Arizona Artists Guild Visual Arts Scholarship Program in Partnership with Arizona Watercolor Association and Arizona Clay Association
Arizona Artists Guild (AAG) is pleased to announce the 30th annual call for applicants for the AAG Visual Arts Scholarships. On average, 6 scholarships are awarded each spring. Thanks to generous donors, AAG has awarded over $200,000.00 in scholarships since 1993, supporting full-time fine art students from Arizona’s universities and community colleges.
Scholarship Details:
Scholarships are awarded each spring based on the quality of a cohesive body of work, clear documentation, and a well-written personal statement. AAG is proud to partner with two leading arts organizations: the Arizona Watercolor Association and the Arizona Clay Association, to fund these awards.
The award money winners receive is directly deposited into the student’s college bursar account for the following fall semester.
- For a list of previous recipients and to see images of their work, please CLICK HERE.
Important Dates:
Deadline to submit: February 1st, 2026, 11:59pm
Jury Date: February 8th, 2026, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. (Please be available by phone if questions arise.)
Midnight Notification: via email, February 12, 2026
Award Ceremony, reception, and presentation at AAG: April 21, 2026, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Attendance required
AZ Clay Scholarship recipient to present to the Arizona Clay Association: TBA
Arizona Watercolor Association recipient to present to the Arizona Watercolor Association: TBA
Meet the Jurors and Scholarship Committee:
Jurors are: Heidi Dauphin, Dyanne Locati, Tess Mosko Sherer, Laura Cohen-Hogan, Sheri Ashton, Melanie Mead, Ann Osgood, and David L. Bradley. Click here to learn more about each juror
About the exhibition:
Award recipients will have all submitted works of art, as well as 1-3 additional recent works, included in an online Gallery exhibition.
Monies Awarded:
Over $10,000 will be awarded across the following scholarships: Marigold Linton Scholarship $1000 | Marigold Linton Sculpture Scholarship $1000 | Ruth Magadini Scholarship $1000 | Erin O’Dell Scholarship $1000 | AAG|AWA-Del Decil Scholarship $1000 for watermedia | | AAG|AWA Gayla Bonnell Scholarship $1000 for watermedia | AWA Robert Oliver Scholarship $1000 for watermedia | AAG-Az Clay Association $1000 | AAG Scholarship up to $1800 | AAG Curran-Bleakney Scholarship $1200.
Characteristics of Winning Entries:
- Choice of Artwork: Cohesive, quality work that relates to each other thematically.
- Complete Applications: Ensure all sections are filled out.
- Concise Writing: Personal statement should offer insights not apparent in images.
- Timely Applications: Submissions must be emailed by the stated deadline.
- Quality Images: Clear, sharp, and well-lit images are crucial for a fair evaluation. Images must be JPEG or PNG format
*Note: Applicants applying for the AAG-AWA-Del Decil and/or the AAG-AzClay will also be considered for the non-media specific awards. Please be sure to indicate if you would like to be considered for the media-specific awards.
Membership:
All three arts organizations (AAG, AWA, and AZ CLAY) offer honorary membership to all awardees for one year. This provides opportunities for growth in networking, leadership, and mentoring along with juried exhibition opportunities and workshop engagement, as well as membership in the Arizona Art Alliance. Recipients can enjoy the benefits of networking with over 350 local artists, participating in exhibitions, workshops, professional opportunities and in other AAG, AWA and/or Az Clay activities. Such an opportunity is great (especially for students) for gaining experience in working within an arts organization and among dedicated artists as well as for boosting one’s resume. All applicants are encouraged to become members and active participants in one of Arizona’s oldest and finest arts organizations!
Application Requirements:
Eligibility: Continuing, full-time undergraduate or graduate students in a fine/studio arts program in Arizona. All media considered.
An unofficial transcript : A current and full unofficial transcript. Sent with the application.
–Resume: A 1- 1 ½ page (Word doc) resume highlighting your education, related experience and affiliations, awards, and exhibitions. Keep it within the past 5 years
– JPEG or PNG Images: Submit via email jpeg or png images of 3 of your current (of the past 2 years) works of art. Artists may present one additional detail image per artwork, for a total of up to six images. Size requirements are 300 DPI and no larger than 2000 pixels at the longest dimension. Each image must be saved with the artist’s last name and the corresponding image number from the list below (e.g., Smith-1.jpeg).
–Video, performance and/or sound-based work are eligible to submit. If there is a component of a physical piece, which is electronic or kinetic, etc., please describe it in the “mediums” part of your image list. However, the work may not be included in the exhibition due to space constraints. Applicants with new media work may inquire further to discuss the appropriate presentation of work for viewing.
–Image List: Include a list of your artwork: image number, title, year, medium, and dimensions in inches. If it is a detail, write “detail” next to the title. Numbers should correspond to the image file names. The applicant’s name should be at the top of the numbered list.
–Personal Statement: 300-600 words, Word doc. Briefly describe your submitted artwork and the rationale for its creation. State your educational and/or career goals in relation to your interest in the arts. Describe your aspirations and what values you hold important in your development.
Characteristics of Winning Entries:
- Choice of Artwork: The artwork is the most important part of the application. In general, jurors want to see cohesive quality work. Applicant’s chosen pieces should be strong and relate to each other (i.e. style, medium, theme etc.).
- Complete applications: Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Concise writing: The personal statement offers the jurors additional insight into the work, providing context and details that may not be apparent in the images.
- Timely applications: Late applications will not be considered. Applications must be emailed by the deadline stated in the application.
- Quality Images: Poor image quality takes away from the work. Images should be clear, sharp and well lit. Blurry images cannot be juried. Avoid distracting backgrounds.
Rules:
- Continuing, full-time undergraduate or graduate students in a fine/studio arts program at a college or university in Arizona.
- Open to International Students
- Artwork must be original and not more than 2 years old.
- Previous AAG scholarship recipients are ineligible.
- Winners must be willing to exhibit the work submitted, plus 1-3 additional pieces, and are available to give a short presentation at the award reception and at the AAG meeting. Please see the timeline below for details.
- Be sure to use the checklist on the application and adhere to the timeline.
- Agreement forms must be signed.
Contact Information: For any questions, contact the Scholarship Director at AAGScholarship@gmail.com.
