AAW Opens Scholarship for Emerging Makers Ahead of 2026 Symposium

The fastest-moving door on the American Association of Woodturners’ Calls for Entries page is aimed squarely at emerging makers: the Emerging Makers Symposium Scholarship closes at midnight on April 25 and comes with full 2026 symposium registration plus a $1,500 stipend. For anyone early in a turning practice, that is a rare ticket into the center of the field, not just a discount on attendance.

AAW says the award is for makers at an early stage of development who can show a clear direction in woodturning or a closely related craft, including woodworking, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, apprenticeships, or independent study. Applicants must submit short written responses, a background questionnaire, and a portfolio of five to eight recent images, and collage images are not allowed. A jury of AAW members and professional makers will review the applications, with notification set for May 2. Recipients must also complete four hours of volunteer work during the symposium, which makes the scholarship as much an entry into the community as a seat in the hall.

The scholarship is being underwritten by the Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation, and AAW is framing it as a direct invitation to learn from master turners, see new techniques and materials, find community, and return to the shop with a sharper creative vision. That opportunity lands alongside the association’s biggest stage: the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium, set for June 4-7 in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the Raleigh Convention Center and Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Center. AAW describes the gathering as the biggest woodturning event in the world, and says this year’s meeting will include nearly 100 tradeshow vendors, more than 85 demos and panels, community-building activities, over 1,000 pieces of artwork in the instant gallery, live music, and networking.

The same Calls for Entries page is also opening two other routes for makers who are further along. The call for demonstrators for the 2027 symposium runs through June 30, and the application window for the 2027 Professional Outreach Program Artist Showcase is open over the same period. That POP program already has proven pull: Janine Wang and Matthew Shewchuk were named the 2026 awardees, each receiving a $2,000 cash award, complimentary registration, featured display space, demo and panel compensation, three days of lodging at the host hotel, and up to $300 in travel reimbursement.

With more than 13,000 members and more than 360 chapters worldwide, AAW is using these overlapping calls as a feeder system for the craft’s main annual gathering. The timing matters because the scholarship, the demonstrator call, and the POP showcase are all open together, giving younger makers, emerging demonstrators, and videographers a narrow but meaningful window to step into the international turning circuit now, before Raleigh fills up in June.