AAW Emerging Makers Symposium Scholarship Award
Application Period: March 31 through midnight, April 25, 2026. Notification: May 2, 2026
Click here to apply
The American Association of Woodturners invites applications for the AAW Emerging Maker Symposium Scholarship Award — a competitive award designed to bring the next generation of woodturners into the heart of the international woodturning community.
Recipients receive full AAW Symposium registration and a $1,500 stipend to offset travel, lodging, meals, or related expenses. Four hours of volunteer work are required during the event. This scholarship is an invitation: to learn from master turners, encounter new techniques and materials, find your people, and return to your studio with a sharper creative vision.
Who Should Apply
You have a creative direction you’re developing, and you’re ready to be challenged.
This scholarship is for makers at an early stage of their woodturning practice — whether you’ve recently completed coursework, are building skills independently, trained through an apprenticeship, or are coming to the lathe from a related discipline like woodworking, ceramics, sculpture, or metalwork. We’re especially interested in applicants who are actively developing a creative practice and are ready to engage with the broader woodturning community.
What We’re Looking For
We’re seeking makers who are curious, committed, and ready to engage. Strong applications articulate a clear creative direction, demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for woodturning as an art form, and show how the Symposium experience would meaningfully advance their work.
A mini portfolio of 5–8 images is required and is a central part of the review. No collage images allowed.
Optional materials: resume, CV, biography
How to Apply
Complete the online application, which includes short written responses, a background questionnaire about your woodturning experience, and a 5–8 image portfolio of recent work. Images may include finished pieces, work in progress, or studio documentation. Applications are reviewed by a jury of AAW members and professional makers.
The AAW is grateful to The Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation for making this award possible.
Call for Demonstrators for the 2027 AAW International Woodturning Symposium
Applications are accepted March 1 - June 30.
Link to application
Call for Applications for the 2027 Professional Outreach Program Artist Showcase
Applications are accepted March 1 - June 30.
Link to application
Call for Videographers for the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium
Click here to learn more about becoming a videographer or to complete the videographer application.
"Turning 40", 2026 AAW Member Exhibition
Submission Period: January 1, 2026 to March 15, 2026
The American Association of Woodturners turns 40 in 2026—and we invite you to apply for our anniversary show. This milestone exhibition honors our shared legacy and looks ahead to the future of woodturning.
For Turning 40, the jurors will be looking for a range of works expressing the extraordinary range of techniques, topics, materials and approaches woodturning offers, from a traditional bowl with that perfect curve to work that pushes our ideas of what is possible to interpretations that explore the title theme.
Entry fee is $25 for up to three pieces.
Click here for more information and to apply.
EXTENDED:
"Seeds of Growth", 2026 WIT Collaborative Fundraiser
Submission Period: February 1 to March 28, 2026
Applicants will be notified by April 2, 2026
Seeds of Growth is the 2026 Women in Turning fundraising project. The theme represents WIT’s aspirations and plans to grow the number of women participating in our shared craft of woodturning.
We are seeking beautiful, seed-inspired objects to include in a presentation box created by Dixie Biggs. Please note that there is a strict size limit.
Although we will naturally want them all, due to display size restrictions only a limited number of pieces can be accepted. One piece per entry. Multiple entries not accepted.Please include a focused, well-lit image with your application. Minimum image dimension, 1,000 pixels on the longest side.
There is no fee to apply.
Seeds of Change will be displayed at the AAW Symposium in Raleigh, NC, and sold at the AAW Live Auction on June 5th. All work accepted for the collaboration will be a 100% donation with proceeds going to support the WIT program and AAW.
To see past WIT collaborative fundraisers, click here.
Click here for more information and to apply.