Katherine Sullivan of the HopeCollege art faculty has been awarded a fellowship for a one-month artist's residency by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA).

Katherine Sullivan of the HopeCollege art faculty has been awarded a fellowship for a one-month artist's residency by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA).

The VCCA is located near Sweet Briar College in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in rural Virginia.  Sullivan, who is an assistant professor of art at Hope, will be among approximately 20 fellows focusing on their own creative projects during a working retreat in December for visual artists, writers and composers.

The residency includes a private bedroom, private studio and three prepared meals per day.  Beyond meal times, there are no schedules or obligations, providing the artists with the opportunity to focus on their work.

Sullivan's emphasis as both an artist and teacher is painting and drawing.  During the residency she plans to continue work on a series of paintings and prints addressing issues of torture and violence.

The residency is Sullivan's third in the past two years.  In 2006, she was awarded artist's residencies in painting by both the Vermont Studio Center in Johnstown and Cooper Union in New York City.

Her work has been featured in a variety of solo exhibitions, including most recently at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, where she is also serving as an invited lecturer; the Handwerker Gallery of Ithaca College in New York; and the Gebben Gray Gallery in Fennville.

 She has taught at Hope since 2003.  The gallery of the college's De Pree Art Center featured her work in an exhibition in 2004, and she has also collaborated with the college's department of dance on a variety of projects during her time at Hope.

Sullivan received her BFA from the University of Michigan, and in 2001 received her MFA in painting and drawing from Boston University, where she was a recipient of the Richard Ryan Memorial Award.  She has done additional study at the Chautauqua Institute, the New York Studio School and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Serving more than 300 artists a year and more than 3,000 since its inception, the VCCA is one of the nation's largest year-round artist's communities.  The VCCA's residencies provide time and space in which to work for artists from all disciplines, including visual artists, writers, composers, performance artists, filmmakers, collaborating artists and those whose work crosses disciplines.  VCCA Fellows have received worldwide attention through publications, exhibitions, compositions, performances, and major awards and accolades, including MacArthur grants, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts awards, Rome Prizes, Pollock-Krasner grants, National Book Awards, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and Academy Award nominations.

A non-profit organization founded in 1971, the VCCA is supported in large part by grants and private donations.  More information is available online at www.vcca.com.