Congratulations to Matt Eich who received a Professional Fellowship award from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The VMFA funding supports the work of professionals and students contributing to their field in a meaningful way. Resident artists working in all media (and art historians) are eligible to apply for this fellowship. Eich was the only photographer selected for the 2017-2018 year. Christopher Bedford, of the Baltimore Museum of Art was juror of this year's Professional Awards.

Eich submitted his MFA thesis work, This is not your family. The work is both based in fact and fiction- it explores the family- his family, but invites viewers to apply their own understanding on the theme. Francesca Cronan wrote of Eich's work in LensCulture that it is "an artistic exploration rather than a quest for absolute truth." When Eich made the work his family was going through many changes; moments of elation and uncertainty come through in the work. This is not your family was also awarded the Magnum Photography Awards 2016 Student Spotlight.

Learn more about the award and recipients at VMFA

Read Cronan's article on Eich in LensCulture