VCCA has just been awarded two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Both projects support the core mission of providing residential fellowships to artists and extend the mission to allow those residencies to be offered for no cost to the artist. One project is a collaboration with Cave Canem, the association of African American poets, founded by VCCA Fellows Cornelius Eady and Toi Derricotte. This project will provide two-week residencies for seven Cave Canem Fellows in June 2010. Another project provides fellowships and stipends to four artists of limited financial means and to four artists of minority ethnic heritage. These fellowships will be offered to artists who have never been in residence at VCCA. Jacqueline Jones LaMon (left) and Natasha Marin (right), both Cave Canem poets pictured at the VCCA gazebo with Porochista Khakpour (center) during a pilot program at the VCCA in June 2009. (photo by Karen Bell)

VCCA staff members gathered for a holiday lunch at the Briar Patch restaurant on December 15th. We were so happy that Dorothy Johnson and Cora Tabb were able to join us at this festive event. There were seventeen of us around the table. Happy Holidays to all VCCA Fellows and supporters across the globe! (photo: left to right: Suny Monk, Dorothy Johnson, and Carolyn Angus; Cora Tabb, Sheila Gulley Pleasants, and Dana Jones; photo by Barbara Bernstein)

C urrently in residence in W5, the corn crib, writer/filmmaker David Licata screened his award-winning short film Tango Octogenario at the VCCA Board of Directors meeting last week . On his blog , Licata talks about this experience and the value of a residency at an artists co mmu nity. " Time and space are the most obvious gifts a residency provides, but just as important is the interaction between artists of different disciplines," says Licata.