Homecoming: Sex and self-love during the coronavirus pandemic

By Lisa Speidel Navigating the coronavirus pandemic has proven challenging as we figure out social distancing, homeschooling, Zoom meetings, maintaining our health and minimizing breakdowns from cabin fever. Sex may be the last thing on our minds. Maybe we have kids at home and little privacy with our partners—or by the time the kids are […]

In sharp relief: Supporting artists through COVID-19

In an effort to help artists facing financial hardship because of venue closures and event cancellations due to COVID-19, The Bridge PAI and New City Arts Initiative launched the Charlottesville Emergency Relief Fund for Artists on March 20. Artists can apply to receive up to $300; all they need to show is “proof of practice,” […]

Welcome home: Our guide to city neighborhoods

By Charlie Burns, Carol Diggs, Brielle Entzminger, Ben Hitchcock, Laura Longhine, and Erin O’Hare Life here in Charlottesville has changed drastically since we began working on this feature about city neighborhoods, more than a month ago. But if anything, our neighborhoods have become more important. With schools and many businesses closed, we’ve all retreated to […]

Sculpture and shadows: Renee Balfour’s “New Work” evokes a haunting stillness

By Ramona Martinez The 11 wood sculptures that make up Renee Balfour’s “New Work” at McGuffey Art Center have a haunting stillness. Hung around the main gallery, some white and some unpainted, they are reminiscent of bones and fossilized plants—like prehistoric objects suspended in time. The exhibition is full of contradictions, or maybe polarities: seemingly […]

High tension cinema: What to stream while you wait it out

The spread of COVID-19 across the globe has left no part of our lives untouched, not the least of which is our viewing habits. Streaming services have gone from content delivery platforms to public services as we discover that self-quarantining can result in lots of time to finally whittle down our watchlists. Everyone’s viewing needs […]

Album reviews: corncob, The Chats, Frank & His Sisters, and more

corncob RANDY (Foil)  From the holy-shit desk: Heather Mease found her way from Philadelphia to Charlottesville via UVA’s Ph.D. program in composition, and as corncob, has just released the riveting tour-de-force RANDY. Mease’s vocal performances—it seems inadequate to just call them vocals–bracingly meld coquettish seduction, dark comedy, fragility, and menace over synth/drum-machine/found-sound backing tracks that […]