The Appalachian Visionary Artist Fund — a regional re-granting program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — is open + taking applications through August 4!

This fund supports visual artists and collectives across Central Appalachia creating bold, public-facing, and experimental work that expands the conversation around contemporary art in our region. It’s designed to nurture collaboration, deepen relationships, and spark new exchanges that bring communities into dialogue through art!

Supported projects can include exhibitions, public art, performances, artist-run spaces, residencies, publications, screenings, and more — especially ideas that wouldn’t happen without this kind of support. At its heart, this fund invests in future Appalachian visions and innovations.

Each year, 12 grants of $5,000 [totaling $60,000] will be awarded — beginning in 2026 — with recipients selected by a panel of nationally + internationally recognized arts leaders.

Who can apply:

Independent artists, collectives, and collaborative groups — especially those historically underrepresented in mainstream funding, including BIPOC artists, LGBTQ+ creatives, non-English speakers, new immigrants, and emerging voices. Applicants must be 21+ and based in the Central Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Virginia, or West Virginia, with projects taking place in the region. 

While we know this new fund serves only a portion of our service region, this is just one opportunity of many — and our upcoming General Fund will cover the entire Central Appalachian region! Be on the lookout for more information about that this fall.

This is an invitation to imagine, create, and shape what’s next for Appalachia — on your own terms, rooted in place and possibility!

Questions about our new Appalachian Visionary Artist Fund? Check out our "FAQ on AVAF" on our IG highlights!

Get to Know the AppalCore

What’s your name + where are you from?
My name is Rae Garringer. I grew up on a sheep farm in southeastern West Virginia and now live about a county and a half away from where I was raised. 

How long have you been involved with Waymakers Collective? 
I just joined AppalCore in January of this year! I was honored and grateful to receive a Queer Arts Liberation Fund Grant in 2024 which enabled me to dig deeper into my practice and study of different styles of creative nonfiction writing through taking multiple online workshops with writers I admire. In-person writing workshops are often financially and physically inaccessible to me as a chronically ill, solo dairy goat farmer in southern WV, so it was a real gift. Before that, I’ve admired Waymakers from afar since its founding, and have followed along through updates from friends who’ve been involved since the beginning.

What do you do for work + play? 
I’m a writer, oral historian, and goat farmer and am often working on a few (or way!) too many projects at once. I’m currently working with an organization based in Maine and Vermont, called Out in the Open, to direct a two-year-long oral history project focused on rural LGBTQ+ experiences, histories, and cultures in Northern New England. I’m also consulting on an oral history project with former members of ACT UP D.C. I’m slowly working on a future book which is a collection of personal essays. And I’m hanging out with a small herd of dairy goats: failing miserably at keeping them in fences, chasing ornery baby goats off shed roofs and the hood of my truck, milking and making cheese, and taking lots of walks in the woods with them. 

My main source of fun in the summertime is spending time in all these gorgeous ancient WV rivers (which are actually heaven) with my friends and my dogs. 

Tell us something interesting about you or a little known fact…
I *love* monster truck rallies and rodeos. Alot. I also think the West Virginia State Fair is the best fair in the universe.

Are there any upcoming exhibits, shows, events that you’re involved with/ passionate about that you’d love people to know about?
After a whole bunch of book tour trips and events in 2024 and 2025 for Country Queers and To Belong Here, I’m thrilled to have no upcoming public speaking events! I’m enjoying being a hermit, introvert, and homebody for a while, which is my happiest mode.


Keep up with Rae [sometimes — when she feels up for it 😉]  on Instagram!

Community News, Happenings + Opportunities

Drag in Appalachia Anthology: Call for Proposals: Beck Banks + Jacob Kopcienski are asking for proposals for an anthology about drag in Appalachia. The collection aims to explore drag’s artistry, history, and cultural power. They welcome scholars, performers, and community storytellers whose work illuminates the region’s queer lineages, traditions, politics, creativity, and beyond. They especially invite pieces that examine drag as labor, community care, spiritual practice, historical reclamation, or engagement with Appalachia’s diverse cultural landscapes.

Submissions may take the form of creative nonfiction, journalistic, and academic essays as well as visual art and photographs. Submissions from emerging and established voices alike, especially drag performers, BIPOC populations, and trans and nonbinary people are encouraged. They're hoping to highlight how Appalachian drag reshapes narratives of gender, place, tradition, and belonging — and to celebrate the queens, kings, performers, and queer creatives who animate the region.

Please submit a 250-word abstract and a brief bio in one email to Beck Banks AND Jacob Kopcienski by August 1, 2026. Acceptance decisions will be made on a rolling basis, with final decisions by August 15, 2026. The deadline for completed work is December 15, 2026.

Waymakers Collective is proud to support "Arts Education Resources for Appalachian Kentucky" which increases access to arts education opportunities for children + youth in Appalachian Kentucky. This resource guide supports Partners for Rural Impact staff, schools and community organizations in connecting with arts education resources and opportunities such as field trips, artist residencies, internships and professional development.

Workshop Opportunity: There will be a free workshop to refine/ develop ideas for new monuments honoring histories that are more than 50 years old in anticipation of a future funding cycle for Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia! Get all of the information here!

From Waymakers Collective: We whole-heartedly believe that honoring the lives, humanity, and worthiness of all artists acknowledges, and is responsive to, the intersecting crises communities are facing.  We believe this approach to giving answers the urgent call to remove barriers for creatives and their communities to receive the resources they both need and deserve!  If any foundations + grantmakers out there would like to know more about taking this approach with their giving, we would love for you to reach out to us via email.

From Waymakers Collective: Do you have any awards, projects, or grants you’d love to share with our community?  Email us so we can include your news in upcoming newsletters + on social!

Looking Ahead in 2026

Loose timeline to be aware of with more information + details coming soon:

• June – September: Our Appalachian Visionary Artist Fund

• September – November: Our General Fund

• September 15: Voting Member quarterly meeting

• October: AppalCore nominations + voting

• December 1: Voting Member quarterly meeting

And, as always, we’re here to support you!  Don’t hesitate to reach out + let us know if we can be of assistance.

Be well —
The Waymakers Collective Team