Grace Glanden Annual Scholarship Established to Share Her Love of Art

Grace Glanden spent the summer of 2017 doing one of her favorite things: making art.

Grace loved her time at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s ArtVenture summer camp.

“Grace was always, always making something,” said her mother, Melissa Glanden.

In August 2017, 8-year-old Grace passed away unexpectedly from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition that had been symptomless and undetected.

Grace’s family has established a scholarship fund in her memory in order to share both the story of her joyful experiences at VisArts, and to give those experiences to other children.

Grace spent her time at VisArts in Jay Sharpe’s Metal Creations class and Ingrid Bernhardt’s Beaded Charm Necklaces class. Her mom said one particularly memorable moment from the metal class was the day Grace greeted her wearing a pair of statement earrings she’d created.

“She came out wearing peacock feather earrings down to her waist,” Melissa said. “Afterwards, we went shopping with those peacock feather earrings on. That was Gracie’s style and spirit.”

Grace loved making art at home in the craft room that she shared with her mom. Melissa said, “Making things runs in our family- Grace got that from all of us.” Her great-grandmothers were seamstresses and bakers, and her grandfather and great-grandfather built their houses.

Grace loved art, but she also loved nature. She spent hours playing outside and she adored her pet bulldog, cat and chickens and liked to help in the garden.

Contributions to the Grace Glanden Annual Scholarship will be distributed to children ages 5 to 17 who demonstrate financial need and a desire to take studio art classes.

“This is one way Gracie’s spirit has pushed us,” Melissa said. “Grace would have loved the idea of sharing these experiences with other kids – to make art and to make friends.”

The number of scholarships awarded by this fund will be determined by the total amount of contributions received, however $250 typically provides one youth scholarship. To learn more about the fund or donate, go to the give page.