The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has collected the works of hundreds of artists, but it wants to make sure the talent keeps coming. That’s why they’ve again awarded thousands of dollars in fellowships to 26 student and professional artists.
For 75 years, the VMFA has lent support to artists -- $4,000 for undergraduates, $6,000 for graduate students and $8,000 for professionals, and some people have won all three – among them, Lexington painter Cy Twombly and filmmaker Vince Gilligan who went on to make Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
“He got undergraduate, graduate and professional fellowships which really enabled him to create the first film that was his intro into Hollywood and to writing for the X Files.”
That’s Jeffrey Allison, manager of statewide programs for the museum. He himself collected two fellowships before signing on at the VMFA.
“I spent it on art materials. I spent it on rent, and I spent it on a trip to New York to go to museums, so it really can change people’s lives.”
In addition to financial support, the VMFA offers many fellows a chance to show their work at the museum or at Richmond’s airport, where it could be seen by as many as 180,000 travelers passing through.
