PERFORMING ARTS




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The Bully.

Or The First Time I Learned How Fear Works Ed. note: This memory came back to me in the middle of the night, and it felt connected to the way fear shapes people and systems right now. It’s just a moment from childhood that suddenly made a lot more sense as an adult....

CONEX and the Strange New Gravity of Carver

The Carver neighborhood sits tucked between the highway and the downtown sprawl, close enough to reach everything and overlooked long enough to feel like its own island. So when CONEX appeared there a few weeks ago, rising out of a sunken concrete pit built from cargo...

Review | A Christmas Carol at Virginia Rep: Tradition Done Right

There’s something about the dead center of winter that brings out the best in humanity. It might be the desire to stay huddled around the fire, TV, or kitchen table, when your people begin to look more like fellow travelers in life rather than the people constantly...

Review | ‘Lungs’ Is a Mirror You Can’t Look Away From

Lungs is a stream of consciousness rom-com set in the pre-Trump fainting spell that privileged liberal America endured very loudly. The narrative employs the manic pixie dream girl and frustrated musician as the stereotypes to help us struggle with big decisions...

Richmond Artists Unite for ‘Fall of Freedom’ at Antennae Gallery

Fall of Freedom bills itself as “an urgent call to the arts community to unite in defiance of authoritarian forces sweeping the nation.” The organizers aren’t pulling punches: they argue that democracy is under attack, threats to free expression are rising, dissent is...

GIANTS! Makes the Case for a New Era in Richmond Art

The GIANTS! Exhibition Preview Party was last night at VMFA, and for the first time in my 20+ years moving within Richmond’s arts scene, I saw a mix of people I honestly didn’t expect to ever share the same room. High-end collectors, street artists, curators, younger...

Writer’s Block | The Poetry of Mary Beth Cox

Writer’s Block is RVA Magazine’s Sunday series highlighting contemporary writers working in Richmond and across the Commonwealth. Each week, we feature original poems, short stories, or essays. Just real voices writing right now. This week we’re featuring two...

First Fridays November Will Be Lit Up with INLIGHT 2023

As autumn leaves crunch beneath footfalls on Broad Street, Richmond's Arts District readies itself for a vibrant night of cultural convergence. On November 3rd, the storied heart of downtown Richmond pulsates with an irresistible artistic energy during First Fridays. From 5 to 11 PM, galleries will fling open their doors, shopkeepers will offer...

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First Fridays Richmond, InLight 2023 on RVA Magazine

Alvion Davenport and The 25+ Year Journey of Godfrey’s

This article originally appeared in Virginia Pride Guide 2023. This is an updated version with proper dates in retrospect. You can read the whole original issue here Downtown in Monroe Ward, in an unassuming building nestled in a strip, lies a club labeled simply, “Godfrey’s.” Occupying two spaces, 308 and 310 E Grace St, Godfrey’s...

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Alvion Davenport of Godrey's, Pride Guide 2023

Goodnight Sweet Prince: Hamlet is Dead

You don’t review people’s art to make friends. You certainly don’t do it to lose them either. However, managing honesty while attempting charity is fruitless. Every once in a while you have to tell it like it is, even when it stings. This is going to sting. The premiere of Richmond Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Dominion Energy Center made a solid...

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Richmond Shakespeare Hamlet review by Christian Detres

Artist Morgan Bassichis Talks About Their Little Ditties

As of September 1, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been hosting More Little Ditties, a video installation by Morgan Bassichis. It remains until January 4, 2024. Christian Detres sat down with the artist to discuss their collection and how it relates to everything from the collective trauma of COVID-19, to the ongoing conflict in Israel...

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Morgan Bassichis x ICA 2023

Timmy Danger and Punks for Presents Wrestle for Charity

I found Timmy Danger lounging casually beside a fire pit, drinking a dark beer. It was a Friday afternoon in the dying days of summer, and the man whose last name is "Danger" was looking decidedly docile. He greeted me with a warm smile and a firm handshake wearing standard street clothes in the realm of a button down and jeans. I could not help...

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Your Artistic Passport To the 2023 First Fridays Fall Kickoff

Richmond, that vibrant crucible of culture and creativity, unfolds yet again in its monthly tradition: First Fridays. This season—ah, the dawn of Fall—the experience metamorphoses into an affair of citywide celebration nestled in the artsy nucleus of Broad Street and Jackson Ward. Whether you're an art savant, a VCU freshman, or an RVA veteran,...

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First Fridays Richmond, VA 2023