AAW Emerging Makers Symposium Scholarship Award

Written By Dena Koehn

Application Period: March 31 through midnight, April 25, 2026. Notification: May 2, 2026

Recipients receive full American Association of Woodturners (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.

Learn more here: https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Woodturner/Events/Calls-for-Entries.aspx

Learn more about the Symposium here: https://www.aawsymposium.org/

The AAW is grateful to The Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation for making this award possible.

Dena Koehn

Dena Koehn grew up in Rose City, a rural town in mid-Michigan, and moved to southern Michigan to attend Adrian College. She graduated in 2005 with a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in English. After school, she worked in marketing and sales. In 2016 Dena started teaching woodworking classes with Luke in a garage, which eventually became the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute. She has served many roles at the SBWI, including Outreach Coordinator, Shaker Box Instructor, Secretary, Treasurer, Board Member, Bookkeeper, and now Director of Operations. She is also the Event Coordinator and Social Media Director of the Great Lakes Woodworking Festival, an annual event which brings together the best woodworkers from the Great Lakes region.

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