Toe River Arts Scholarship for the Arts is made possible by an endowment fund held by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. These scholarships are awarded to individuals from Yancey or Mitchell County, North Carolina, who are pursuing higher education in arts or arts education. Each scholarship will be paid directly to the degree-based institution of the applicant’s attendance.

Scholarship for the Arts 2024 Recipients

Toe River Arts awards art scholarships each spring in amounts that range from $500 to $1000. Awards are given to a graduating high school senior or an adult continuing their education and are from Yancey or Mitchell County and pursuing a higher education degree majoring in any of the arts or arts education.

This year we are thrilled to award two Scholarships for the Arts — one to Lillian Kline of Penland, NC, and one to Starla Woodby of Burnsville, NC.

They will each receive a scholarship to be used towards college tuition for furthering their arts practices. Ms. Kline and Ms. Woodby each demonstrated a passion for their arts studies with artistic commitment and willingness to take creative risks.

Lillian is currently attending Maryland Institute College of Art as a General Fine Arts major. She is passionate about creating artwork exploring the ways that we relate to each other through our environment, love, and lineage. She is working in multiple media including fiber, sculpture, and printmaking.

Starla shares, “I enjoy experimenting and experiencing different art mediums. I like getting feedback from other artists to see other perspectives and suggestions. Art is my therapy basically. My artistic goals with this scholarship is to try new things that are out of my comfort zone and potentially find a new favorite hobby.”

Toe River Arts awards this scholarship to help support our emerging artists continue their education in the arts. Once again, congratulations to this year’s recipients!

Starla Woodby, Burnsville, NC

Past Scholarship for the Arts Recipients

2023

Haven Lee

Haven Lee, of Yancey County, demonstrated a passion for his arts studies showing artistic commitment and a willingness to take creative risks. Haven is a product design major at the Kansas City Art Institute. He aspires to create beautiful, durable, thoughtfully designed objects at a more accessible price. He also has ambitions to create his products out of sustainable materials that can be reused, refurbished, and upcycled, as a means to reduce consumer waste.

2022

Evelyn Klein

Evelyn is a student at Appalachian State University pursuing a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design.

“I am about to enter my third year at App State and am so grateful to continue pursuing my education with the help of Toe River Arts. This scholarship from the arts council will help support my studies at App State and the materials that are needed for my classes. I am excited about the opportunity to return to school in the fall semester and get back to learning and doing something I love.”

2021

Lily Wieland

Lily Wieland graduated from Mountain Heritage High School and received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English from Wake Forest University in 2019. Since then, she has worked as a freelance stage manager across North Carolina and Massachusetts. In the fall of 2021, Lily began earning her Masters in Stage & Event Management at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales.