2024 Access Scholarship Recipients
Samantha Chagollan, Janine Kovac and Amanda E. Machado, are the three recipients of the Vashon Artist Residency's Access Scholarship for our 2024 season. This scholarship reflects our commitment to increasing access to this residency - an important professional development opportunity.
Meet the Artists:
Samantha Chagollan, a writer and artist, centers her work on her mixed Mexican and American heritage. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Cal Poly Humboldt, specializing in multicultural literature. Her work has appeared in Alebrijes Review, Lavender Bones, and the Woodhall Press anthology Nonwhite and Woman. Currently residing in Costa Mesa, California.
Janine Kovac is the author of Spinning: Choreography for Coming Home, which was a semi-finalist for Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize and a winner of the 2019 Indie Excellence Awards. Her other distinctions include the Elizabeth George Foundation Fellowship from Hedgebrook the San Francisco Foundation Nomadic Press Literary Award for Nonfiction, and the Calderwood Fellowship for Journalism from MacDowell. Janine’s second memoir The Nutcracker Chronicles is forthcoming in Fall of 2024 from @shewritespress You can read her work entitled Break Through online through Bellingham Review.
Amanda E. Machado is a queer Latine writer and facilitator whose work has explored how race, gender, sexuality, and power affect the way we travel and explore the outdoors. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Slate, The Guardian, and many others. In addition to her essay writing, she also facilitates workshops on anti-oppression and inclusive storytelling for organizations. Amanda has a degree in English Literature and Nonfiction Writing from Brown University, and currently lives in Oakland California.
This year, we focused our limited scholarship funds on artists identifying as Latine/Chicano and/or Indigenous/Native, expanding opportunities for these vibrant communities at the Residency.
As a scholarship recipient, each of these artists will receive a fully funded artist residency and a $500 stipend to assist with living expenses during the residency.
Images: Samantha Chagolian by Natalie Moser, Janine Kovac by Terry Lorant, Amanda E. Machado by @kumarius
