pm to submit your application.

A complete application includes:

• Applicant’s basic information (name, contact info, etc.)
• Resume/CV
• Unofficial transcript (Student Fellowship applicants only)
• Work samples (images/videos/research papers)
• Work sample details (title, date, medium of each submitted work)
• Artist statement (200 words maximum)

Note: An applicant’s basic information and work sample details are typed directly into the fields on the online application.

Only the resume/CV, transcript, work samples, and artist statement are separate files that must be uploaded to the application.

Before uploading your files, prepare them according to the guidelines below.

1. RESUME/CV: This should be your most current resume or CV.

File Format:
Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) files only.

File Names:
Last NameFirst Name_Resume or Last NameFirst Name_CV

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file name would be:
WigfallBenjamin_Resume or WigfallBenjamin_CV

2. UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT (Undergraduate and Graduate Students ONLY): This should be your most recent unofficial transcript.

File Format:
Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) files only.

File Names:
Last NameFirst Name_Transcript

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file name would be:
WigfallBenjamin_Transcript

NOTE: Resumes/CVs and transcripts are only for internal use so your name can be visible. Jurors do not have access to these documents.

3. ARTIST STATEMENT: Upload a statement of no more than 200 words about the work you are submitting. (Art History Graduate applicants do not submit an artist statement). To maintain anonymity, the applicant’s name should be included in the file name but should not appear within the text of the artist statement.

File Format:
Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) files only.

File Names:
Last NameFirst Name_Artist Statement

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file name would be:
WigfallBenjamin_Artist Statement

Applicants must select the one discipline that most closely corresponds to the work they are submitting. Submissions are not judged within these disciplines, but instead within eligibility categories (Professional, Graduate, Undergraduate) across all disciplines.

Submitting images/videos/research papers that do not follow the guidelines (below) as they pertain to your selected discipline will result in disqualification.

If you have any questions, please contact the Fellowship Office before Friday, November 7.

For each of your work samples (image/video/research paper), you will be asked to enter additional details about the work. You will type the information into the fields provided on the online application. Depending on your discipline, this may include:

• Title of the work
• Date (year) of completion
• Description
• Medium
• Dimensions
• Primary Creative Responsibility/ies
• Running time and/or Original Format Running Times

Guidelines by for Crafts, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture

1. A work sample consists of a total of eight digital images The maximum total sum of all eight images is 25MB.
2. Of the eight images, at least six must represent individual works; no more than two images may be details of the individual works.
3. Professionals: All works must have been completed in the past three years (2022-present). No works in progress.
4. Students:  At least four of the works must have been completed in the past three years (2022-present). No works in progress.
5. No legible names or signatures may appear on the digital images to ensure anonymity with the juror.

File Format:
JPG or jpeg ONLY. No other formats will be accepted.

Image Size:
Maximum total sum of all eight images is 25MB, not 25MB per image.

You do not need to have the same file size/resolution for each image, however the total sum of all eight images cannot be greater than 25MB.

File Names:
Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_1, Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_2, and so on.

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file names would be:
WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_1, WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_2, and so on.

NOTE:

1. If you try to submit more than a total sum of 25MB, the online form will alert you that your file size is too large.
2. File names contain your name, but your name cannot be visible in the images themselves. For example, if you have signed your work, you must edit the image to erase/blur your name.
3. Mixed Media refers to combining different media or materials (such as paint, ink, cloth, paper, wood, found objects, etc.) in a single artwork. This category is not intended for an artist to submit a group of works in different individual mediums (such as one painting, one drawing, one photograph, etc.). Keep in mind, jurors are looking for a cohesive body of work within a single discipline.

Guidelines for Film/Video

1. Film/video applicants may submit personally conceived works in the following categories only: Narrative, Animation, and Experimental.
2. Only noncommercial, non-instructional works over which the applicant has exclusive control and primary creative responsibility will be accepted.
3. No music videos will be considered.
4. Submit video samples of three individual works that total 15 minutes (maximum) in length.
5. Work can be submitted online by providing a direct link to your downloadable video. Works should be uploaded to a host site, such as Vimeo, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Be sure your settings enable all videos to be downloaded and not just viewed.
6. Professionals: All three works must have been completed in the last three years(2022-present). No works in progress.
7. Students: At least one of the works must have been completed in the last three years (2022-present). No works in progress.
8. No legible names, credits, or signatures may appear on-screen on the individual on-screen works to ensure anonymity with the juror.

Video Length:
Maximum total sum of all three videos is 15 minutes, not 15 minutes per video.

You do not need to have the same length for each video, however the total sum of all three videos cannot be greater than 15 minutes.

File Names:
Your Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_1, Your Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_2, and so on.

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file names would be:
WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_1, WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_2, and so on.

Uploading Videos:
Videos must be uploaded (as specified above) to a host site before your application is submitted. You will enter a link to the video in the online application.

Videos must be downloadable. If you have password protected your submissions, please provide the password in your application.

NOTE: File names can contain your name, but your name cannot be visible in the videos themselves. For example, if your name appears in an opening title sequence or end credits, you must edit the video to erase/blur your name.

Guidelines for New/Emerging Media

1. New/Emerging Media refers to works of art made using nontraditional techniques that do not fit into one of the other eight disciplines listed. Examples of New/Emerging Media art could be, but are not limited to, combined media installations, environmental or site-specific artwork, digital artwork, or interactive artwork.
2. A work sample consists of either images (Option A) or film/video samples (Option B) or a mix of both images and videos (Option C).
   • Option A: Follow the Crafts, Drawing, etc. submission guidelines.
     Total of eight digital images
     The maximum total sum of all eight images is 25MB.
     Of the eight images, at least six must represent individual works; no more than two images may be details of the individual works.
   • Option B:Follow the Film/Video submission guidelines.
     Video samples of six individual works that total 15 minutes (maximum) in length.
   • Option C: Follow both Crafts, Drawing, etc. and Film/Video submission guidelines.
     Four images total maximum size 25MB and four video samples maximum total 10 minutes.
3. Professionals: All works must have been completed in the last three years (2022-present). No works in progress.
4. Students: At least one of the works must have been completed in the last three years (2021-present). No works in progress.
5. No legible names, credits, or signatures may appear to ensure anonymity with the juror(s).

Guidelines for Art History (Graduate students only)

1. A work sample consists of three research papers or published articles.
2. All papers or published articles must have been written in the past three years (2022-present) and be in English.
3. Art History applicants must have sole authorship of their work sample submissions.

Note: The applicant’s name should not appear anywhere within the papers/documents to ensure anonymity with the juror.

File Format:
Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) files only.

File Names:
Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_1, Last NameFirst Name_VMFA_2, and so on.

For example, if your name is Benjamin Wigfall, your file names would be:
WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_1, WigfallBenjamin_VMFA_2, and so on.