The Wachtmeister Award is endowed by VCCA Fellow and Board member Linda Wachtmeister and administered by the VCCA Fellows Council. It is presented every two years in rotation to a prominent writer, visual artist, or composer whose significant achievement in the arts is widely recognized. A list of previous award recipients is provided below.

  
This award acknowledges the vital role of the arts in our world, the importance of artists who exemplify excellence in their field, and the necessity of time and space for the creative phase of all artistic work.

  
The 2025 Wachtmeister Award is open to established composers and/or sound artists using acoustic sources who have _not_ previously been in residence at VCCA. Eligible applicants will have worked professionally as a composer for at least the past 15 years with substantial national or international achievement in their field, including publications, grants, awards, and other signs of achievement. 

The award winner will receive a fully-funded **VCCA residency of up to 30 days**, to be scheduled between May 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026; a **$1,000 honorarium**; and a travel stipend of **$750**. 

  
The VCCA residency at Mt. San Angelo includes an individual studio, a private bedroom with private en-suite bath, and three prepared meals each day in a community of more than 20 writers, visual artists, and composers in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Wachtmeister Award

Life at VCCA is free of many of the distractions we find in everyday life. Artists are granted solitary time to focus on their art, and are also part of a collaborative community of accomplished artists that provides insights, new ideas, and stimulating conversation. VCCA Fellows are free to work at their own pace in quiet, spacious, light-filled studios, just a short walk from their residence overlooking the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

  
VCCA provides a number of fully-funded fellowships and significant financial support.

  
If you do not receive a fully-funded fellowship, we ask you to pay a minimum of $75 per day (one-third the cost of the residency) and welcome a daily payment up to the full daily cost of $225 if you are able. If you are not able to pay the suggested minimum, financial assistance is available. Artists are accepted to VCCA based on the quality of their work and not on their ability to pay. If you are accepted, VCCA will work with you in good faith to be sure you can come.

**Studio:**

Our studios are simple, comfortable spaces that inspire the creative process. Writing studios have a desk and chairs. Visual art studios include a sink and tables, and easels are available by request. Composer studios feature a desk, chairs, and piano. We have three baby grand pianos: a Yamaha Disklavier; a Kawaii; and a Knabe. Most studios are located in a renovated 1930s Normandy-style barn, which has newly upgraded WiFi and is heated and air-conditioned with individual thermostats in each studio. The Studio Barn and Fellows Residence are a five-minute walk along a natural, tranquil trail from each other.

VCCA cannot guarantee specific studio requests. All buildings are smoke-free.

**Accommodation:**

The Fellows Residence features private bedrooms, a communal dining room, recently upgraded WiFi, a library, laundry facilities, recreation rooms, and inviting patios. Each bedroom has a private en-suite bath and sliding glass doors that open onto vistas of rolling pastures backed by the Blue Ridge Mountains. The living room features a large fireplace and grand piano, while an adjoining room has a large smart TV with many streaming options. The library contains an extensive collection of books and journals, in addition to a variety of audio equipment. The smoke-free Residence is heated and air-conditioned with individual thermostats in every bedroom.

As part of our partnership with neighboring Sweet Briar College, Fellows in residence typically have access to certain facilities on the Sweet Briar campus, including libraries and fitness facilities.

  
**Meals:**

VCCA is proud to partner with Meriwether Godsey to serve Fellows three prepared meals each day. Meriwether Godsey focuses on fresh, local ingredients and customized menus for people with special dietary needs.

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Virginia Center for Creative Arts