Women in Lutherie Announces 2024 Fellowships

Nine female luthiers have been paired with a mentor for this annual three-month summer program

Women in Lutherie, an organization founded to provide a women-led, bench-centered platform in the industry, has named the luthiers who will take part in its International Women in Lutherie Fellowship for 2024. The three-month summer mentorship program is designed to help emerging luthiers from around the world build on their skills, while also creating opportunities for networking and positive relationships among women in lutherie.

The program will run from 19 May to 18 August, 2024, and will include both online and offline elements. Each of the nine fellows has been paired with a mentor, and the fellows will take responsibility for planning their own two-week internship — which they will complete under their mentor's watchful eye.

The 2024 Fellows and their mentors are:

• Federica Bandecchi, Italy, and Martine Dubosson, Switzerland
• Daniela Gómez Nieto, Colombia, and Lilo Holguín, Mexico
• Emily Marie Lovell, US, and Gwen Forrester, US
• Yuexin Chen, US, and Hannah Mayree, US
• Susann Chuchollek, France, and Melike Sarıkaya, Turkey
• Maria Florencia Nuñez, Argentina, and Elvia Xochitl Hernández García, Mexico
• Nuria Simón Estrada, Spain, and Sarah Peck, US
• Ariya Reddy, US, and Kathy Reilly, US,
• Giulianna Michella dos Santos Pezzini, Brasil, and Jayne Henderson, US

Women in Lutherie was founded in 2021. Alongside the Fellowship program it also runs an annual conference, which focuses on providing professional development opportunities for women in the industry. In addition, it highlights issues such as pregnancy, motherhood, and financial freedom — and explores the ways that these issues intersect with a luthier's career.