VCCA Artist Residency — Fellowship

The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts has run an artist residency at Mt. San Angelo in Amherst, Virginia, since 1971. Residents, whom VCCA calls Fellows, receive a private studio, a private bedroom with bath, and three meals a day, alongside more than twenty other artists in residence.

Stays run from a few days up to six weeks, and the average is about twenty days. One application per deadline covers the Virginia residency and every named fellowship the applicant qualifies for.

Le Moulin à Nef and the German and Austrian exchanges are open only to artists who have already held a VCCA residency in Virginia, so a first-time applicant’s single application cannot reach those routes. A panel of peers working in the same genre reviews each submission, and admission rests on the quality and promise of the work rather than on degrees or career stage.

Benefits & funding

The Mt. San Angelo residency includes a private studio, a private bedroom with private bath, and three meals a day. Linens are provided and laundry facilities are available.
Artists who do not receive a fully funded fellowship pay USD 105 per day at Mt. San Angelo. VCCA grants need-based reductions each year where a real need is demonstrated.
Fully funded fellowships are awarded at every deadline. The named awards cover two-week to one-month stays, and several add an honorarium or stipend of USD 400 to USD 1,500.
Le Moulin à Nef in France costs USD 300 per artist per day, with a minimum payment of USD 110 per day and limited financial aid. Fellows there get a private studio, a private bedroom with shared bath, and two dinners a week.
The German exchange at the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus runs four weeks and provides a private room, shared living space, a kitchen, laundry, printer access, WiFi, and a daily stipend. Four Fellows go each year: two visual artists, one writer, one composer.
The Salzburg exchange runs four weeks for one visual artist and provides a combined studio and living space plus a stipend of EUR 600.
The application fee is USD 30. An artist for whom the fee is a barrier can start an application and then write to VCCA at least five days before the deadline to request a waiver.

Eligibility

Open to emerging and established artists in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting and screenwriting, performance, film and video, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, music composition, and cross-disciplinary work.
The Virginia residency sets no nationality, residency, age, degree, or professional-training requirement. Applicants enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral programs may apply.
An artist may be in residence at Mt. San Angelo only once every two years.
Le Moulin à Nef and the German and Austrian exchanges are open only to Fellows who have already completed a residency in Virginia.
A Fellow who took part in a VCCA international residency within the past three years cannot apply for the current exchange cycle, unless that earlier residency was le Moulin à Nef.
Named fellowships carry their own conditions. A few are hard limits, such as the photography fellowship reserved for US citizens and permanent residents or the awards tied to one art school or one US state. Most others state a preference rather than a bar. Every applicant is considered for a residency place plus each fully funded fellowship they are eligible for.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Choose a route on the VCCA application page: Mt. San Angelo, le Moulin à Nef, or an international exchange.
2
Open the matching application on SlideRoom and complete the form, the project description, and the work samples required for the chosen discipline.
3
Pay the USD 30 fee, or write to VCCA at least five days before the deadline to request a waiver.
4
Submit the financial documentation VCCA asks for if applying for need-based assistance.
5
Wait for the notification date attached to that deadline. Decisions on the current September 15 deadline reach Mt. San Angelo applicants by December 31 and international-exchange applicants by December 15.

Program timeline

June 1, 2026
Applications open for the September deadline, covering the Mt. San Angelo summer period, le Moulin à Nef, and both international exchanges.
Deadline for all of the routes above.
September 15, 2026
Applications open for the Mt. San Angelo fall period.
October 1, 2026
Notification for the international exchanges.
December 15, 2026
Notification for Mt. San Angelo summer-period applicants.
December 31, 2026
January 15, 2027
Deadline for the Mt. San Angelo fall period, for residencies from September to December 2027.
February 1, 2027
Applications open for the Mt. San Angelo spring period, deadline May 15, 2027, for residencies from January to April 2028.
May to August 2027
Residency window for Mt. San Angelo artists accepted at the September 15, 2026 deadline.
German exchange at the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus.
June 1 to 30, 2027
Salzburg exchange.
September 1 to 30, 2027