Under the Manchester Bridge, what had been an idea for years turned into something tangible, at least for a day. Hundreds of people moved through the space as muralists painted, DJs played, and passersby stopped mid-bike ride or walk to figure out what was going on....
Austin Fitch is a man stuck in fast forward. His gestures quick, his speech accelerated, his thoughts - mile a minute. His laugh is loud, and his hugs are easy. Here is a man with more energy in his Tuesday afternoon than most of us can conjure on a Friday night. He’s the type of person I have to try to imagine in repose. Few Richmonders...
Ah, here we go again—19 years of Richmond's Zombie Walk, where folks shuffle around like it's the morning after a bad decision. Yeah, this parade of the undead has been creeping through Carytown for almost two decades now, and somehow, it's still got more life in it than most of us on a Monday. And who better to document this glorious mess than...
To the credit of the public school system, most of us were made to read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies at a tender age. Along with Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse Five, The Jungle, and others, we were fed a healthy dose of dystopia and disaffection. We were coaxed to relate to the pressures and horrors of tyranny,...
One look at Sweet Pickles, and your immediate thought is that she looks like the living incarnation of a clown doll from your childhood. Which one specifically is up to you, and in fact, the answer that springs to your mind is a good way for her to get a rough idea of just how old you might be. When asked to describe her drag, she sometimes says...
The Richmond Tattoo & Arts Convention 2024 took over the Doubletree Midlothian this past weekend, offering an unapologetic look into the heart of tattoo culture. Hosted by local legend Jesse Smith and Ink Master’s Ryan Ashley, the three-day event drew a mix of veteran ink enthusiasts and curious first-timers, all hungry to experience one of...
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has unveiled two major photography exhibitions, showcasing its dedication to this ever-evolving art form. The first exhibition, The Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845, marks the first major Southern photography show in over 25 years, while the second, American Born, Hungary:...
As Richmond’s mayoral election approaches, one thing has become clear: the conversation about our city’s future is missing a key element—the Richmond Arts District on Broad Street. Despite its immense creative potential, this vibrant part of downtown has been struggling, especially since the pandemic. Between 2010 and 2016, the Arts District was...
Jesse Smith, the local legend and founder of Loose Screw Tattoo in Carytown, has been repping this ol’ Fist City since the '90s with his twisted animation style and has been celebrated all over the world for his craft. His works span a wide range of genres, but like the best artists out there, you know a Jesse Smith piece when you see one. I...
While the first thing you may notice about Ryan Ashley is that she is painfully beautiful to look at, don’t let that stop you from recognizing the absolute unit of an artist that she is. She’s a Pennsylvania native, an erstwhile New Yorker, and a current resident of Grand Junction, CO and Elysium Studios. She made her education at FIT in New York...
