Arts

Multimedia exhibit brings the forest to Ruffin Gallery

What does it mean to digitally broadcast the ‘experience’ of a tree? Is satire inherent in such an act?” These are just a couple of the questions that Charlottesville-based artist Peter Traub hopes you’ll contemplate while viewing “WoodEar” at UVA’s Ruffin Gallery. The exhibit is a recent collaboration between composer and multimedia artist Traub; dance […]

Sarah Lawson | August 27, 2014

Arts

Teacher and artist Ryan Trott loosens up the creative process

The day after Labor Day, Ryan Trott will return to the classrooms and hallways where he teaches art to local elementary school students. Under his guidance, they’ll learn about masterworks and fine art techniques; he’ll lead them in exercises to spur imagination and develop creativity. And when asked how he spent his summer vacation, Trott […]

Sarah Lawson | August 26, 2014

Arts

Author Sheri Reynolds lets her characters work it out

As C’ville residents, we often hear, “Charlottesville has changed so much since I moved here.” Some see this as a positive, others less so. Either way (and regardless of how long you’ve lived here) it’s likely that we all have indeed witnessed some evolution. Recent development has obviously changed the landscape of familiar areas including […]

Sarah Lawson | August 12, 2014

Arts

Puppets for grown ups and Shakespeare on the move

As the month of August arrives, everything slows down a bit. Outside, we drown in the humid air, dense as an ocean wave pushing against flesh. There’s little to do but laze away in air-conditioning or spend hours floating in the cool waters of a swimming pool. It’s the time of year when I used […]

Sarah Lawson | July 29, 2014

Arts

Mark Tomasko works to preserve the art of engraving

I’ll be honest, I was an avid coin collector as a kid, but it was never about the art. The intricacy of the designs on coins or the colors of ink used on bills are often an afterthought. For me collecting was about rarity. I wanted to be the only person in town with a […]

Sarah Lawson | July 1, 2014

Arts

Young filmmaker Sam Gorman returns to Light House as mentor

It’s going to be an exciting summer at Light House Studio. The local youth filmmaking nonprofit’s website redesign is up and running, and they have a new location for their summer workshops while the City Center for Contemporary Arts—also home to Live Arts and Second Street Gallery—undergoes renovations. Inside the studio, a group of Light […]

Sarah Lawson | June 17, 2014

Arts

Your Friend and Weird Mob turn up the heat at the Tea Bazaar

When the galleries close up after First Friday and you’ve had your fill of early summertime patios, climb the stairs to the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar for some hot live music. Heat rises, and it tends to feel like summer for 10 months out of the year in the Tea House. This is triply true […]

Sarah Lawson | June 3, 2014

Arts

Charlottesville’s newest race is a splash for the arts

Between last week’s Discovery Dash, the annual Ten Miler, the Women’s and Men’s Four Milers, and many others, Charlottesville is hardly in need of another running event. However, need and desire are different beasts—and this is a town that’s addicted to the runner’s high. To satisfy this craving, there’s a new 5K that aims to […]

Sarah Lawson | May 20, 2014

Arts

Artists-in-residence offer a different kind of mapmaking

Recent construction has changed the ways a lot of us navigate Charlottesville. For some, it’s physically changed the mechanism by which we travel: a commuter who used to savor the peaceful walk to work might now ride a bike just to get past all the noise and dust more quickly. Or perhaps it’s only changed […]

Sarah Lawson | May 6, 2014

Arts

A once-in-a-lifetime evening of experimental cinema at the Bridge

It’s been almost a year since Vinegar Hill Theatre closed its doors, and we’re still months away from the promised renaissance of the Violet Crown Cinemas, so it’s hard to know where to watch a movie in Charlottesville these days. I’m talking about a movie that’s neither mainstream nor blockbuster; one that experiments with and […]

Sarah Lawson | April 22, 2014