The Arts Council of the Eastern Shore

The Arts Council of the Eastern Shore (ACES) is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the cultural enrichment of the people of Accomack and Northampton Counties, Eastern Shore of Virginia.

2015-2016 ACES Scholarship Winners

ACES Awarded 8 Scholarships
to Eastern Shore Arts Students

Back Row:  Scholarship recipients left to right:  Heidi Waldenmaier; Savannah Henley; Elizabeth Pruitt; John Wagner; Dallas Simms; Cody Simms.  Recipients unable to attend:  Jeremy Lawrence and Jack Holladay.

Front row:  Eliza McBride – ACES President.  ACES Scholarship Committee members: Jim Goldstine, Dr. Dawn Goldstine, Michele Wagner and Randy Stuart.

The Arts Council of the Eastern Shore (ACES) presented scholarships on Sunday, June 12 at Ker Place in Onancock, to eight students who have chosen to study an arts-related field in college.  A special guest during the event was Tracey Arvidson, freelance artist, former ACES scholarship recipient and VCU graduate.  Tracey shared her experiences as a professional artist; the importance of reputation, the Internet and social media; and her insights on being a successful freelance artist.  The recipients were joined at the reception by their families, friends, the ACES Board of Directors and the Scholarship Committee.   Each recipient shared examples of their recent projects and their future plans with those in attendance.  The ACES scholarships are designed to encourage local talented youth to pursue careers in the arts.  

The ACES scholarship program is funded by proceeds from the season’s concerts, a grant from the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the annual scholarship fundraiser co-sponsored with the Eastern Shore Community College Foundation.

Heidi Waldenmaier, a 2016 graduate of Nandua High School and award winning student artist, will attend the University of Virginia to pursue a career in visual arts. North Street Playhouse and ESO audiences are very familiar with Heidi’s talents.  She has attended Summer Intensive programs at the American Ballet Theatre, the Rock School and the Richmond Ballet.  In addition she is an intern and performer for the professional dance company, DraMAStics.

Savannah Henley, a 2016 graduate of Nandua High School, will attend Virginia Tech to study interior design. Savannah is multi-talented:  she studied and was a member of the ESO dance company; creates jewelry sold at Market 29 in Onancock; is a photographer; and an artist in many media.  Her passion for the movements of dance is reflected in her artwork.

Elizabeth Pruitt, a 2013 graduate of Tangier High School, will graduate from Old Dominion University in 2017 with a degree in art education.  She began selling her art as a young teenager and continues to operate her online business.  This past year she taught painting techniques at a ceramics studio and designed tee shirts for the Tangier Fire Department and the Save the Tangier Seawall Fund. Elizabeth eagerly anticipates teaching art and is passionate about doing so.

John Wagner, a 2013 graduate of Nandua High School, attends Virginia Commonwealth University and will graduate in 2017 after studying Kinetic Imaging.  He is a member of the VCU Weekly Creativity Club.  The members create or participate in a performance art piece that’s presented each week.  He belongs to and is active in the VCU media club, which screens and discusses films or media revolving around the moving image.  This fall John will attend the National University for the Arts in Seoul, South Korea, as the first American exchange student in the School of Film, TV & Multimedia.  

Dallas Simms, a 2013 graduate of Broadwater Academy, will graduate from the University of Virginia in 2017 and is studying Media Studies and Art Administration.  Dallas is an intern at the Light House Studio and the Virginia Film Festival.  He is also an intern and producer for Experimental Film of Virginia.  Dallas was last year’s Principles and Practices of Art Administration Course Assistant, which required overseeing and grading a blog for the students and helping prepare the professor’s lectures.  He was also the Virginia Film Festival Adrenaline Film Project Coordinator, a 72-hour filmmaking competition.  Until recently, he was the Social Media Manager for UVA’s newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, handling the Facebook and Twitter accounts.  He and his brother, Cody, co-manage their business “Enjoy the Journey,” recycling leather belts into handcrafted bracelet cuffs.

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Cody Simms, a 2013 graduate of Broadwater Academy, is studying architecture and will graduate from the University of Virginia in 2017.  He is the marketing director and a member of the editorial board for Virginia Architecture Magazine and a graphic designer for The Cavalier Daily.  Cody presented his Shelter in Place project in which he studied and created the design of a rapidly deployable structure to provide immediate shelter after a catastrophic event.  Other recent projects include a House for Art Therapists, Design + Thinking Studio, and Foundations in Design Thinking, a class about water scarcity for which Cody designed a portable water filter that can be attached to plastic bottles. He continues his leatherwork business, “Enjoy the Journey,” with his co-founder and brother, Dallas.  Their bracelet cuffs are sold at Periwinkles in Cape Charles.

Jeremy Lawrence, a 2013 graduate of Nandua High School, will graduate in 2017 with a degree in Theatre from the College of William & Mary.  He has performed in multiple North Street Playhouse productions, is a familiar voice on WESR and had an internship at the Peterborough Playhouse in New Hampshire.  Jeremy is a member of Shakespeare in the Dark, a campus organization dedicated to producing the works of William Shakespeare.  He has also performed in numerous productions during his college career.  Jeremy’s passion for and dedication to the classical theatre promises a diverse and challenging career.

Jack Holladay, a first time recipient, is studying music composition at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Involved in the arts from an early age, he played and performed a variety of musical genres and participated in community theatre musicals.  His goal is to play in a professional band and teach fusion, rock, jazz, metal and funk.  Berklee College of Music is the largest independent college of contemporary music.  Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it offers contemporary and historic styles – rock, hip-hop, reggae, salsa and bluegrass.  

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