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 been able to award over $100,000.00 in scholarships since 1993, supporting full-time fine art students from Arizona’s universities and community colleges.

Scholarship Details:
Six scholarships are awarded each spring based on quality, a cohesive body of work, clear documentation, and a well-written personal statement. AAG is proud to partner with two leading arts organizations to fund these awards. Arizona Watercolor Association and Arizona Clay Association

The award money winners receive is directly deposited into the student’s

The award money winners receive is directly deposited into the student’s college bursar account for the following fall semester.

  • To download the application for the AAG Scholarship click here: 2024 Application.
  • For a list of previous recipients and to see images of their work, please CLICK HERE.
  • Click here to for the printable flyer.

Important Dates:

Deadline to submit: February 18, 2024
Midnight Notification: via email February 28, 2024
Award Ceremony, reception and presentation at AAG: April 16, 2024 | 6:30-9:00 pm
AZ Clay Scholarship recipient to present to the Arizona Clay Association: April 20, 2024

Meet the Jurors and Scholarship Committee:
The AAG Scholarship Committee is chaired by Tess Mosko Scherer and Melanie Mead.
Jurors are Heidi Dauphin, Dyanne Locati, Mary Beth Burgeson, Laura Cohen-Hogan, Ann Osgood and David L. Bradley. Click here to learn more about each juror

Monies Awarded:
A total of $10,000. will be awarded across the following scholarships: Marigold Linton Scholarship $1000 | Ruth Magadini Scholarship $1000 | Erin O’Dell Scholarship $1000 | AAG|AWA-Del Decil Scholarship up to $3000 for watermedia | AAG-Az Clay Association $1000 | AAG Scholarship up to $2800 | AAG Curran-Bleakney Scholarship $1200.

AAG Erin O’Dell Scholarship – All media considered.
Erin O’Dell, a Phoenix native, received her Bachelor of fine Arts degree in Textile Design from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Later she returned to Moore as an instructor teaching Museum Research: History of Textiles.
A commercial artist for fourteen years, she designed textile and paper products in Philadelphia, New York and Arizona. As her interest in Fine Arts grew, she studied watercolor in Mexico, Jamaica, Ireland, Italy and Guatemala. A Juried Member of the Arizona Artists Guild, she is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and American Artists of Renown. A longtime member of AAG, she passed away in June, 2012 and instructed that her estate establish a perpetual scholarship in her name to be administered annually by the Arizona Artists Guild.
All media considered.

Marigold Linton Scholarship – All media considered.
Marigold Linton is a cognitive psychologist and member of the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians. In 1964, she became the first Native American to earn a doctorate in psychology. In 1974, she co–founded the National Indian Education Association. Her research in long-term memory is widely cited in psychology. She is director for mathematics and science initiatives in the University of Texas system, where she is responsible for bringing minority students into those two fields. She has been president of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. She is a long-time patron of the arts in Arizona.

All media considered.

AAG Ruth S. Magadini Scholarship – All media considered.
Ruth Magadini, a devoted arts advocate and Arizona Artists Guild member since 1956, held many leadership positions in AAG during her 48-year membership. In 1964 she originated the annual spring “Garden Art Sale”, now at the Shemer Art Center, owned galleries in Hilton village and Craftsman’s Court in Scottsdale and in the 1990’s sponsored an Art Co-Op “Gallery 19” for AAG members.
In addition, Ruth was also an accomplished writer, publishing two novels, “Enchanted” and “Showdown” before her death in 2004.
Born in Massachusetts, she received her education at the New England School of Art in Boston and at Syracuse University.

All media considered.

*AWA/Del Decil Student Scholarship Award for Water Media
AAG has partnered with the Arizona Watercolor Association (AWA) scholarship program which is based, in part, on a monetary legacy bequeathed from the Del Decil estate to AWA for student scholarships. This program offers up to three (3) scholarships of $1000 each, to be awarded to the student (s) whose artwork demonstrates artistic merit and achievement in the discipliine of water-media. The winning student (s) receives a scholarship of $1000 to the school of their choice for tuition/books/art materials.
Water Media includes: watercolor, gouache, acrylic paint, inks, casein paint & tempera, water-soluble pencil or crayons when used in a painting manner and at least partially dissolved. May combine with pencil or pen/ink. Surface: Paper, illustration board, Yupo, watercolor board, canvas. Stella Waters Decil (Del) was a prolific oil and watercolor artist and longtime member of AWA. A popular workshop instructor and juror in Arizona and New Mexico, she was a teacher of painting and drawing for the Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. She critiqued art students at Maricopa Tech and was a juror of the Youth Division AZ State Fair. She was published in numerous magazines and newspapers, and her paintings hung in several collections in 20 states.

*AAG|Az Clay Association Scholarship Award for Ceramics:
Arizona Clay Association is a visual arts organization made up primarily of visual artists working with clay. The organization mission is to encourage fellowship, exchange ideas and information through workshops, meetings, exhibitions, shows and sales; and increase the public awareness and appreciation of the Ceramic Arts. Az Clay provides a $1000 scholarship for college students working with clay. Applicants may include work with any clay, glaze or firing schedule. Multi-media entries should be at least 75% ceramic for consideration.

AAG Curran-Bleakney Scholarship – All media considered.
Long-standing AAG member Pam Bleakney’s mother Helen Curran, took George Eliot’s quote “It is never too late to be what you might have been” to heart and in her early 70’s started studying watercolor at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, AZ. She was persistent, striving for a painting a day. By the time she passed at 84 in 1997, she was an accomplished artist. Upon retiring Pam followed her example, studying at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona. This scholarship is a way for them to give back to the art community that “blessed both of us”.

All media considered.

Characteristics of Winning Entries:

  1. Choice of Artwork: Cohesive, quality work that relates to each other thematically.
  2. Complete Applications: Ensure all sections are filled out.
  3. Concise Writing: Personal statement should offer insights not apparent in images.
  4. Timely Applications: Submissions must be emailed by the stated deadline.
  5. 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, Az CLAY) offer all awardees an honorary membership for one year. This provides opportunities for growth in networking, leadership and mentoring along with juried exhibition opportunities and workshop engagement. 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 Association 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 up to 6 images total. Size requirements are 300 DPI and no larger than 2000 pixels at the longest dimension. Each image must be saved with the last name of the artist and the number corresponding to the image list described below (i.e., 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 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 with the image-file names. The applicant’s name should be at the top of the numbered list.

–Personal Statement: Please include, 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:

  1. 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.).
  2. Complete applications: Incomplete applications will not be considered.
  3. 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.
  4. Timely applications: Late applications will not be considered. Applications must be emailed by the deadline stated in the application.
  5. 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
  • Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • 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.
  • All application materials must be emailed to: AAGScholarship@gmail.com

Contact Information: For any questions, contact the Scholarship Director at AAGScholarship@gmail.com.

Download the 2024 Application
To see samples of previous Scholarship Recipients’ work, CLICK HERE