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Review | Oscar Wilde Still Knows Exactly Who We Are

The Importance of Being Ernest has been on my radar since I was 13, when my beloved Morrissey mentioned Oscar Wilde in an interview. (Mind you, this was long before Morrissey’s far-right weirdo rants.) As a massive fan of the arch, wry, witty lyrics of the Smiths and...

Review | Little Bear Ridge Road is an Artistic Gut Punch

Little Bear Ridge Road, does something you rarely see in popular media these days. It reminisces on the period during and just after Covid. Somehow, collectively, we’ve silently agreed to just not talk about it anymore. We don’t want to relive it on TV, in books, or...

Richmond’s Famous Romantix Mural Gets a New Chapter

For a decade, the mural outside the Romantix adult store, formerly Taboo, on Midlothian Turnpike has been one of Richmond's most debated pieces of public art. Now it's gone, replaced by a new collaboration between tattoo artist and muralist Jesse Smith and Miami-based...

Can Firehouse Put Richmond on the National Theatre Map?

In the electric and perpetually sincere terrain of Richmond’s theatre culture, there are institutions that do more than merely reside, they lead. They serve as a measure of our city's potential beyond its natural aspirations. I've witnessed Firehouse Theatre inhabit...

Photos | Warriors in Bloom at Agecroft Hall

For one weekend, Agecroft Hall stopped being a museum and became a kingdom.  What began as a fundraiser to help launch Richmond's first Renaissance Faire has grown into a destination of its own. Warriors in Bloom, created by the folks at Virago Alley, returned with...

Everything We Did Was A Bad Idea

Editor's Note: Writer's Block is a space for Virginia writers to share personal essays, fiction, memoir, and works that fall somewhere in between. We’re standing on some corner in downtown Richmond: me, my two friends, a pair of women, and their male friend we had met...

Review | SAFETY! Swings Big But Falls Just Short

WARNING: This review contains baseball metaphors.  Cadence Theatre’s Pipeline New Works Program is at the plate again, with its last batter, Witchduck, staring at home from third base. It is literally the first swing ever for the new musical, SAFETY!, at Firehouse...

IllumiNATION Tells America’s Story on a Monumental Scale

Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is partnering with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on coverage related to America’s 250th anniversary, including Richmond SailFest and IllumiNation. It's hard to impress people with just a building. Yet standing in front of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture last week during a test run for...

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Before Richmond Was an Arts City, There Was Best Products

Imagine pulling into a suburban shopping center to buy a toaster and finding a department store that appeared to be falling apart with corners breaking away, walls peeling open like a giant cardboard box, or facades seemingly collapsing under their own weight. For thousands of shoppers in the 1970s and 1980s, it was simply a trip to Best...

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Virginia MOCA Launches New Era

Before the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU was even around, and before the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts really began to embrace contemporary work, especially anything connected to street art or artists working in the present, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art was already doing that work. It was one of the few...

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Alezendria Decking | Illumination of Rectangles with a Reflective Glow

This past Monday, amidst a bit of precarious, brisk wind, I sat down with artist Alezendria Decking on a suncast lawn at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to chat a little bit more with her about her life, her experiences, and her art. We talked about the hidden imagination in everyday “looking,” how “real” art is all about seeing and observing....

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The Branch Museum of Design Opens New Chapter With “Undeniable”

The Branch Museum of Design is marking a period of transition with Undeniable, a new exhibition pairing fashion designer Christian Siriano and contemporary artist Ashley Longshore. The exhibition this week arrives as the museum undergoes a formal rebrand and leadership change. Formerly known as The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, the...

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William “Bill” Martin, Director of The Valentine, Has Passed Away

Update 9:34am: Richmond Police confirmed that Martin, 71, was hit by a driver while in a crosswalk at the intersection of East Broad and North 10th streets on Saturday afternoon. He succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. Read more HERE. -------------------------------- William “Bill” Martin, longtime director of The Valentine, has passed away....

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William “Bill” Martin_RVA Magaine 2025

The Richmond Gun Hole Goes to The Valentine

What started as a Twitter joke has officially entered the city’s canon. The Valentine announced this week that the now-famous “Richmond Gun Hole”, a gun-shaped indentation in the sidewalk on South Addison Street, will be part of the museum’s “This Is Richmond, Virginia” exhibition when it reopens with new additions later this month. According to...

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