Artsline: Experience inspirational dance, theatre and visual art in RVA and beyond!
“Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do. Make good art.” ~ Neil Gaiman
There are so many ways to make good art in RVA – to learn a craft and to practice that craft. This week we have workshops, panel discussions, and author talk-backs so you can immerse yourself in an art form and learn something new. There are also plenty of opportunities to appreciate others’ art in galleries, on the screen, and on the stage. Expand your horizons – check out the amazing experiences below!
To list your events on Artsline, go to vpm.org/artsline.
1. 2023 AMPERSAND INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
Film, Music, Theatre, Literary Art, Dance, Culture
Monday, February 27 – Sunday, March 5
Williamsburg, VA – check website for locations of individual events
$120 all-access | $85 film + reception | $60 films
The 16th Annual Ampersand International Arts Festival will bring over 60 events including live music, theatre and dance performances; film screenings with Q&A; creative workshops, panel discussions, author talks, and receptions. Many events and performances are free. Purchase film and performance passes online. (VPM has two films featured in the Ampersand International Arts Festival: Life in the Heartland and Raised/Razed.)
2. SWITCHING IT UP: WRITING IN MULTIPLE GENRES
Literary Art
Tuesday, February 28, 6 PM
Online
$17 non-members | $12 members | $5 students
Writers are often told to devote themselves to a single genre and audience to build a following and sales. But what if you contain multitudes? Can you be successful without pigeonholing yourself? Get some ideas and learn best practices from a panel of literary professionals (Remica Bingham-Risher, Lisa Hagan, and Sarah Glenn Marsh) who like to keep their options open. Presented by James River Writers. Register online.
3. JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS: SONGS WE LOVE
Music
Wednesday, March 1, 8 PM
Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, 147 Warsaw Avenue, Harrisonburg, 22801
$45 adult | $18 student
Forbes Center for the Performing Arts at JMU brings today’s hottest rising stars in jazz music to perform “Songs We Love,” a journey through the first 50 years of Jazz song under the musical direction of acclaimed trumpeter Riley Mulherkar. In this uplifting concert, vocal virtuosos Vuyo Sotashe, Brianna Thomas and Shenel Johns join an all-star band to sing their way through decades of music, from 1920 to the early 1960s—featuring songs made popular by Ma Railey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and more. Purchase tickets online.
4. FAITHFULLY FUNNY – CHURCH COMEDY SHOW
Comedy
Sunday, March 5, 3 PM
Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education, 11810 Centre Street, Chester, 23831
$25 adult | $20 military & senior | $10 youth ages 17 & under
The Perkinson Center and Pearl St Comedy are proud to present “Faithfully Funny,” a comedy show sure to tickle your religious funny bone! The show features James Lawson, Winston Hodges, David Beck and host Wendy Lee, in their Sunday Best, leave you rolling in the aisles! Purchase tickets online.
5. RICHMOND HOME + GARDEN SHOW
Landscape Art, Architecture
Friday, March 3 – Sunday, March 5
Richmond Raceway Complex, 600 E. Laburnum Ave., Richmond, 23222
$7 advance through March 7
$9 at door March 3-5
The Richmond Home + Garden Show features more than 200 home improvement and landscape design experts. Meet landscape designer Mike Pyle of HGTV’s Inside Out and gather ideas for creative outdoor living! Purchase tickets online.
6. FIRST FRIDAYS EXHIBIT AT THE RICHMOND PUBLIC LIBRARY
Visual Arts
Friday, March 3, 6:30 PM Reception
Exhibits run through March
Main Branch, Richmond Public Library, 101 East Franklin St., Richmond, 23219
The Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch offers two new exhibits for First Fridays RVA in celebration of Youth Arts Month: Theme & Variations – Selected Works featuring paintings by fall semester watercolor students of the Visual Arts Department of Brightpoint Community College; and original artwork by students from Richmond Public Schools. Live music will be provided by Rumput. No registration required for this free event.
7. PETER PAN
Dance
Saturday, March 4
10:30 AM at Meadowdale Library, 4301 Meadowdale Boulevard, North Chesterfield, 23234
2:00 PM at LaPrade Library, 9000 Hull Street Road, North Chesterfield, 23236
Experience the story of Peter Pan through dance as the Stavna Ballet performs this classic children’s tale, presented by Chesterfield Public Library. This is a free performance. Register online for the show at Meadowdale Library and that show at LaPrade Library.
8. THE COCKTAIL HOUR
Theatre
Fridays & Saturdays, March 3-11
Fridays at 7:30 PM
Saturdays at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Gayton Kirk Presbyterian Church, 11421 Gayton Road, Henrico, 23238
$15
River City Community Players presents The Cocktail Hour. Synopsis: John, a playwright, returns to his family’s house, bringing with him a new play which he has written about them. His purpose is to obtain their permission to proceed with production, but his wealthy, very proper parents are cautious from the outset. And there is also John’s sister, Nina, to contend with, although her reservations have to do with the fact that John has given her character such a minor role. Their confrontation takes place during the ritual of the cocktail hour, and as the martinis flow, so do the recriminations and revelations. Purchase tickets online.
9. LET THE CROWS COME
Dance, Culture
Wednesday, March 1, 7:30 PM
Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 453 Westhampton Way, Richmond, 23173
$35 adult | $30 senior | $10 youth/student
The title of Ashwini Ramaswamy’s new dance work – which is performed to live music by Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture) and Brent Arnold – refers to the Hindu practice of honoring ancestors through offerings of rice. When the crows come to eat the rice, says Ramaswamy, “it means your ancestors are telling you, ‘I’m OK. Keep living your life, but I’m always there with you.’” The piece, performed at University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts, features Ramaswamy’s South Indian movement tradition known as Bharatanatyam but also invites in the contemporary and Afro-Caribbean forms of Alanna Morris and the Gaga movement language practiced and taught by Berit Ahlgren. Purchase tickets online.
10. FIRST FRIDAYS AT LVA
Literary Art, History
Friday, March 3, 5 PM
Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, 23219
Venture east from Richmond’s Arts District for quarterly First Fridays at the Library of Virginia! Enjoy refreshments and view an art exhibition by Virginia artists. Also view their 200 Years, 200 Stories exhibition; listen to open mic poetry, prose or music; and take part in a “creation station.” March’s theme is Collections Show and Tell. Learn about archival preservation and bring your own photos, books or family documents to discuss preserving your family stories with the Library’s conservator, Leslie Courtois.
If you are an arts or cultural organization with lectures, exhibitions, performances, or even book readings, submit your events to Artsline here.
If you are an artist or an arts or cultural organization in need of resources and tools, check out the list of local and national resources from Richmond CultureWorks.
Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, the Library of Virginia, and Modlin Center for the Arts are sponsors of VPM.
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