When Virginia Beach opened applications for its first-ever Individual Artists Support Grant, Rachel “RJ” Jaffe knew it was meant for artists like her.
“It was designed for people like me that are actively working and sharing their art and have these grand projects but just need the funding to help see it through,” she says.
Jaffe is the creative behind 23 Beans, where she sells and teaches ceramics and glass, though she got her start in the former. It was the grant that allowed her to expand into another medium.
The application asked for a proposal explaining how up to $4,800 would be spent, and how it would strengthen her artistic practice while contributing to the city’s cultural landscape. She was awarded the full amount.
The grant, run by the city’s Cultural Affairs office, is meant to help local artists build their practice, grow professionally, add to their portfolios, and engage with the community.
Her proposal changed along the way. Shortly after applying, Jaffe won a scholarship to a glassblowing workshop at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina, but it covered only part of the cost. The trip wasn’t in her original plan, so she amended her proposal, and the city approved using the funds to cover the rest.
“Craft schools are different from a traditional art school,” she says, describing Penland’s one- to two-week intensives where students live on campus and learn a specialized skill from a craftsperson.
The grant’s reach goes beyond her. Jaffe estimates 10 to 15 of her peers also received funding, and the recipients showed work made with their grants in a joint exhibition at the Virginia Beach Arts Center last May. A friend of hers applied after hearing about her experience and also attended Penland.
Today, Jaffe teaches ceramics and glass fusing at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, including a current six-week wheel-throwing course on vessel making, and leads workshops at the Hermitage Museum & Gardens and the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio. She also belongs to 757 Create, an artist-run collective that shares exhibition opportunities and practical advice, such as how to price a commission.
The grant shaped the work she’s making now: a collection of goblet-style stemware that references the kiddush cups and cut glass she grew up around at her grandparents’ home. “I really learned to value functional art in that way, and so that led me to create a collection of Judaica,” she says.
Artists Support Grant are currently closed. Artists can email ArtsInfo@vbgov.com for updates on future rounds.
