“Kiss on Wood”

After moving to Charlottesville in 2021, violist Rachel Kuipers Yonan founded the chamber music series Marinus Concerts, curating concert experiences by contemporary artists in the casual-yet-refined setting of local vineyards. In a preview recital of her new album Kiss on Wood, created with pianist Kwan Yi, she explores the polarity of light and darkness through […]

April Exhibitions

April 4–27 McGuffey Art Center’s Mid-Atlantic Juried Show presents works from more than 75 artists for this dynamic exhibition that showcases artistic excellence and diversity from across the region, including artists residing in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. Juror Jeffrey W. Allison, of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, […]

Sheng Wang

If you need a laugh, look no further than Sheng Wang’s deadpan, matter-of-fact standup. The L.A.-based comedian, originally from Houston, Texas, has been featured on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens,” wrote for the ABC show “Fresh Off the Boat,” and has his own Netflix special, “Sweet and Juicy,” produced and directed by the hilarious Ali Wong. […]

“Make Me Famous”

Providing a portrait of a time and place, Make Me Famous chronicles the Lower East Side contemporary art movement of 1980s New York City through dazzling archival footage and home video. Exploring the bohemian scene that produced artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Madonna, this feature-length documentary follows the story of the mostly […]

“As You Like It”

The UVA Department of Drama focuses on community engagement with its musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It. The participatory staging includes UVA students and members of local arts organizations—from Charlottesville Ballet and the women of CLAW, to the young performers at DMR Adventures—in a story of acceptance that’s accompanied by a […]

A dual show at Phaeton Gallery interprets beauty in layers 

Currently on exhibition at Phaeton Gallery,  “Understory” features works by Charlottesville resident Krista Townsend and Nikki Hare of Tewkesbury, U.K., in a dynamic artistic dialogue about nature. The title refers to the zone of vegetation that exists between the forest floor and the forest canopy. Townsend approaches this directly, producing work developed and centered on […]

The cup returns to Barboursville, and pizza adds players

Virginia wine lovers, raise a glass—preferably filled with Barboursville Vineyards’ 2023 vermentino. Luca Paschina has done it again, snagging a sixth Virginia Governor’s Cup for the winery. New this year, the competition introduced Best in Show awards for the most competitive categories. Both Pollak Vineyards’ 2022 merlot reserve and Jefferson Vineyards’ 2023 viognier were honored. […]

Dawn Hanson’s contemporary protest art at McGuffey Art Center

“What’s Left? What’s Right?,” an interdisciplinary exhibition of politically charged artworks by Dawn Hanson, leaves little question about where the artist stands in relation to the current presidential administration and conservative America at large.  The self-proclaimed Liberal Artist carries on a long lineage of creators who have used their work as forms of resistance and […]