Richmond Folk Festival
Three days of music. Seven stages. 50 sponsors. And 1,500 volunteers. The Richmond Folk Festival is a mash-up of talent, skills, and collaboration. It’s what Lisa Sims, deputy director of Venture Richmond, calls “the“ ultimate community creation that would simply not exist without collective action and collaboration.” Sims says that setting up the Richmond Folk […]
Open Mic Night at Crossroads
With the revival of a time-honored musical tradition, the sounds of live jazz, soul, blues, and R&B are once again gracing a quiet corner of E. Clay St. each week. After more than a year’s hiatus, Open Mic Night at Crossroads has returned with all of the spirit, crack musicianship, and hospitality that have made […]
Fall Line Fest
This September 6th and 7th, bands from around the country and region will descend on Greater Richmond. They’ll join art galleries and restaurants in celebrating just what makes RVA great in the city’s first Fall Line Fest. FLF is an all-volunteer effort (full disclosure: I’m one of the volunteers and my company, RVANews, is one […]
Free the Art
One of the most amazing things I’ve discovered about creativity is that you get more by giving it away. This can be literally giving something away—like a free sample that hooks people on your work—or it can be the sharing of ideas and projects that you might otherwise keep secret. I’ve seen too many people […]
Hop on the Bus: The Virginia Center for Latin American Art
Spencer Turner and his wife, Eva Rocha, spend a great deal of time on a bus. But it’s not just any bus. It is a mobile art gallery that is introducing people all across town to the contributions of Latino artists. “People love the bus,” says Turner. The mobile art gallery is just one outreach […]
NO BS! Brass Band
They’ve won over national audiences with their dynamic, New Orleans-flavored sound and their lively performance style, but NO BS! Brass Band never really leaves its hometown behind. “The way the city moves and the people of the city influence every single note that I write,” remarks trombonist/percussionist Reggie Pace, who with drummer/vocalist Lance Koehler founded […]
Celebrating Visual Arts Center of Richmond
RVA recently celebrated the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s 50th anniversary with a Lewis Carroll themed party, “Through the Looking-Glass: A Very Merry Birthday to VisArts.” The annual Collectors Night Auction is the nonprofit art center’s largest fundraiser of the year. This year’s shindig was the most successful in the history of the organization, exceeding […]
An Open Stage to Grow
Students and supporters alike are dancing at The School of Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC), which recently received $2 million in gifts to help raise the curtain on their future. The largest commitment in the Richmond nonprofit’s 32-year history, the donations came partly from long-time SPARC supporter the Steven and Katherine Markel Foundation, […]
Making Things Happen
By R. Anthony Harris I have always admired someone that backs his or her rhetoric with action. Actually, the less you talk, the better. Let your work speak for you and grab my attention. Enter Shane Pomajambo, the owner of Art Whino Gallery in D.C. He talks a giant game and to his credit, […]
Hamilton Glass: Making Walls Beautiful
By Kate Manegold Artist Hamilton Glass sees Greater Richmond a little differently than most. A crumbling brick wall is a pristine empty canvas. A hulking cement slab begs to be transformed into a delicate array of lines and color. A long-abandoned parking lot brims with future potential. He’s leading the charge to bring Greater […]