While singer-songwriter Devon Sproule’s sound has evolved over time, she continues to write thoughtful and compelling lyrics. This month her eighth album, The Gold String, will be released. The record is themed on the idea of an invisible string connecting all things, and the possibility of finding “spiritual togetherness in everyday life,” Sproule says. For […]
If you have never heard of Bix Beiderbecke, the unlikely jazz legend from a Midwestern, German-American family, listen to his tunes on YouTube or Spotify and you’ll want to know more. Dig deeper and you’ll learn that cornet soloist and pianist Leon Bismark “Bix” Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1903 and died in […]
Artist Sharon Shapiro has a unique history with the Welcome Gallery, where her exhibition “Above Ground” opens this week. Now operated by New City Arts Initiative, the space served as her art studio from 1996—when she first moved to Charlottesville from Atlanta—until 2001. Fittingly, her exhibition is themed on nostalgia—or the disruption of it—in an […]
The programming of the annual Virginia Festival of the Book—now in its 23rd year—always seems to strike a beautiful balance of gravity and levity, tragedy and comedy, difficult reality and the dream of a better future. The organizers draw from a vast array of writers with different lived experiences and this year is no exception. […]
Throughout this month, an exhibition titled #BlackOwnedCville by local photographer and filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson is on display on the third floor of the Central Library. Dickerson says he was moved to pursue the project because, “I was curious myself about African-American businesses here locally. Growing up here I knew of some. Like Mel’s Café on […]
Using photography, film, oil, acrylics and embroidery, “Empowering Women of Color” showcases women both as creators of, and prominent subjects in, art. “It came together in a natural, organic way,” says artist and organizer Emma Brodeur who graduated from UVA in 2015. Six months ago she was embroidering a portrait on a friend’s jacket and […]
University of Virginia professor and writer Sydney Blair was generous with her time. The author of Buffalo, winner of the Virginia Prize for Fiction in 1991, could often be found in her office having a one-on-one conference with a student—she was an integral part of UVA’s MFA program, first as an administrator and then as […]
There’s something about Charlottesville. Recently included in “The Ultimate 50-State Road Trip for Book Lovers,” this small city’s appeal to writers and bibliophiles can be attributed to the annual Festival of the Book, Edgar Allan Poe’s enshrined West Range room at UVA, Thomas Jefferson’s library at Monticello, the Rare Book School, the Virginia Art of […]
Ten years before they were blamed and credited with helping to elect Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States, the white working class in post-industrial southeastern Ohio was documented by Matt Eich. A 19-year-old student of photojournalism at Ohio University at the time, Eich, now a Charlottesville resident, had grown tired of what […]
Because of its resonance, giving the gift of art may be one of the most personal gestures you can make. Perhaps a painting or photograph reminds you of someone, aligning with their style, spirit or personality. Or perhaps it is a functional piece of ceramic that they can use in their daily life. We scoped […]