Hampton Roads Bravo - August 2008 Edition

2008

S P E A K I N G W I T H O N E V O I C E F O R A R T S & C U LT U R E

Art meets

architecture

in new and old performance venues Pu llou t M Art ap Ve nu e

AUGUST

Great performances conducted daily.

Serving Hampton Roads with 20 branches and 60 ATMs. Now with ATMs in all 32 Walgreens throughout Hampton Roads.

OVERTURE

Dear

Lovers

We usually think about art as something we find inside places – museums, theaters, performance halls – but often we fail to realize the art that is the place. In this issue of Hampton Roads Bravo!, we take a look at architecture as art — specifically, the Hampton Roads venues where art is performed.

From the shining new Sandler Center for the Performing Arts and Ferguson Center for the Arts, to the historic Attucks Theatre and Harrison Opera House, to the repurposed Suffolk Performing Arts Center and Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in downtown Newport News, we are privileged to enjoy a wealth of beautiful venues where we can go to experience music, plays, dance and more. For this issue’s “Center Stage” feature, writer John Dailey talked with architects, designers, artists, politicians, educators, volunteers and executives who have spent countless hours of their lives and their livelihoods considering every facet of these buildings – how they fit into their surroundings, how their design enhances the art that will be experienced within, how they will be outfitted, how they represent their communities.

Each building fulfills a unique place in our cultural landscape. Consider The American Theatre, featured on our cover. Built in 1908 as a “high-class motion picture and vaudeville house” in Phoebus, now a Hampton community, the theater has lived many lives, from being the first theater in southeastern Virginia to be fully integrated and later serving as an adult theater and then a dinner-and-movie cinema. After renovation, it reopened in 2000 for yet another purpose – as a venue for world-class performers before sold-out shows.

Now, Michael Curry, director of Hampton Arts, is working with an energized board of directors to raise funds to expand the building to accommodate classrooms where children and adults can get their hands dirty learning and creating their own art.

Clearly, this charming building is not only a tribute to its past but is also alive with present-day possibilities.

The American Theatre is only one of the artistic treasures in the City of Hampton. In our “City Beat” feature, Kristen Kirk takes us on an arts tour of Hampton, where history, water and space flight mix with creativity to provide a city rich in opportunities for exploration. And just up the road in Richmond, the subject of our first “Road Trip” feature, Diane York introduces Hampton Roads to a smorgasbord of artistic treats – such as the celebrated First Fridays events – for day-tripping or a weekend get-away.

Sometimes we aren’t even aware of the art that is woven throughout our daily lives. Bruce Ebert checks out the unlikely places and people that demonstrate that art is what you make it – whether you’re into balloon art, hair weaving, face painting, graffiti or singing your heart out in the shower.

Ultimately, art is life. We hope you celebrate it. And we hope you enjoy all the features in this second issue of Hampton Roads Bravo!

Sincerely,

Paul Darden Publisher

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

Gail Kent Executive Editor

PUBLISHER

Paul Quillin Darden EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Gail Kent ART DIRECTOR

Sherril Schmitz CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ramona Austin Barrett Baker John Dailey Bruce Ebert Bobbie Fisher Sandy Grecco Cindy Huffman Kristen Kirk Patricia Rublein Roopa Swaminathan B.C. Wilson Debi Wacker Lynn Waltz B.C. Wilson Diane York ADVERTISING SALES

Penny Peters ©Copyright 2008 by Darden Publishing. The information herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, Darden Publishing makes no warranty to the accuracy or reliability of this information. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission from the publisher.

All rights reserved.

Published semi-annually in partnership with CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF GREATER HAMPTON ROADS 5200 Hampton Boulevard 757-889-9479 www.culturalli.org DARDEN PUBLISHING

P.O. Box 11023 Newport News, VA 23601 (757) 596-3638 darden.publishing@cox.net www.dardenpublishing.net Hampton Roads Bravo! is distributed by Chambers of Commerce, friends of Bravo! locations throughout Hampton Roads and our advertisers. Without them, none of this would be possible. To obtain a copy or to locate a Bravo! location near you, please contact Darden Publishing.

Thank you for your support.

AUGUST 2008

F E AT U R E S

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Got Art? Hampton Roads organizations teach students that art is fun

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HAMPTON The ‘home of Southern hospitality,’ rich history and diverse arts

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Backstage at The American Theatre The choreography behind the choreography

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WHRO: Changing to serve an ever-expanding community COVER STORY

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When Art Meets Architecture A Symbiotic Intersection

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Street Level Art Like water, art is everywhere in Hampton Roads – even in unexpected places

DEPARTMENTS

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Short Takes Patrons Hampton photographer and educator Jim Thompson focuses on art opportunities for young people

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In the Limelight Norfolk native Montré Burton makes it big in Hollywood

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Day Trip Richmond: Not just for lawmaking

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Off Script: Art in the public square Art that challenges the status quo – and censorship – will always be with us

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An Arts Sampler Music Theater Visual Arts Museums Dance

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Barbershop Singing Historic Attucks Theatre Shooting Star Gallery in Suffolk Courthouse Gallery’s Poetry Reading William & Mary’s Orchesis

Finale

COVER PHOTO: Michael Curry, director of Hampton Arts; Greg Rutledge, historic architect with Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas & Co.; and Ross Mugler, chair of the capital campaign (as well as Hampton’s Commissioner of the Revenue), pose in front of the American Theatre where plans are underway to expand the historic performance venue to make room for studios, a lecture hall, a larger lobby and more stage room.

SHORT

TA K E S

COURTESY OF SHONA SCULPTURE PARK – ZIMBABWE

Botanical Gardens celebrate 70th anniversary with stone sculpture exhibit Norfolk Botanical Garden is celebrating its 70th anniversary by presenting “Mutambo,” an outdoor art exhibition featuring 50 large stone sculptures created by Zimbabwean artists.

The works, placed throughout the garden, will be exhibited through Oct. 12.

African sculptor Sylvester Mubayi will lead a workshop series on sculpting with Guruve Serpentine stone from Sept. 15-19. The workshop for eight to 12 participants is $500 for garden members and $525 for nonmembers.

To enroll or for more information, call 441-5830 or visit www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org.

Zimbabwe Bird by Sylvester Mubayi is among the stone sculptures on exhibit at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.

Heritage Museum offers

free Tuesdays Visits to the second floor of The Hermitage Museum in Norfolk are now free on Tuesdays. The floor houses Asian art in its permanent collection, while student art, solo exhibitions, historical and cultural exhibits and museum in-house exhibits are part of the changing offerings.

Tu e s d a y The Museum is at 7637 North Shore Road, in the area of the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club.

Fr e e !

Arts raise funds for

Monart program

COURTESY OF ONE-ELEVEN ART GALLERY

The Monart visual art enrichment program operated by Alternatives was the beneficiary of a recent art auction.

Contributing artists included painters Nancy Thomas, Tom Barnes, Jan Ledbetter and Gloria Coker, photographer Jim Thompson, and jewelers Laura Moore and Edith Knight Hunt.

Alternatives is a nonprofit development agency for disadvantaged youth in Hampton.

Among the celebrants cheering the opening of the One-Eleven Art Gallery & Studios were (from left) Nancy Rhode, Ray and Cathy Walsh, owner-director Suzanne Watson and Bill Rhode.

The One Eleven Art Gallery & Studios has opened in Norfolk’s Colonial Place, at 111 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The renovated 1,900-square-foot, red brick building off Granby Street in the Riverview section of Norfolk was the site of the grand opening on March 14.

One Eleven Art is also the headquarters for the Tidewater Art Alliance (TAA), a nonprofit group. Ishina Feld, TAA president, describes the relationship with the gallery as a partnership.

Suzanne Watson, owner/director of One Eleven Art, offers event opportunities for TAA members and the community at large. The gallery can be rented for solo exhibitions, various classes, fundraisers and social events.

Gallery hours are 1-5 p.m. Thursday - Sunday. For more information, call 625-1110.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

COURTESY OF ALTERNATIVES

New art gallery, One Eleven, opens in Norfolk

Monart benefits special needs students in academic as well as artistic development. Here, Yasmine Harrison, who has Down Syndrome, uses the unique visual lexicon, “elements of shape,” to form letters.

COURTESY OF DAVE NORMAN

Fort Monroe film shown at Cannes Film Festival

Amy Broad of Rock Eagle Productions

A documentary about one of Hampton Roads’ most historic – and now controversial – landmarks was part of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The documentary “Kingdom By the Sea,” about Fort Monroe – from guardian of the Chesapeake to haven for runaway slaves to whatever its new role will be when the Army leaves in 2011 – was part of the Festival’s “Short Market.” It was also screened at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in February.

The film was produced by the WHRO Center for Regional Citizenship and directed by independent producer Amy Broad of Rock Eagle Productions.

Broad is now working on turning the story of three Fort Monroe slaves, who changed the purpose and outcome of the Civil War, into a dramatic film.

Artist donates work to benefit animal shelter

They’re 20!

Convention Center gets dressed up in local artwork “Walls of Art” is the exhibition taking place at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton. The exhibit offers the work of 21 artists from throughout the region.

Artists featured are: Shaun Whiteside, Cyndi Brown, E. Angelica Shaw, Gloria Coker, Mary E. Dupree and Betsy Decker of Newport News; Laurie Ryan and Howard Martinez Jr. of Norfolk; Anne B. Baxter, Linda Mitzel, Gerome Meminger, Laurel T. Duplessis, Veronica Gray and Sandy Hillerson of Hampton; William Sabino of Smithfield; Allen Chester, Beverly Phillips and Brian Lopatic of Poquoson; and Kay Krapfl, Lori Jakubow and Anne Kushnick of Williamsburg.

COURTESY OF HAMPTON ROADS CONVENTION CENTER

COURTESY OF GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL

The Governor’s School for the Arts marked its 20th anniversary in May with a public performance at Virginia Beach’s Sandler Center for the Arts.

The event, hosted by WHRO-FM classical music host Dwight Davis, included an exhibit of visual art created by students, as well as music by the school’s jazz ensembles, orchestra, choruses, musical theater department and solo instrumentalists.

One of the highlights was a 30minute adaptation of “MacBeth” by the theater and visual arts departments.

COURTESY OF NANCY THOMAS

Governor’s School celebrates anniversary

Artist Nancy Thomas has donated a supersize frame to the Williamsburg area’s Heritage Humane Society for its “donor board.”

The frame (left) is decorated with whimsical depictions of animals in Thomas’ trademark striking and cheerful colors.

William Sabino poses with his painting at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.

Peninsula Fine Arts Center news

COURTESY OF PFAC

The Peninsula Fine Arts Center has created an Artists’ League to recognize artistic talent and provide artists with benefits and programs that will enhance their opportunities and skills. Artists’ League membership is available to members in all membership categories for an additional $25 annually.

For more information, visit www.pfac-va.org or call 596-8175.

The Peninsula Fine Arts Center is now offering free admission to its exhibitions and the Hands On for Kids gallery from 5:30-8 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Birch and Ginny Douglass, Pamela Reynolds and Mari Anne Banks enjoy the opening of the “Speed” exhibit.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLUE SKIES GALLERY

COURTESY OF COURTHOUSE GALLERIES

S H O RT TA K E S

Kites take flight in Portsmouth Artisans and kite flyers from all over the country demonstrated their craft and the physics behind their creations in flight at the Atlantic Coast Kite Festival held in Portsmouth in May. Kite flying and activities were held at Portsmouth City Park and the exhibit “KITES: A Tradition for All Ages” was held at Courthouse Galleries art museum. These kites are called “Trapanier, Large Eyes,” “Marrocu, A, Sumo Man” and “Skinn.”

Virginia Beach writers’ group publishes women’s book

Shun Shun Clar, Susan Yager, Chris Stevens and Marion Adams work at the Air and Water Workshop at Blue Skies Gallery in downtown Hampton. Susan Yager’s fountain (inset) is one of the artist fountains that is displayed at the Air and Water Summer Juried Show through Aug. 25.

COURTESY OF ALVIN SWILEY

The Cape Henry Women’s Writers’ Group has published a collaborative book entitled “The Sacred Purse” about the depth and spirit of women.

Written by, for and about women, this book is a literary fusion of short stories, poetry, and essays. A look inward, the literary pieces focus on the many dimensions of women.

The book has four primary authors: Debi Tomalis Wacker, Judy Snider, Pam Racine and Cindy Dragas, with contributions from an additional four writers: Pam Northam, Selden Richards, Jean Mackay Vinson and Anya Wolfenden.

Partial proceeds from the book sales will benefit shelters and transitional housing for physically, emotionally and sexually abused women, teenagers and children.

For more information, visit www.sacredpurse.com.

Blue Skies teaches, displays fountain art

James Makawa, Founder of The Africa Channel, announces the new channel at the Attucks Theatre.

Cox offers Africa Channel The Africa Channel is now accessible through Cox Communications in Hampton Roads. The channel offers such shows as “Soundcheck at Momo’s,” showing live performances at Momo’s, a North African bar in London, and “Umojo,” a program of dancing.

English-language programming on the channel also includes news and information, talk shows, art programs, travel and lifestyle programs, music, soap operas, reality shows, feature films and special events.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF PFAC

Genesis Art Show winners named at PFAC The judges’ votes are in, and the winners of the Genesis 2008 College Art Show at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center have been announced.

They are: Sarah Williams of The College of William & Mary for “Preservation” (Mayor’s Award for first place); D. Graham Hunt of Christopher Newport University for “Red Tail Golden Arowana” (City Council Art Award for second prize); R. Kyle White of Thomas Nelson Community College for “Teapot” (Newport News Arts Commission Award for third prize); Sarah Pugh, Audrey Tyree, George T. Ware, Donna Ferrell, Kimber Estes and Joseph G. Wilson, all of TNCC; Jennifer Ring of CNU; and Johanna J. Colijn, Haruka Takemoto and Tiffany A. Reed of Old Dominion University.

The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums made their first international appearance July 15-19 in Basel, Switzerland, when the group partici-pated in the world second-largest open-air tattoo.

CW’s Fifes and Drums, celebrating their 50th anniversary, were the only American participants in the event. They performed nine times over five days. Forty-one young performers and five adults made the trip.

Photographer exhibits in Williamsburg Work of nature photographer John Orehovec is now being shown at the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance at 421 North Boundary Street in downtown Williamsburg.

Jamestown exhibits early watercolor art Jamestown Settlement is exhibiting the 16thcentury watercolor drawings of John White from the British Museum’s “A New World: England’s First View of America” through Oct. 15.

The drawings are the earliest visual record by an Englishman of the flora, fauna and people of the New World. White accompanied a number of expeditions sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh to Virginia in the 1580s and was governor of the short-lived colony at Roanoke Island, part of modern North Carolina.

All of White’s drawings are in the British Museum’s collection and are on public display as an entire group for the first time in 40 years.

A series of companion lectures features Daniel K. Richter, Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, speaking at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 on Wife of a chief of Pomeiooc and her daughter, John White, c. 1585.

“Tassentasse in Tsenacomoco: Native People and the English, 1560-1622;” and Karen Hearn, Curator of 16th- and 17th-Century British Art at Tate Britain, speaking at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 on “Painting in Elizabethan England: John White in Context.”

Advance reservations are recommended for the free evening lectures by contacting 253-4415 or rsvp.lecture@jyf.virginia.gov. For more information, visit www.historyisfun.org.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

PHOTO COPYRIGHT THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums perform abroad

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D

COURTESY OF VIRGINIA LIVING MUSEUM

S H O RT TA K E S

Dinosaurs, ‘wild music’ and microbes come to Virginia Living Museum inosaurs, music and microbes will provide visitors to the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News a variety of sensory experiences over the next few months.

Stomping, roaring, robotic dinosaurs come alive through Sept. 1 with DINO-MANIA! an all-new exciting exhibit from Kokoro, the inventor of robotic dinosaurs.

Kokoro’s dinosaur exhibits are meant to entertain and educate, to fulfill the fascination children have as they shudder with excitement at the majesty of these creatures. Kokoro dinosaurs don’t just look like dinosaurs, they behave like dinosaurs. They turn the clock back millions of years to recreate the whole Mesozoic world.

“Wild Music: Sounds and Songs of Life” (Oct. 4 - Dec. 31) will explore evidence for the biological origins of music through interactive exhibits and sound experiences. The exhibit is a production of the Science Museum of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

Visitors can take an interactive journey through the hidden world of microbes in “Microbes: Invisible Invaders, Amazing Allies” (Jan. 24 - May 3).

Visitors will uncover a mysterious universe of microscopic organisms, from those that sustain life on Earth to those that threaten health and even existence. This show is produced by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health.

Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Winter hours beginning after Labor Day are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m.

Sunday. Call 595-1900 or visit www.thevlm.org.

Sandler Center for the Performing Arts invites you to be a part of the Great Performance Series presented by

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! SANDLER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

Call 1-888-3-COXTIX or log onto www.sandlercenter.org • Town Center of Virginia Beach

A RT S E D U C AT I O N

★

got art?

Hampton Roads organizations teach students that art is fun

BY BOBBIE FISHER

COURTESY OF ED POLLARD

Patrons admire the Chrysler’s ever-popular “Sarcophagus of Psamtik-Seneb.”

a

As the national dialogue about the value of arts education reaches new and more sophisticated levels, it’s both gratifying and important to recognize how fully invested Hampton Roads in the conversation. This issue of Hampton Roads Bravo! looks at three local arts organizations that provide exceptional education programs and outreach initiatives geared toward engaging students in learning.

The Virginia Opera With its music, theatrics, spectacle and humor, opera has everything kids love, and each year, the Virginia Opera brings new and exciting ventures – in addition to traditional favorites – to classroom students. This provides a variety of experiences from a performance of timeless classics to an educational telling of Virginia history.

In 2007, casts sang and danced for more than 150,000 elementary, middle and high school students – and the opera

doesn’t limit these performances to classrooms: these programs are also available to community groups, libraries and after-school programs.

Teachers who invite the Virginia Opera Education Touring Program to their schools receive study guides for each show to help them prepare their students for the program. These tools include age-appropriate student worksheets that assist teachers in tying the arts into curriculum and Virginia Standards of Learning. Following each performance, the Opera provides an innovative Research show question-and-answer period featuring singers sharing information and interacting with stuthat arts in the dents in an up-close and personal manner. schools increase The opera has created a program teachstudents’ abilities ing not just Virginia history, but American in mathematics history as well. Students learn what Jamestown and writing... was like for early settlers and about the battles of Great Bridge, Yorktown and Appomattox.

Through song, they learn about Virginia residents Grace Sherwood, Chief Cornstalk, Patrick Henry, Lord Dunmore, all eight Virginia presidents, John Mercer

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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Downtown Norfolk Parking and Visitor Map. Just follow the to convenient parking in Norfolk.

Attucks Theatre

Nauticus Hampton Roads Naval Museum Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center Pagoda and Oriental Garden

Granby Street Connector

Meter ParkCard

NEW METER PARKCARDS! Available for purchase at the Customer Service Center located at 222 E. Main Street • (757) 664-6222 Norfolk has a space for you.

COURTESY OF VIRGINIA OPERA

A RT S E D U C AT I O N

Langston and Arthur Ashe. Master classes are also available, with world-class artists joining students at beginning, intermediate or advanced levels.

Education Director Jeff Corriveau explains the opera’s philosophy: “Arts education gives students an appreciation for the arts, but more importantly it increases their ability to construct ideas and form opinions in a constructive and creative manner.

“Research shows that arts in the schools increase students’ abilities in mathematics and writing, as well. Virginia Opera believes that our programs in schools enrich a student’s life by incorporating history, math, English and languages in a fun and educational manner.”

The Chrysler Museum The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk offers a full spectrum of innovative educational programs for students and adults, from audio tours using iPods to an annual family day event that this year saw a 30-percent increase in attendance over 2007.

Museum staff are dedicated to designing programs that are multicultural and multidisciplinary, and supportive of Virginia Standards of Learning. Online resources are available for educators based around units that include significant eras throughout history – including information and images available as downloads and PowerPoints for classroom use.

The museum offers gallery tours concentrating on a myriad of topics, including ancient Egypt, art of the 20th century, glass through the ages, mythology in art and sculpture and many others – all linked to specific Standards of Learning. These exhibitions provide a window into other times and a medium to better understand our own era.

Online audio tours of collection highlights are available, including special exhibitions as well as the museum’s permanent

collection. A recent addition is a tour through the newly reinstalled Joan P. Brock Gallery led by museum Chief Curator Jeff Harrison.

“Our K-12 education outreach is based on dialogues in galleries with children standing in front of the works of art,” says Museum Education Director Scott Howe. “The emphasis is on helping children model habits of investigation and looking.”

Howe explains that the average viewer spends The Chrysler now offers less than 30 seconds per work of art. The museum customized audio tours that allow visitors to browse creates a structured environment through these through images of artwork, dialogues that naturally extend engagement with easily navigated through a user-friendly searchable the work and “encourage the viewer’s authentic database. interpretation of the work,” says Howe.

The museum values its close connection with partners in school administration and the classroom. “Our strongest programs are those that evolve out of their specific needs,” Howe says. “All of our resources connect to SOLs as a starting point, and culture is at the backbone of what we teach and why we teach it. We’re the artifacts of history – without art, SOLs would be nothing more than abstract documents. Works of art record history and are themselves primary documents.”

Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts In little more than two years, the Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University has entertained more than 300,000 people and has created a vibrant education program under the “Arts for All” banner. In the last year, the school series brought students to the Ferguson to see the dance company Momix, the American Indian Dance Theatre and educational programs presented by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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COURTESY OF ED POLLARD

Kids get involved with the performers – both human and puppet – at this year’s Family Day at the Opera performance of “Pinocchio.”

COURTESY OF THE FERGUSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS

An Annie Pajama Party was held prior to the “Annie” performance at The Ferguson Center for the Arts. Many “Arts for All” ticket recipients participated in the event. The children were treated to milk and cookies and had the opportunity to meet “Daddy Warbucks” prior to the show.

Youth Orchestra.

The Ferguson is determined to help as many students participate as possible and provides free tickets to partner schools and organizations.

Of the students who attend performances, at least half attend at no cost, says Executive Director Bill Biddle.

Tickets for evening concerts are offered to students when matinees aren’t performed. During the next year, Biddle says there will be at least 250 tickets offered free of charge to students for an evening performance by the Cleveland Orchestra.

During the course of the year, the Ferguson anticipates 125,000 people for evening performances and will offer more than 12,000 tickets free of charge to area schools. “Most school performances are shortened,” Biddle explains. “But in the evenings, they can bring a parent or guardian and dress up to come to the theater.

Then they can experience a full-length performance.”

In addition, the Ferguson Center develops programs that go into area schools. During 2008, Ferguson is sending the Bits & Pieces Puppet Show to schools and providing jazz musicians to visit classrooms and present assembly programs.

During the 2008-09 season, Biddle says, Ferguson will introduce Families First, a new program working with schools that will select students who are interested in Broadway Shows.

“We hope to involve about a hundred families, and when we have Broadway shows here, they’ll be able to meet the cast, get additional information on the show – and when possible – we’ll provide them CDs of the show.” Biddle says he expects to give away several hundred tickets to “Stomp!” (“Stomp!” premiered on April 11th.)

Master classes are also part of the Ferguson’s educational offerings – mostly in dance.

Despite the lack of an education director – the position hasn’t been funded yet – the Ferguson maintains an ambitious and comprehensive education program. Biddle says the Ferguson will become part of either the Kennedy Center’s Arts in Schools program or the Lincoln Center program, which is more of an immersion program. “And we hope to be funded for education director in the next year,” he says.

In the meantime, the Ferguson strives to make the arts something that students do outside of school, as well as part of a lifelong learning process. It’s not uncommon for the staff to help the schools distribute tickets to students and parents.

As Biddle puts it, “The more we generate going to the theater and attending cultural events as a family experience, the more these kids will feel a lifelong attachment to the arts. They’ll see it as something that’s fun that they can do with their families – also something a little bit different than what they’ve experienced before in their lives.”

Bobbie Fisher is chief communications officer for WHRO and a freelance writer who lives in Norfolk. In her spare time she paints and attempts to play the violin.

THE HURRAH PLAYERS

Virginia’s Leading Family Theatre Company Hugh Copeland * Artistic Director

Dr. Seuss’s “Seussical” HORTON HEARS A WHO TCC Roper Performing Arts Center Weekends October 10th–19th

757/627-5437

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

This hit Broadway musical follows the adventures of Horton the elephant who hears a “Who”. A whimsical, fantastical, hysterical and magical venture through the imagination of Dr. Seuss where elephants talk and kangaroos sing.

hurrahplayers.com

H A M P T O N : The

‘home of Southern hospitality,’

rich history and diverse arts

BY KRISTEN DE DEYN KIRK

C I T Y B E AT COURTESY OF CITY OF HAMPTON

Visitors enjoy the high-tech, interactive exhibits at the Virginia Air and Space Center.

m

Michael Curry, director of Hampton Arts, first came to Hampton, Virginia back in 1987. The reason for his visit? “A Grateful Dead concert or two,” he jokes.

Little did he know that he would be back less than a year later to interview

for his current job. Fortunately for Hampton, a seaside community of about 141,000 residents with strong interests in history, culture and the arts, Michael liked what he saw.

And even more fortunate, he envisioned just how vital Hampton could be to local residents and tourists as well.

Yet, Michael doesn’t want the credit for turning Hampton from a niceplace-to-visit-for-a-day city to a must-visit-often-and-thoroughly destination.

“I think what has made Hampton a rich place for the arts has been the commitment of the City Council and my boards of directors. When Hampton created the Arts Commission in 1987 and hired me in 1988, they took a giant leap forward,” he says. “Not only did the council and the mayor and city manager want to create a commission, they also wanted to create a program.”

...what has made Hampton a rich place for the arts has been the commitment of the City Council and my boards

”

of directors.

C I T Y B E AT

shares. “You could say we’re the home of Southern hospitality.”

Visitors to Hampton today would certainly agree. Being so close to water gives the city a feel of openness and possibility, and the architecture is a charming mix of the old and new. Its cultural offerings are also varied. You can learn about American military history at the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe, the last four centuries at the Hampton History Museum, world history at the Hampton University Museum. Then, at the Blue Skies Gallery, you can explore some of today’s most promising artists.

Sometimes the best of the past and the brightest possibilities for the future even mix in the very same buildings, as is the case at the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, a one-time library that now serves as a showcase for local and national artists, and the American Theatre, an early 20th-century theater that – since its renovation – has presented international superstars such as Marcel Marceau and Arlo Guthrie.

“To see the city grow despite the ever-increasing (arts and culture) competition is really grand,” says Michael, who spearheaded the American Theatre and the Charles H. Taylor Center renovations. “I’m proud of bringing such world-class artists here to a relatively small theater and a relatively small community. We have put Hampton on the map because we are bringing world-class artists here on a regular basis.”

The Gordon Kearney wing of the American Theatre, due to open in mid-2009, will provide additional lobby space, new entrance, lecture hall, dance/acting studio, new wing space for the stage, dressing rooms and additional parking outside. It will be constructed where the former Mugler’s clothing store now stands and will add 8,000 square feet to the theater.

The future can only be brighter for Hampton. With city leaders, museum directors, art lovers and citizens all pulling together, soon even more people, near and far, will discover all that historical and happening Hampton has to offer, including these highlights:

There was – and still is – a great emphasis on quality of life by the mayor and city manager. In addition to the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center and the American Theatre, Hampton’s richness in the arts is seen in Blue Skies Gallery, the Phoebus Art Gallery, the Hampton Jazz Festival, the Hampton University Museum and so much more.

Michael believes Hampton is unique because of the wonderful relationship between the city leaders and the notfor-profit Hampton Arts Foundation, the charitable organization that owns the American Theatre and the Charles H. Taylor Center and leases them back to the city. In his mind, the City of Hampton was “incredibly prescient in creating a dedicated funding source for the arts.”

Most amazing, the funding is not just for Hampton’s Art Commission, but also for all of the major regional arts organizations — the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Opera, the Virginia Stage Company and the Virginia Arts Festival.

Michael Curry “Hampton has never been restricted by Director of Hampton Arts geographic boundaries as the other cities have,” Michael says. “Of course, being at the geographic center of Hampton Roads and so easily accessible from the interstate has helped a great deal, too.”

Historically, Hampton has always been in the center of things. Winette Jeffery, an educator with the Hampton History Museum, points out that the city was the first site of interaction between English settlers and Native Americans.

“For two weeks at ‘Point Comfort,’ almost 400 years ago, the Native Americans and the settlers shared good hospitality.

It started with Christopher Newport putting his hand over his heart so that all could see he wanted to be friendly,” Winette

COURTESY OF CITY OF HAMPTON

Blue Skies Gallery

Shopping has become its own art form in the quaint, revitalized downtown area of Hampton.

The Virginia Store on Settlers Landing Road is only one of many shops where browsers can find arts and crafts, specialty items and one-of-a-kind treasures.

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For more than 17 years, this gallery has supported artists and art lovers alike with art to make every soul dance, no matter what its taste.

Local artists present their work in a welcoming environment and with prices to meet most budgets. Young and old alike are invited to the gallery, which works to nurture the artist in everyone.

Local school children’s work is presented in special exhibits; parents are encouraged to attend lectures about introducing their children to the arts; and high schoolers can apply for summer internships with the added bonus of displaying their own art work at the gallery.

Other special exhibits include a tribute to Hampton in honor of both its past and present and a respectful nod to the poetry of Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, a recent Poet Laureate of Virginia.

Visit at 26 South King Street, Hampton, or call 727-0028.

Tibetan Monks construct an intricate sand mandala on the stage at the theater. A regular attraction at the American, they will build the mandala again during the Mystical Arts of Tibet ceremonies from Aug. 5-9. Many of the week’s events are free.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN THEATRE

The American Theatre It’s hard to believe this landmark is only eight years old – that is, if you consider only its recent history. First built in 1908 as a “high-class motion picture and vaudeville house,” the theater has lived many lives, from being the first theater in southeastern Virginia to be fully integrated and later serving as an adult theater and then a dinner-and-movie cinema.

The Hampton Arts Foundation took the theater to new heights when it purchased, renovated and added onto the building 11 years ago. The doors opened in 2000 for patrons who maybe didn’t know what to expect. All soon learned that the American Theatre would be only a class act from now on.

World-recognized performers are not only booked for sold-out shows, they are eager to return year after year to this beautiful theater that is always filled with appreciative fans, whether they enjoy drama, dance or music.

Visit at 125 E. Mellen Street, Hampton or call 722-2787.

The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center

It’s especially fun to anticipate what might be up the stairs after one finishes viewing the art on the first floor. The smaller space is worth the climb, with guests often feeling like they’ve found hidden treasure in the attic.

Visit at 4205 Victoria Boulevard, Hampton, or call 727-1490.

COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN THEATRE

Once a library built in honor of General Charles H. Taylor, the founder and managing editor of The Boston Globe, it seems appropriate that a grand building that was made as a library to house books filled with ideas now serves as the temporary – and in some cases, permanent – home of varying art forms also filled with ideas.

The change started to occur in 1987 when a much larger Hampton Public Library was opened, and it was finalized in 1989. Artist and curator James Warwick Jones was appointed the gallery manager, and arts groups soon started to clamor to the space.

It’s a building like none other, with many connected rooms at varying levels that offer a completely different feel. Some rooms are a touch small, providing a cozy atmosphere, and others are much larger with sunlight flooding it. Even hallways are used as exhibit space sometimes, just so there’s enough room for the largest of art groups’ exhibits.

The American Theatre has gone through several evolutions since it opened in 1908. The top photo shows the theater as it originally looked. The bottom photo shows the theater decades ago when it was a cinema. The cover photo shows the theater as it is today. Soon it will undergo more changes to accommodate its 21st century success.

The Charles H. Taylor Center, formerly a library, is now an art gallery

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COURTESY OF CITY OF HAMPTON

An aerial view of downtown Hampton shows many of the points of pride in the city – water, boating, The Virginia Air and Space Center and the antique Hampton Carousel.

Virginia Air and Space Center Children aren’t sure which way to look when they enter the Virginia Air and Space Center. Straight ahead, to the left and the right, and behind them are exhibits they can push, pull and climb on.

Up above are “flying” planes looking so real guests wonder if they should take cover. Get ready to move, too, grownups, because you’ll have to keep up with the little ones – and their desire to learn – as they race over two floors of educational and entertaining exhibits that teach everyone about planes, rockets, Earth, the planets and, of course, history.

Even adults will also marvel at the Apollo 12 Command Module that went to the moon, a Mars meteorite and a replica 1903 Wright Flyer.

Having such an amazing array of all things “air” makes sense in Hampton, the birthplace of America’s space program and home to NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base.

Visit at 600 Settlers Road, Hampton, or call 727-0900.

Hampton Carousel Circle back to the past as you hop onto one of the last few antique carousels still in the United States. You’ll be hard pressed to decide what is more beautiful – the intricately carved horses and ornate chariots or the original mirrors and oil paintings, all looking just as lovely as they did when the carousel first entertained youngsters back in 1920.

Look for unbelievable details in the horses – you can see veins in their necks and legs practically pumping with energy – and hold on tight!

Joyfully, the horses “prance” like the real beauties as they slide up and down the carousel’s poles. With a reasonably low price of $1.50 a ride,

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COURTESY OF VIRGINIA AIR AND SPACE CENTER

Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma will want to join in the old-fashioned fun right next to the Virginia Air and Space Center.

Visit at 600 Settlers Roads, Hampton, or call 727-6381.

C I T Y B E AT

The fully restored Hampton Carousel is a fun attraction for children and adults alike.

You can see artifacts brought over from England in our earliest days and feel what it was like in Hampton after it was burnt down during the Civil War. The museum has humble beginnings, having started in 1952 when Margaret Sinclair, a local teacher, gathered a few artifacts at the Syms-Eaton School, which was named in honor of Benjamin Syms and Thomas Eaton, who founded the first free public schools right in Hampton.

Over the years, more artifacts, photographs and displays honoring Native American and African Americans attracted the attention of locals and visitors. As the interest in Hampton and its past became evident, Hampton City Council conducted a feasibility study, and the Hampton History Museum Foundation raised funds for the museum, which opened in May 2003 – a long time in the coming, and worth the wait.

Visit at 120 Old Hampton Lane, Hampton, or call 727-1610.

The Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe No one knows yet what will happen to Fort Monroe. It’s due to close under military order in just a few years. At the very least, it would be wonderful for the Casemate Museum, built into the 1819 Fort, to somehow remain open.

Hampton History Museum Travel back over the course of four centuries in the matter of a few hours. The Hampton History Museum is the place to go if you want to know it all – and fast. In one location, you learn about the start of our country, the men and women who first settled here and the challenges they faced until almost today.

COURTESY HAMPTON CONVENTION AND VISITORS CENTER

Bottom left: Hampton History Museum’s Antebellum Gallery provides a glimpse pre-Civil War gracious living. Top right: Hampton History Museum’s Kecoughtan Indian gallery opened in 2007 in recognition of America’s 400th anniversary. Bottom right: An antique fire engine is displayed at Hampton History Museum in the 20th Century Gallery.

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Fort Monroe is a living museum of military and Civil War history. As it transitions from use as an active military base, many citizens are interested in maintaining it as a historical icon.

At right, the Casemate Museum is the site of the cell where Jefferson Davis was held.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY OF HAMPTON

Twenty-plus-years employee David Johnson isn’t able to comment about his opinion on the Fort’s future, but knowing that he’s been there so long, one can imagine he’d like the Museum to stay open – and so, too, must the thousands of visitors who stop by each year.

“There’s more Civil War history here than in any other fort in the United States,” says David. The fort was named in honor of President James Monroe and is the largest stone fort in the United States. Visitors are often most interested in the cell in which Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, was held in for three years.

Visitors are also welcome to take a self-guided tour of part of the fort during their visit. Call 788-3391.

Hampton University Museum Think “diverse” when entering the Hampton University Museum, and you will experience all the wonders of the world presented by some of our most talented artists and craftsman from every corner of Earth.

The theory behind every creation and artifact in the

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museum is one centered on making it easier for learners to understand different cultures through art and objects. The museum was started in 1868 by university founder Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who was born in Hawaii. He appropriately donated objects from the Pacific Islands.

Soon after, the university started African studies programs, and African pieces were added to the collection. Alumnus William H.Sheppard expanded the collection greatly in the late 1890s and the early 1900s with donations from what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the university collected many Native American artifacts as it grew its student population with Native American learners. Work by prominent African American artists and artifacts supporting the university’s course offerings more than round out the museum’s collection.

Visit at 11 Frissell Avenue or call 727-5308.

Kristen De Deyn Kirk writes about arts and culture – and everything else that Hampton Roads has to offer – from her Chesapeake home.

C I T Y B E AT

Backstage at The American Theatre

PHOTOS BY JUDY LOWERY

The choreography behind the choreography

Prior to the evening’s production of Philadanco, Sherie Farmer gives the author, Barrett Baker, a crash course on how to operate the soundboard and explains what her duties will be during the performance.

In the top inset photo, Mary Blackwell, production manager for The American Theatre, does a lastminute sweep of the area backstage to make sure everything is ready for the show. In the bottom photo, Bob Ruiz looks over “cheat sheets” that tell him what gels (colored plastic sheets) to replace in the stage lights during intermission.

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Remember the bumper sticker If you can read this, thank a teacher?

Well I’ve got a new one for you: If you enjoy theater, thank a stage technician. Okay, so it’s probably not a slogan you’ll see posted on every vehicle bumper in the near future, but let’s give credit where credit is due.

I was recently afforded an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens during a performance at The American Theatre in Phoebus. What I witnessed was a truly amazing feat of teamwork, choreography, skill and communication. And I’m not talking about the dance company I was there to see.

On the evening of the event, I arrived an hour before the s cheduled start of the show and was greeted by Mary Blackwell, the production manager for The American Theatre, who took me backstage to meet the rest of the crew. Dressed all in black so they could become invisible to theater patrons during the performance, the team of Sherie Farmer, Anthony Koth, Billie Hannible, Bob Ruiz, Janet Jaxtheimer and Shelly Bittner had already completed their “pre-flight” checklist, and were killing time as they waited for the show to begin.

The featured performers that evening, members of a dance company from Philadelphia appropriately named Philadanco, were busy stretching and getting prepared for the show while their stage manager double-checked that everything was ready to go. I was given a quick lesson on how the sound and light boards work, then directed to an area where I could be out of the way.

At curtain time, Mary did one more last-minute check, then sent word up to the company’s stage manager who was in the light board

booth to provide stage direction during the show. “Melody, the house is yours.” And then the magic began.

To be honest, you really don’t get to see much of the show when you’re backstage. But it was like being part of some secret club, watching the dancers as they came flying off the stage, gasping for breath while they waited in the wings for their next cue, then turning the energy back on as they re-entered the glow of the stage lights.

It’s fascinating to be so close to the action that it literally flows around you. You see the sweat and the sinewy twitches of powerful muscles, yet the slightest tremble in the arms during a difficult lift.

You get to hear the performers critique their own performances as they come off stage, offering each other words of encouragement, then watch as they recomposed themselves and go back out for another set.

As the curtain closed on the intermission, the stage crew jumped back into action, changing gels in the boom lighting and going over their cues for the second act. When the dancers retook the stage, the crew melted back into the scenery, once again ready to unselfishly put the spotlight somewhere else.

It was an enlightening experience for me, and I can see why so many people enjoy working in theater. As one stage technician put it that evening, “Hats off to the performers, but without the crew, there is no show.”

Barrett Baker is the owner of 2B Creative (2bcreative.us) and a freelance writer from Hampton, where he attempts to work around cats adding unsolicited edits to his stories and dogs begging to go to the park.

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Amazing how the spotlight illuminates us all.

We’re proud to support the cultural arts in Hampton Roads and are honored to play our part. Music, dance, theatre, art - join us this season for a rich and varied line-up of the best this region has to offer. For a schedule of upcoming events in Hampton, including performances and shows at The American Theatre, the Hampton University Museum, The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center and galleries throughout Hampton, visit us at www.visithampton.com.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

JIM THOMPSON:

Behind the scenes PAT R O N S

Hampton photographer and educator focuses on art opportunities for young people

B Y J E S S I E WA L K E R

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In Jim Thompson’s photograph, “Beauty Below” a brilliant orange jellyfish undulates underwater in a cerulean sea. It’s an all-time favorite of the artist and long-time teacher.

Maybe that’s because it’s the way he operates in real life. Thompson is a powerful force in the arts community, but most of the time he’s below the surface making things happen for other artists.

As president of the Hampton Arts Foundation and long-time member and former chair of the Hampton Arts Commission, Thompson helps oversee a $1.6-million operating budget and the $4-million Century Campaign to expand the American Theatre’s educational wing. The expansion will include two studios for dance and film, a larger lobby and more room backstage.

“We’re at 60 percent of our goal,” Thompson said. “We’re really going to expand the educational opportunities for young people in our community.

That’s the big goal.”

Thompson is all about education. He has taught photography and imaging technology at Hampton and Phoebus high schools for many years. Today he prepares students for careers through photography in advertising, web design, graphic arts and communications.

His students’ photography regularly appears in local shows and has won dozens of awards in the past five years. Recently one student got a $300 honorable mention and another got a $500 second-place award in the Student Gallery show sponsored by Sun Trust Bank and The Virginian-Pilot. Eight of Thompson’s students were accepted into the Peninsula Fine Arts Show.

Thompson has been working behind the scenes for years, serving on the Hampton Arts Commission for six years, five years as chair. He’s been president of the Foundation for the last two years, has been on the board of directors for the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads, chairing its annual June Jazz “Swing into Summer” fundraiser for the past two years.

He is also a board member of Virginians for the Arts where he is heading up this year’s Virginians for the Arts Art Celebration, a two-day lobbying extravaganza and reception designed to convince senators and delegates to support the Virginia Arts

Commission. Thompson also serves on the board of the Peninsula Fine Arts Center.

The Hampton Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation, owns the American Theatre and the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center. The Art Commission is appointed by City Council to award city grant money to regional art organizations. Between the two, literally thousands of young people in Hampton Roads have access to educational programs in the arts, many for the first time.

In 2005, Thompson won an Alli Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Cultural Life of Greater Hampton Roads, sponsored by the Cultural Alliance, for his efforts to promote the arts. He was also named 2003 Volunteer of the Year by the Downtown Hampton Development Partnership for his work on Virginia’s Outdoor Art Market.

If you want to catch a glimpse of Thompson himself – rather than just enjoy the fruits of his labors – you might keep an eye out for photography at local juried shows where his work is regularly shown. He’ll be at Virginia Artists this year (the old Hampton Bay Days Festival). And, the Peninsula Fine Arts show, and the Suffolk Museum annual photography show.

“My style is eclectic landscapes, studio work and looking at the world closely for details of natural beauty,” Thompson says.

Thompson insists on giving credit to everyone involved with Hampton Arts and the Hampton city government. He’s one of many hands on deck, he insists, and doesn’t want to be culled out.

“All arts are going to need the support of their governing body to survive in these economic times,” Thompson says.

Oops, there he goes, slipping away, under the surface again. But not before we say, “Thanks Jim,” for all your hard work.

“All arts are going to need the support of their governing body to survive in these economic times”

Jessie Walker is a freelance writer who studies literature at Old Dominion University and has two beautiful daughters who love their Ghent urban designer mutt.

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COURTESY OF WHRO

MAIN EVENT

★

Bert and WHRO 90.3FM announcer Dwight Davis work the phones during the spring fundraiser.

WHRO: Changing to serve an ever-expanding community

BY CINDY HUFFMAN

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When it comes to promoters of the arts and culture in Hampton Roads, it would be hard to find a greater champion than WHRO. The public broadcasting station has long enriched the community with offerings of classical music and jazz by internationally renowned and local artists, concert simulcasts, ballet masterworks, weekly Metropolitan Opera broadcasts and so much more.

Now, its superb programming is being made even more available.

“It’s wonderful that technology has caught up to our mission,” says Bert Schmidt, WHRO President.

That mission is, of course, to provide educational and cultural programs and services to Hampton Roads residents—offerings that have made it the undergirder for the arts locally. The mission has been handsomely fulfilled

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via its television station, WHRO-TV and two FM radio stations: WHRO, one of the premier classical stations in the East; and WHRV, devoted to news, commentary and alternative music.

“Although the business is still all about content, the way the station can deliver that content is changing,” Schmidt says.

With digital programming coming to the fore, WHRO’s one television station and two radio stations have expanded into four TV stations and seven radio stations.

New TV options include WHRO Kids, offering outstanding children’s programming, and WHRO Create, providing how-to programs on cooking, gardening and home repair.

The newest digital radio station, SpeakEasy, makes popular talk radio

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programs available around the clock. Other digital stations offer alternative music (radioNtenna); obscure and rarely performed classical works (Connoisseur Classics); big band, swing and old radio (The 1920s Radio Network); and newspapers and local periodicals read aloud over The WHRO Voice, a radio reading service for visually impaired listeners.

An expanded online presence has allowed WHRO to extend its reach tremendously. “We stream our radio programs online, and you can also download podcasts of a lot of our local programs,” Schmidt explains.

That’s a boon for students, for people whose visual and/or physical disabilities prevent them from reading the newspaper, and for people who want to stay in touch with the area. “We get letters from American soldiers stationed in Iraq, who listen to programs like HearSay with Cathy Lewis and tell us we’re bringing part of Hampton Roads to a very difficult situation.”

There’s so much going on, in fact, members may not be aware of it all.

WHRO is developing more and more programming of interest to various groups in the community. Recent TV additions include Fil Am TV, which shares Filipino-American contributions to the community; and The Miller Center Forums, a lecture series broadcast from the University of Virginia. What Matters, a new half-hour program with Cathy Lewis, takes a fresh look at important issues of the day.

Slated to begin this fall is a television program that will cover topics of importance to the African-American community. Another program in development is a magazine-style series for all branches of the military that will be especially useful for families and retirees.

“We want to let the community help develop these programs, based on their needs,” says Schmidt. “That’s the beauty of public broadcasting; we truly are part of the community and want to be a reflection of that community.

WHRO continues to plan for the future. Schmidt speaks of the day, not far off, when high-definition radios will be factory-installed in all new cars, so that drivers can access much more diverse programming. “We’re positioning ourselves to make sure we have lots of content available for Hampton Roads,” he says.

Schmidt believes residents would be hard pressed not to be somehow touched by the public broadcasting station. “You may just care about classical music, or may just want a safe

COURTESY OF WHRO

American soldiers stationed in Iraq... tell us we’re bringing part of Hampton Roads to a very difficult situation.”

Bert congratulates Rebecca Willett, winner of the Virginian-Pilot Spelling Bee, which WHRO-TV broadcast on Feb. 16.

place for your grandkids to watch TV, or you may take an AP course through our Virtual Virginia School,” he says. “I can’t imagine anyone who’s not impacted in some way – that we don’t improve everyone’s life somehow here in Hampton Roads.”

For program schedules and more information, visit whro.org.

Cindy Huffman is an award-winning freelance writer, a children’s book editor and a church music director/organist.

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Stroll through our halls of history and experience an inspiring array of offerings and ever-changing exhibits.

The Greek Revival building is an imposing one, surrounded by a wroughtiron fence and nearly hidden behind the massive oak trees that shade its courtyard. Built in 1846, it served as the Norfolk County Courthouse until 1960. Today it is home to the Courthouse Galleries.

More than just an art museum: The Courthouse Galleries is a relaxing gathering place where you can learn the art of growing Bonsai trees one week and see a demonstration of glassblowing the next. Every first Friday, we offer free programming or entertainment. Gallery talks, artists demonstrations related to exhibits and other educational programs are open to the public free of charge on the first Sunday of each month. Art classes, lectures, poetry readings and book signings round out the array of offerings. Join us as we strive to promote a greater appreciation and understanding of the arts.

Don’t forget our Museum Shop: Find that one of a kind gift for a special someone.

757-393-8543 | www.courthousegalleries.com

SOMETIMES THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE, IS EVERY SEAT IN THE HOUSE.

Our last row of seats is a mere 175 feet from the stage. Which means you don’t just enjoy great theater, dance and music, you truly experience it.

3701 WILLETT DRIVE

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PORTSMOUTH, VA

757-393-5144

WWW.WILLETTHALL.COM

★

When Art Meets Architecture: A Symbiotic Intersection

BY JOHN DAILEY

“I call architecture frozen music”

— Goethe

Like the poetry of Goethe, the relationship between architecture and the art performed within its structures can be both obscure yet revealing. A complex blending of shape, color, sound and memory, the very look of a building housing an entertainment venue affects the performances within.

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Exterior features, the shape of the performance space, acoustic engineering, even the selection of color and fabrics, all contribute to the quality of the artistic experience for both audience and performer. And if all these factors are not considered from the very beginning of the design process, the result can be a disaster.

Hampton Roads boasts dozens of entertainment venues that reflect these values. From buildings with a very specific function, like the Harrison Opera House,

to multi-use structures like the Suffolk Performing Arts Center, local designers have been improving the quality of our entertainment for decades, and the average patron scarcely knows why.

Not surprisingly, turning a vacant lot into a quality performance venue is a long, complex process that only begins with an architectural vision. Once the client and architect have made some basic decisions about the project, they must assemble an extraordinarily diverse team of talented professionals to see the job

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The lobby of the Sandler Center for the Arts illustrates how a great lobby serves both to set the mood for a performance as well as provide a social area before the curtain comes up.

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Collaborative Creativity

COURTESY OF THE SANDLER CENTER

C E N T E R S TA G E

through to a successful conclusion. Interior designers, decorators, theater design consultants, aestheticians and the performing artists – whether directors, singers or actors – all play a key role in realizing the client’s dream for an entertainment space.

It requires the ability to think broadly while still paying attention to a myriad of fine details.

Greg Rutledge, historic preservation architect at Hanbury Evans Wright and Vlattas in Norfolk, explains that building a venue is really an “outside-in” sequence, meaning that the architect must begin with the opportunities and limitations placed on the design by the external environment.

“First, you have to take local zoning laws into account before moving indoors to the actual performance area,” he says. Rutledge, who does extensive restoration work, knows that “what is past is prologue,” and it can effectively limit his design options. “For instance, if the original building is in an historical district, you generally don’t submit a contemporary design unless that’s what the client desires – which is rare.” Zoning statutes may also limit how tall the structure can be, how far it can protrude into the street – even how wide it is.

But does the final exterior “look” of the building affect what goes on inside? Rutledge’s colleague, Rob Reis, certainly thinks so.

“A building may look cold, warm, inviting, upbeat, even inspirational,” he says. Since engaging in an artistic performance is an interactive, emotional experience, the feelings of the audience as it enters the building can create a more receptive mood. “The look of the building can act as a catalyst that gets the emotional juices pumping.”

But once the exterior aesthetic is fixed, who comes next in the creative daisy chain? The interior designer determines the shape, look and feel of the interior, from the lobby all the way backstage, which may encompass rehearsal and dressing rooms.

Barbara Page, a designer for 27 years at Hanbury Evans, says the scope of her work has expanded over time. “In the past, theatergoers often came in through the front door directly into the theater itself, making a lobby mostly unnecessary.”

Not so anymore. “The lobby has evolved into a required social area, where the audience (members) first comes together,” she says. “They put their coats up, meet their friends, even sip a little champagne before the curtain.” In fact, when her firm was commissioned to restore The American Theatre in Hampton, one of the charges was to design and construct a lobby and new dressing and mechanical rooms, which nearly doubled the floor space of the original building. “Entertainment venues without lobbies are a thing of the past. I can’t imagine a design without one.”

But the designer effort hardly stops at the lobby. As the team member that assumes the role of middleman between the performers and the architect, the interior designer must act as both artist and scientist. Page, who helped renovate The Wells Theatre in Norfolk, chose everything from the tiles in the lobby floor to the color scheme of the auditorium to the material and shape of the tapestries that line its walls.

And, as Greg Rutledge reminds us, it’s not only about the audience. “The performers need feedback, too,” he says. “I was in a theater in Miami once where the actors on stage right couldn’t hear their counterparts on stage left. It was an untenable situation all around, and you had to lay the blame right at the feet of the

“If you look at something like The Met at Lincoln Center in New York, you see a stand-alone building, which is fine for that venue,” he says. “But we wanted something different for the Sandler Center; we wanted it to connect organically with the surrounding environment. I think we succeeded there.”

The Artist and the Architect But does all that “flipping” actually enhance the artistic experience for the theatergoers? “Absolutely,” Ashe says. “As you make your way toward the (Sandler Center) complex from the parking garage, you feel drawn to the place, anticipating a real ‘event’ with every step. You pass through the plaza area in front of the building, and make almost a seamless transition to the lobby through a large glass façade. Your inspiration grows with every step you take.”

JoAnn Falletta, director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, could not agree more strongly. “The Sandler Center is a wonderful example of how culture integrates with the public square,” she says. “To experience a fulfilling evening of beautiful music and then emerge from the building to an area where you can review the experience over a meal or coffee with friends is what integration is all about. We’re so very fortunate to have such a place in Virginia Beach.”

Falletta was involved with the design of both the Sandler Center and The Ferguson Center at Christopher Newport

JoAnn Falletta, director of the Virginia Symphony, was involved with the design of The Ferguson Center for the Arts.

The building appears to be a brand new building, but it hides a secret – behind the beautiful façade is the former Ferguson High School, now used for classroom and office space.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FERGUSON CENTER

design team.” To avoid the same fate, he routinely contracts the services of subject matter experts that know theater.

“There aren’t many of them around, but we couldn’t do a quality job without them.” They are called theater design consultants and aestheticians and are charged with “fine tuning” the performance space to optimize the feel and sound of the room for everyone involved. “In one venue, we actually made a slight change to the slant on the front of the balcony – it improved acoustic feedback for the actors, which in turn made for a better show for the audience.” He also insists on tweaking things in and around the proscenium arch, the façade that surrounds the stage area. “We use an adjustable mechanism called a four-stage reflector to get just the right sound. It’s an amazing tool, although you wouldn’t even notice it unless you put it there yourself.”

While the challenge of restoring an old building to its former greatness presents one kind of challenge, designing a brand new structure, while barely limited at all, nevertheless presents the design team with distinct challenges. Michael Ashe, a principal in the Virginia Beach-based architectural firm of CMSS, was the lead designer for the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts that recently opened in Virginia Beach, as well as The Suffolk Cultural Center for the Arts, a restorative project. “Sandler was indeed a challenge, and the end product turned out to be distinctly different than the original conception.

“When we first designed the Sandler Center, there was no Westin Hotel in the picture,” he says. “But when you plop one of the tallest buildings in Virginia right next to your new arts center, it changes things. You simply have to take that into account.” So the CMSS team actually “flipped” the design, altering the concept so that now the Sandler Center opens up onto the Westin instead of facing more directly into Town Center.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SANDLER CENTER

Light and glass define the exterior of The Sandler Center, but attention to acoustic perfection – down to the seat selection – defines the performance hall.

University from the very beginning. While she had little to do with the actual design of either space, she nevertheless had a seminal impact. “We talked with the design team at length about the optimal size of the audience, as well as how close it would be to the performers,” she says. “My musicians definitely perform at a higher level when they feel an intimate connection with the audience. If the audience is too large or the room to big, we get less feedback from our listeners, and it alters the way we play. Both venues asked for our opinion, and the result has been two of the most acoustically perfect spaces I’ve ever played in.”

Ashe recalls a moment during the final phase of the Sandler Center design process that illuminates the combination of teamwork, attention to detail and flexibility required to get the job done right. “We had decided to purchase a particular kind of seat for the auditorium,” he says. “I thought the seats looked perfectly fine, but our acoustic engineers at Kirkegaard, a Chicago area firm, asked if they could have a closer look. After their analysis, they found flaws in the chairs that would reduce the sound quality in the hall if left uncorrected,” he says. Reluctantly, they approached the manufacturers about the problem. “Believe it or not, they agreed to the changes. I was amazed.”

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

Jeff Meredith, the executive producing director of The Sandler Center, knows the value of an acoustically fine-tuned entertainment space. He returned to Virginia Beach from New York to open his own theater in 1991. The theater eventually became the Virginia Musical Theatre, which he operated in the Virginia Beach Convention Center for years until the city decided to build Sandler. “While the building itself was available and underused, it was a stand alone, cold-looking, multipurpose place with poor acoustics,” says Meredith. “The performers just didn’t feel connected to the audience, and I think our shows suffered as a result.” Moving the performances to The Sandler Center radically changed all that.

“The Sandler Center seems to draw you in as you approach it, and you can feel the excitement building with each step,” he says. “The aesthetics of the whole layout are so powerful that you just have a different sense of the moment than you do anywhere else.” His feelings about the new venue are neither unique nor overstated among the performing arts community.

a sense of excitement and appreciation for the arts.” People will “remain in our community to work, raise a family and be a part of our city” because of the availability of such a fine venue, Oberndorf says.

Linda T. Johnson, mayor of the City of Suffolk, has similar feelings about the new Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. While she feels that the SCCA is unique in the intimacy that it creates between the artist and audience, the new facility has an even broader appeal. “The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts has the

COURTESY OF THE SUFFOLK CENTER FOR CULTURAL ARTS

To be sure, the construction of large, multipurpose entertainment venues, especially in urban settings, can and does consistently produce profound economic improvements. Such complexes spawn any number of new restaurants, shops and ancillary businesses, but there is definitely more to the effect than mere dollars and cents.

Myra Oberndorf, Virginia Beach mayor, was a strong proponent of a new cultural center at Town Center from the very beginning. While the architectural vision was not unimportant – and the economic impact would certainly be significant – her prime concern was its impact on the city culture at large.

“I have always believed that we must do what we can to ensure the arts are available and thriving for both the present and future generations,” she says. “There is a warmth and charm that is special to The Sandler Center, which helps create

C E N T E R S TA G E

People Power

COURTESY OF WILLETT HALL

Right: The intimacy of a school became the inspiration for the new Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. Below: Willett Hall in Portsmouth is also warm and intimate.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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The Attucks Theatre, built in 1919, has played host to a great number of famous entertainers through the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s and early ‘50s, including Norfolk’s Gary U.S. Bonds and Portsmouth’s Ruth Brown.

capability to feed our spirits and our souls,” she says. “The connection between the performers and the audience stretches well beyond the bounds of the theater itself.”

Ask any artist, artisan or professional designer about the relationship between a building and the performances it houses and you’ll get a dozen different enthusiastic responses – and nary a disagreement. The connection between the collaborative team put together by the architect is close and critical. Without this bond of understanding, an otherwise warm, intimate, magical place can be reduced to a mere warehouse where lifeless productions are stored and forgotten.

However, thanks to the collective vision of designers, creative directors, financiers and politicians, Hampton Roads is no longer the sleepy little port city of the past.

From the Ferguson Center and American Theatre on the Peninsula to The Sandler Center at the Beach and the Cultural Center for the Arts in Suffolk, just to name a few, locals have their pick of high quality entertainment options all year round. Whether their interest is live theater, music of all kinds, modern dance or even classroom opportunities in art, photography or creative writing, Hampton Roads has emerged as a first-class arts and entertainment landscape.

John Dailey is a Virginia Beach-based freelance writer who specializes in video scripts, Web site content and direct response copywriting. He can be reached at john@flexwriter.com.

Hampton Roads is no longer the sleepy little port city of the past.

”

IN THE LIMELIGHT

Making it in Hollywood Norfolk native Montré Burton achieves his big stage aspirations

BY GAIL KENT

t

There are people who are given every opportunity to succeed – caring parents, material wealth, a great education – but they never seem to get it together.

Then there are those who seem to leap over multiple obstacles in their path and live the life of their dreams.

Montré Burton is the latter.

Charming, personable and talented, Burton is having his big breakout this summer in the ABC series, “Disney’s High School Musical: Get in the Picture,” a new reality show which premiered July 20 and runs through September. Burton stars as a “faculty” member who helps mentor and challenge contestants vying to appear in a music video that will run at the end of the movie, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.”

Born in Norfolk, Burton, 29, was raised by his grandparents, mother and aunt along with his five brothers and two sisters. He was a member of Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church on Chesapeake Boulevard and Johnstons Road, where he grew up as a choir boy, singing in church every Sunday.

“I was always performing,” says Burton. “I knew it was what I wanted to do. When I was 10 or 11, I wrote to the TV shows – shows like The Cosby Show – and asked what I needed to do to get on TV, and they wrote back!”

Taking the advice the shows’ directors gave him to get involved in local theater, he starred in a number of shows with The Hurrah Players. During middle school, he learned to play the violin to local acclaim. Then he attended the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts during high school, graduating with honors.

Burton continued his theater studies and performing during college at ODU, and then attended the Florida State University/British American Drama Academy in London.

While in London, Burton suffered with “excruciating” headaches, which he chalked up to needing glasses. When he got back to Norfolk in 1998, he

immediately sought relief by seeing an optometrist who found pressure on the optic nerve, quickly determined to be caused by two large brain tumors.

Burton was hospitalized at CHKD for surgery to remove the rare, benign growths.

“The tumors were so advanced that the doctor said if I had waited two more weeks, they would have killed me,” Burton says.

“That experience changed my life. Before, I had been this happy kid and felt lucky to be on the top of the world, but I didn’t have a true grasp of life. After my surgery, I realized that it wasn’t just about being the best actor I could be, but also about being the best person I could be. It really grounded me.”

In 2000, Burton pressed forward with his dreams to be an entertainer and struck out for Hollywood with three friends. “We shared a busted little studio apartment in L.A. where I slept on an air mattress on the floor.”

After getting work doing national commercials, gradually Burton won roles on HBO’s “Entourage,” My TV Network’s “Wicked Wicked Games” and FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” He has also starred in several LA theatre productions. And soon he’ll star in two upcoming independent films, “Transdermal” and “All the Days Before Tomorrow,” due to be released later this year.

His Virginia family couldn’t be happier.

“They’ve always been supportive – paying for vocal lessons and taking me to classes,” he says. “They were so excited to see me on TV when I did my first commercial. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

In spite of his success, Burton is humble.

“God’s given me a talent, and I have been extraordinarily blessed,” he says.

Montré Burton

Gail Kent is a freelance writer and owner of The Buzz Factory, a boutique public relations firm in Newport News. She graduates from ODU’s MFA in creative writing program in August.

Burton is having his big breakout this summer in the ABC series, “Disney’s High School Musical: Get in the Picture,” a new reality show which premiered July 20 and runs through September.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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Drink it in i

Like water, art is everywhere in Hampton Roads –

Maybe you’re not a

regular at the Ferguson Center, The Chrysler Museum of Art or the Virginia Shakespeare Festival — but you may well be part of Hampton Roads’ arts scene.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

If you glance at a mural inside a restaurant, or stop to listen to a singer-instrumentalist on a bench in a park — if you admire the creative work that comes from within the human mind and exits through the hands or the mouth – you are an aesthete. You are bitten by the art bug.

Don’t run away. Celebrate it. It means you are truly alive.

Though it’s not 1975 anymore, there are still young musicians trying out new tunes where people are strolling about. Two of them are Michael Moreno and John Michael Jalonen, who, two or three times a week, play guitar and sing from a bench on Williamsburg’s Merchants’ Square.

“The majority of stuff we do is made up on the spot,” says Moreno, fresh out of Lafayette High School and headed for Thomas Nelson Community College this fall.

While they play, their guitar cases are always open. Their minds are, too, when it comes to recognizing that opportunities are everywhere in Hampton Roads to be on the supplier side and the receiver side of art. “It’s not just about being a tourist,” says Jalonen, a rising senior at Lafayette.

And it’s not just about museums and concert halls. Just ask any of those Washington Metro commuters who scurried by a free concert that world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell gave near the steps of a subway station. Because he wasn’t dressed like a concert musician, many people who would have otherwise paid hundreds of dollars to attend a concert just scurried by to catch their trains.

On Bay Days weekend, stand at the corner of King and Queen streets in Old Hampton and take a good look at the faces of the children who’ve just been to the facepainting table. Go ahead: Try to ignore them!

COURTESY OF MATHEW JACKSON

B Y B R U C E E B E RT

Has a brightly colored work of graffiti, probably painted in the dim light of a street lamp, ever caught your eye on your commute to the shipyard? A mural on the outside wall of a building? If the answer to any of these questions, or other questions like them, is even a reluctant yes, then, yes, art is a part of your life.

You get it. Man, do you get it!

Comfortable with the fact that you don’t need a tuxedo, an evening gown or a membership card to enjoy the arts, you will want to meet a few people whose artwork you may have enjoyed without thinking of it as art.

“Graffiti happens every second of the day,” says Jacob, a graffiti artist who prefers not to give his last name because

graffiti is often linked to people whose inclinations are less than totally respectable.

“Spraying your name is more vandalism than graffiti to me,” he says. A mechanic by trade, he adopted graffiti as a hobby without too much introspection. “Carrying aerosol cans and colorful markers in your back pockets all day means they’re always at the ready. You can be quick!”

And a graffiti writer does need to get in and get out and leave the admiring for another day.

Jacob would like to see areas around Hampton Roads designated as legal graffiti venues – and that skate-

Gary Little’s Big Jazz Band, comprised of student-musicians from eight high schools, performs at Williamburg’s Farmers Market.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY LITTLE

even in unexpected places

This mural by Mathew Jackson decorates the walls at North Landing Road Elementary School.

COURTESY OF MATHEW JACKSON

A reading lion, by Mathew Jackson, inspires students at the Linkhorn Park Elementary School on First Colonial Road.

board parks would be the places to start. The two activities, says he, “go hand-in-hand.”

Graffiti was in the spotlight in May at Virginia Beach’s Wink Salon, at Hilltop East. Titled “That Graff Show,” it featured four canvasses that were auctioned off for the benefit of Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (not exactly an icon of counter-culture and rebellion, mind you). Salon owner Debbie Glenn was recently quoted in PortFolio Weekly as describing the exhibit as consistent with the “urban, yet sophisticated” aesthetic that Wink Salon presents to its clients.

Gary Little’s weekday job is quality analyst for AnheuserBusch in James City County. Beer lovers may call that a dream job – the height of artistic perfection – but he doesn’t stop there. Visitors to Williamsburg’s Farmers Market, patrons of fundraising events and drop-ins at various tourist spots are often serenaded by Little’s Big Jazz Band, a lively ensemble of student-musicians from as many as eight high schools in the Historic Triangle.

Heavy on the saxophones, the band plays a mix of blues, jazz, rock and big-band tunes. “They’re great kids who love to play,” he explains. For the band’s appearance at the Farmers

Market back in mid-May, they were receiving $75. “I’ll buy them pizza,” Little says.

For some who bring the artistic experience to people in Hampton Roads, money is very much a consideration; for others, it is not.

Abukura Asumea is working his way through law school as a braid artist in Portsmouth. Obviously, money is important, but braiding hair links him to his heritage. A native of Ghana, along the west coast of Africa, Asumea received no formal training in his art; he started learning 10 years ago by watching family members.

“Self-taught” is another characteristic of many artists whose work never makes it to the stage of a performance hall or to the walls of most museums. Unlike the practice of medicine, law and dentistry, art requires no license, no passing of state boards. A license isn’t the way to Carnegie Hall; as the man said a long time ago, it takes practice, practice, practice.

What makes Asumea’s work works of art?

“It’s strictly in the skill of the fingers,” he says. There are no chemicals.

Valerie Tutson’s art relies on air – and something lighter

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

The photos below show the artist (center) with examples of his aerosol graffiti on the side photos.

than air, helium. Tutson, of Hampton, creates art out of balloons.

Tired of the stay-at-home part of the title “stay-at-home mom,” she decided about 10 years ago to make the most of what many people liked so much about her: her ability to make people laugh. She fashioned a clown costume out of some thrift-store finds, then made some unpaid appearances at children’s fairs, just to watch and learn from the pros.

That led to creating crazy characters with balloons.

That’s when the calls started coming in. Columns, palm trees, canopies and strings of pearls are among her most-sought balloon sculptures, and they can be seen at a variety of area festivals and parties.

If you’ve played a round of holes in the shadow of the big gorilla at Jungle Golf, located off General Booth Boulevard in Virginia Beach, you’ve probably seen the work of mural painter Matt Jackson, owner of Dreams to Reality in Virginia Beach. He learned color concepts at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, but considers himself a self-taught artist.

While many of his former classmates aspire to have their works hung in great museums – and maybe Jackson secretly does, too – he maintains he is very satisfied having his artwork seen where people congregate for purposes not too intellectual, but worthwhile nonetheless. His work is at the Tropical Smoothie Café at the Holland Road-South Independence split in Virginia Beach. It’s at a Liberty Tax office. It’s along a wall near Princess Anne High School.

What all these artists have in common is creative energy, a drive for self-expression, and the hope that what they create makes people feel good. Their validity as artists is reinforced every day by people who take notice, talk about what they see and consider their work part of the experience of being there.

If a lasting impression results, so much the better.

Mendel Denise Service of Newport News is all about lasting impressions. She is a storyteller who has stood before people of all ages and left them with a memory. Interesting subject matter and proper choice of words are obviously important to storytelling, she says, but what makes her stand out is subtlety.

Facial expressions. Vocal inflections. A personal manner that tells the audience this is not a mere recitation of facts, but an eruption from her heart that is meant to flow to the hearts of those who are listening.

Sometimes the stories are entertaining, and sometimes they can be difficult to bear, depending on the audience and the circumstances. She can talk about domestic violence and racism and abuse as effectively as she can charm a circle of second-graders with animal fables.

It is all about connecting with people. “You want to give them permission to think about their own lives and get their own stories to rise,” she says. “You want them to find their own voice.”

A Londoner by birth and West Indian by heritage, Service calls storytelling part of her heritage and “a gift I was given.”

She has told stories at Kwanzaa festivals, public library gatherings, churches and the Newsome House museum. She has made people laugh, and she has made people cry.

And like the other artists in Hampton Roads whose work is experienced every day, without ceremony, without a ticket, she enriches our lives.

A freelance writer living in Williamsburg, Bruce Ebert has worked in public relations, journalism and more difficult jobs too numerous to mention.

As a reporter he wrote about everything from a horse born without a tail to the sessions of the Virginia General Assembly – and to this day cannot clearly discern the difference.

The photos below (center and bottom right) are additional examples of murals by Mathew Jackson. At right, balloon artist Valerie Tutson stands beside one of her lighter-than-air creations.

D AY T R I P

Richmond: Not just for lawmaking

BY DIANE YORK

A whole new world of art and weekend fun, less than two hours away

i

Her First Fridays/Artwalk, modeled after similar events in Europe, Seattle, San Antonio and other forward looking cities, brings thousands of art patrons, artists, students, merchants/musicians and voyeurs together on the first Friday of every month.

The event has resulted in the revitalization of a 10-block area that now comprises 20 art galleries, numerous new restaurants, musical events and performing artists.

This depressed urban area with its once-grand architecture, now peeling and faded, is transformed each month to an electric, pulsing, vibratory field, alive with expression and creativity. “It was tough at first,” says Newton.

“At first, my goal was simply to bring more attention to my gallery and other galleries, but now it has grown to help this area economically and create a sense of community.” She has accomplished that.

PHOTOS BY DIANE YORK, FIRST FRIDAYS

Christina Newton is founder of Curated Culture and First Fridays.

If you are coming to Richmond for an art experience, plan to come on a Friday – a First Friday.

Christina Newton is a mover and shaker. She started out as the director of a small gallery, Artspace, in Richmond’s depressed, downtown Broad Street area. Seven years later, as the founder of Curated Culture and director of First Fridays/Artwalk, she has brought about a revitalization of downtown Richmond that the moneyed efforts of city hall have been unable to create.

House View # 3 by Louis Poole is displayed at 1708 Gallery.

Rosalinde Moret, guitarist, performs at First Fridays.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF © VMFA

“It is amazing to see the change in this area,” says Paul Mazmanian, a First Fridays attendee. “On First Fridays, the area becomes alive with so many interesting events. The potential for this area for both novice and senior artists is incredible.”

One of the galleries on the Artwalk is the 1708 Gallery at 319 W. Broad St. It is a non-profit gallery created in 1978 by members of the Virginia Commonwealth University Art Department faculty and other local artists to give exposure to emerging and established contemporary artists. Its cutting-edge exhibits change monthly.

Another key gallery on the tour is the Ghostprint Gallery, located at 220 W. Broad St., dedicated to an inclusive redefinition of fine art. It represents artists from the undiscovered to internationally recognized, and the styles cross all lines of traditional and contemporary art.

All of the galleries on the Artwalk are small spaces representing a wide variety – but predominantly contemporary – art styles. The range of talent from amateur to highly professional is part of what makes the area so exciting.

On a recent First Friday, offerings included a selection of work from successful professional artists for an art auction; mammoth wooden and cloth sculptures of giant creatures; vivid fantasy photography; wall-sized, emotional animal portraits; a high school photography exhibit; live art performances; a Brazilian band; an interactive performance in which the audience members were invited to come up and paint with the artist; a fire juggler on a unicycle; and a video projected onto the outside wall of a building – all presented at the same time.

One of the sponsors of First Fridays/ Artwalk is the Modlin Center of the University of Richmond. Their participation has brought in major performers such as the Gamelan Raga Kusuma Indonesian Orchestra and Dancers. On Sept. 5, First Friday will host “Nui Blanche,” or Night of Light, emulating the event by the same name in Paris. Shops and galleries will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., all lit up, all night long. The Modlin Center will bring in a New Orleans funeral band, the Hot 8 Brass Band. It should be quite a night!

For more information, visit First Fridays at www.firstfridaysrichmond.com.

These works of art are all on exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Top right: de Madonna & Child by Umbertini Verdi; bottom left: Dining Room by Bonnard; and bottom right: CS Caligula.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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D AY T R I P 38

You can eat at any number of trendy new restaurants in this area, such as Comfort, a shabby chic hole-in-the-wall that serves dishes that give it its name – meat loaf, mashed sweet potatoes or macaroni and cheese. However, there is a second face to the restaurant, as it offers an ample selection of good wines and fine fish dishes. The pork tenderloin is perfectly succulent on the inside and crisp on the outside, and the scalloped potatoes are good enough to be an entrée by themselves. The bartender is knowledgeable and will help with your wine selection to complement the flavors of your food choices.

Another interesting eatery is Tarrant’s Cafe at 1 W. Broad Street. Tarrant’s was a Richmond landmark that still has all the furnishings of a turn-of-the-century Richmond Ballet performs “Lilac Garden.” pharmacy. A marble slab soda fountain bar, huge colored glass apothecary jars and shelves lined with ancient potions take you back to another time and place. It is now a cheery bar and booth restaurant with an eclectic bring its ranking up to 10th when complete in fall 2009. Matched American menu. against cities like New York and Chicago, that is an exceptional After walking the Artwalk, sampling food and swinging to a ranking for a city the size of Richmond. street band, you need to rest. Richmond has a four-diamond hotel Galleries house Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian, Asian, called The Berkley, located at 1200 E. Cary Street. The Berkley, Byzantine, Medieval, French, American, and modern and named for Virginia’s Berkley Plantation, has the aura of a classic contemporary collections. The museum’s holdings of South Asian, London Inn. Elegant and sophisticated furnishings isolate you Himalayan and African art are among the finest in the nation. from the noise of the city. The Berkley, located in the heart of Part of the reason for the museum’s quality of art purchases Shockoe Slip, prides itself on service and will make you feel like is the efforts of museum curators such as Mitchell Merling, the royalty. Check it out at www.berkleyhotel.com.

Paul Mellon curator and head of European art. Merling travels the world searching for the best pieces to make the museum an ever-more exciting experience for visitors.

THE SLIP On a recent acquisition trip to London to see 19th-century The Slip, as it is called by locals, is a restored area of tobacco paintings, Merling says he was looking at a wonderful painting, and cotton warehouses. If you venture into The Slip, you will a beach scene by Courbet. “But suddenly, I looked up and saw find numerous retail shops, art galleries and restaurants along its this towering 16th-century Madonna painting on the wall, and it original cobblestone streets. One landmark not to be missed is was so large and rich and stunning – I knew it was the one piece the Tobacco Company Restaurant, at 12th and Cary streets. the museum needed to make its collection of Renaissance art The Tobacco Company is a three-story building restored in complete.” turn-of-the-century style, with huge antique chandeliers, stained He says the painting, “Virgin and Child and St. John the glass windows, a stunning carved oak bar and a romantic Baptist,” by Francesco D’Ubertini Verdi, is a very strong statement Victorian sitting parlor. It has excellent food and a downstairs of Renaissance ideals and mannerist ideals. “In this painting you dance club with great local bands. Take a ride up in its glasssee the highest achievement of the Renaissance.” He says the artist’s enclosed, gilded elevator for a great view of the whole space. style is a composite of his influencers, Raphael and Michelangelo.

Visit at www.thetobaccocompany.com.

“It is a monumental, luscious painting,” says Merling, an The next morning you can venture up to The Boulevard altarpiece made for the home of the Borgherini family in Florence, and visit the fabulous Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Virginia major art patrons. He says the sophistication of the time – and of Museum, located on the border of The Fan district, has a remarkthe commissioning family – is reflected in Madonna’s opulent able permanent collection of more than 20,000 works of art from dress that reflects the patron’s class. almost every major world culture.

“The Dining Room,” another recent acquisition from the Paul th It is a collection of treasures so unique that it is ranked 15 Mellon estate, is by Pierre Bonnard. The glowing painting, a gorin the country by the American Association of Museum Directors. geous mix of earth colors, oranges and yellows, seems to move.

The museum is undergoing a massive expansion expected to “It takes the most ordinary experience and makes it some-

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

COURTESY OF RICHMOND BALLET

thing magical and mysterious,” says Merling. “Verdi painted figurative paintings when other artists had begun to paint abstracts. His paintings were always about lived experiences.” The Bonnard alone is worth the trip to the museum.

While many of the collections are closed for the construction, you can still can see the Faberge room with the largest collection of Faberge eggs outside of Russia; the French collection which – in addition to impressionist paintings –includes Degas dance statuary; the Mellon collections, including the largest sporting animal collection outside of great Britain; and the impressive Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver.

When completed, the expansion will double the museum’s exhibit space. “We will have some exceptional new things,” says Merling, including an entire marble garden pavilion from India.

“The museum is an amazing survey of the history of art from every culture and every age.”

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is located at 200 N. Boulevard. Phone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.state.va.us.

THE FAN

THE RICHMOND BALLET

COURTESY OF BARKSDALE THEATRE

While in this part of town, tour The Fan, so named because the streets run out from Belvedere Street in the shape of a fan. The Fan is significant for having one of the largest intact stretches of Victorian architecture in the United States. Developed between 1817 and 1920, it has retained its original style and spirit. Numerous unique eateries and shops are located in the Main and Cary street areas.

Saturday night choices for entertainment include live theater, live music or even the ballet. The Barksdale Theatre, a local favorite, is Central Virginia’s leading theater boasting national-caliber productions. It has three venues: Barksdale Theatre Willow Lawn is in the near West End with comedies, mysteries and commercial

fare; Barksdale Theatre Hanover is a country-community playhouse located in a restored 17th-century tavern in Hanover County; and in the downtown Artwalk district, the Empire Theatre, formerly a grand live playhouse built in 1911, has been transformed into a Broadway-style theater that can seat 600 and host a full orchestra.

“The great thing about Barksdale is that you see live theater close up,” says recent attendee Rich Russakoff. “The Willow Lawn and Hanover playhouses are small enough that you get an intimate experience. You can see the actor’s every nuance and gesture.

You feel part of the story – a part of the experience.”

This summer, the presentation at the Empire will be a big cast musical, “Guys and Dolls,” running through Aug. 17. Described as a “toe-tapping musical” it should rock the house with songs such as “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”

The choreographer is Patti D’ Beck, now a Richmond resident, who choreographed Broadway shows such as “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Evita,” “A Chorus Line,” the national tour of “Grease” and dozens of others. She coached performers including Rosie O’Donnell, Bernadette Peters, Liza Minnelli and Mac Davis.

Her credentials are typical of the performers at Barksdale Theatre, many of whom are successful performers from New York or California who returned to a quieter lifestyle in Richmond.

D’ Beck worked with David S. Leong, chairman of Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre Department, on a production in New York. She then appeared as a guest artist at VCU and was asked to join the VCU theater faculty.

“I love teaching college students,” she says. “They are so hungry to learn, and the VCU Theatre Department has such a positive tone, and Barksdale is terrific. The scope of things they do is incredible.”

The Empire Theatre/Theatre IV is located at 114 West Broad Street. Call 804- 344-8040 for ticket information or visit www.barksdalerichmond.org.

“Guys and Dolls” is running through Aug. 17 at the Empire.

Should you want a quieter but glorious evening, The Richmond Ballet is “a company to which dance fans everywhere ought to pay attention,” according to The Washington Post. And the Richmond Ballet’s 18 dancers and six apprentices from all over the world have helped make the ballet highly recommended by the New York Times.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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The Virginia Ballet is located at 407 East Canal Street.

Phone: 804-344-0906. Check for performance times at: www.richmondballet.com.

THE JEFFERSON HOTEL

COURTESY OF THE JEFFERSON HOTEL

After your big night out, a great place to stay is the famous Jefferson Hotel, a must-see work of art itself.

The Jefferson’s spectacular lobby includes a massive marble staircase, Rococo balconies, turn-of-the-century oak and beveled glass bar, and a collection of – and a fortune in – classic oils on the walls. This is where John D. Rockefeller, Lindberg, Henry Ford, Admiral Byrd, Moshe Dayan, Ronald Reagan and Elvis Presley, among others, stayed when in town.

The lobby is monopolized by the staircase, erroneously reported to be the staircase in “Gone with the Wind” – although it certainly looks the part – and romantic parlor areas. A marble pool on the second floor held a live alligator for many years. At the top of the stairs, Valentine’s marble statue of Jefferson will take your breath away.

The Jefferson has been restored as an elegant icon of Southern style at its zenith. The rooms are large and luxurious, as are the prices. You can pick from a menu of special weekend packages offering other goodies. The next morning, indulge in the 100-item-plus Sunday brunch, designed as though the chef wanted to seize the title of “best and biggest brunch.”

Your Sunday afternoon can be capped by a relaxing cup of tea. The Jefferson is one of the few remaining places where you can have a traditional British tea service in the afternoon. A formal tea is offered Thursday through Sunday, 3-4:30 p.m. What a wonderful way to wrap up your weekend of pleasure!

Visit: www.jeffersonhotel.com or call 804-649-4661 for reservations.

The Jefferson Hotel, an elegant icon of Southern style, is an art destination itself.

“The Richmond Ballet continues to break boundaries, from commissioning new works by choreographers from around the world to providing inspirational outreach programs to the community, while maintaining the highest artistic and organizational integrity,” says Artistic Director Stoner Winslett.

The Richmond Ballet will feature “Jardin aux Lilas” (“Lilac Garden”), a world premiere of the ballet by Antony Tudor, Sept.

16-21. A young woman about to enter a marriage of convenience longs for the true passionate love she has found with another man.

This drama, a deep, compelling tale of four lovers mismatched by fate and society, is set to the enthralling music of Ernest Chausson.

“Ancient Airs and Dances” will be presented Nov. 11-16.

This ballet, a thoughtful and uplifting exploration of man’s doubts, fears, hopes and joys, is a classical piece for four couples.

Filled with buoyant Italian and French lute songs by Respighi, it celebrates the past, present and future.

Diane York is a freelance writer who loves the architecture and art of Richmond.

..........

Theater note for schools

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One of the less well-known missions of Barksdale Theatre is to provide cultural experences in educational settings.

The Empire Theatre is home to Theatre IV, primarily a children’s theater with one of the largest traveling educational theater companies in the United States. Theatre IV’s touring company travels the country presenting plays in elementary, middle and high schools. Members travel by van, bringing costumes and scenery, and audition performers in the city where they perform.

A current presentation, “Hugs and Kisses,” teaches children about sexual abuse. A social worker is on hand during the performance to talk to children who want to discuss personal concerns.

The founders of Barksdale, Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway, set their original mission as the creation of positive social change through theater. Their touring company, which has traveled to 33 states, fulfills that mission. Other traveling productions include “Martin Luther King, I Had a Dream” and the “The True Story of Pocahontas.”

To book a play for your school, contact Janine Sears at 804-783-1688 at the Empire Theatre.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

FRIENDS of Hampton Roads Bravo!

CHESAPEAKE

It’s a Secret Café & Catering

Virginian Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH

Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce

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Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce

Newport News Visitor Center

WHRO

FORT MONROE

13560 Jefferson Avenue (757) 886-7777 www.newport-news.org

5200 Hampton Boulevard 757-889-9400 www.whro.org

Casemate Museum

Virginia Living Museum

20 Bernard Road 757-788-3391 www.tradoc.army.mil/museum

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757-595-1900 www.thevlm.org

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The American Theatre

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125 E. Mellon Street 757-722-ARTS www.theamericantheatre.com

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d’Art Center

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Performances at Willett Hall 3701 Willett Drive 757 686-5447 Call for info

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Patriot Buick Pontiac GMC Corp.

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Kimball Theatre

420 Bank Street 757-664-2524 www.hamptonroadschamber.com

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Virginia Air & Space Center 600 Settlers Landing Road 757-727-0900 www.vasc.org

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The Hermitage Museum and Gardens 7637 North Shore Road 757-423-2052 www.hermitagefoundation.org

The Hurrah Players, Inc. 935 Woodrow Avenue 757-627-5437 www.hurrahplayers.com

Christopher Newport University One University Place 757-594-7448 www.fergusoncenter.cnu.edu

100 Main Street 757-357-3502 www.theisle.org

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

424 Duke of Gloucester Street 757-565-8588 www.kimballtheatre.com

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145 Ballard Street 757-898-3665 www.nancythomas.com

Shooting Star Gallery 118 North Main Street 757-934-0855 www.shootingstargallery.net

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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O F F S C R I P T: Art in the public square

ART that challenges the status quo – and censorship – will always be with us

S

ex shows at William & Mary? A nude self-portrait by a South Hampton Roads student? Who gets to determine what is art and what is pornography? And what role do artists have in determining society’s laws and culture? A Hampton Roads art curator says it’s all a necessary dance that ensures cultural vitality.

In nature, the organism that does not change to accommodate its environment risks extinction. Two of the most efficient accommodators are the pesky cockroach and the notoriously lethal Komodo dragon—and we know how much we admire these denizens of the natural world.

Human culture is also an organism that demands constant accommodation to events that drive society’s laws and culture and challenges to the status quo. This produces great tensions between social groups, sometimes great violence and the exile of those who break common customs and convictions, religious and political, held by the majority over the few.

The destruction of the status quo must take place, so much so that we ritualize the event by burning those that push society in new directions upon the pyre of social disapproval. Throughout human history, that has meant an actual burning at the stake or the destruction of one’s means for survival, such as the 1950s blacklisting of Hollywood writers labeled as communists by Joe McCarthy.

Such is the fate of the prophet and the artist, who is often a prophet, to dance on the head of the very sharp pin of social condemnation that may tear him or her apart literally and figuratively. In Arthur Miller’s renowned play, The Crucible, pious Puritans torment and kill the accused during the infamous Salem witch trials, a metaphor for McCarthy’s reign of

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

terror over the nation and its artistic community.

Yet it seems, that despite a potentially grim fate, voices arise that annoy the rest of us sometimes to a collective fury. Could it be that such voices are a part of the “collective DNA” of the social organisms in which we all live?

In many traditional societies great leaders, who in many cultures are also artists, come to power by first breaking society’s most powerful taboos. They may break taboos such as patricide, fratricide or infanticide – remember what the Almighty asked Abraham to do to Isaac – and then reaffirm and reestablish the social order.

At the crucial moment, Yaweh stays the hand of Abraham. Through Isaac, Abraham becomes the founder of a new and chosen nation—the Jews—and the father of three great world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Leaders willing to break convention and taboo for an idea that is hard for ordinary people to comprehend push society to new forms of government, they invent culture and are great patrons of the arts, helping them to flourish.

The push and pull of taboo breaking and boundary crossing, which is the vocation of the artist in society, will always invite censorship. It is a necessary dance that ensures cultural vitality. This is not to say that society has no right to condemn when real harm results from the manipulative egos of charis-

D E R O S

N E C

BY RAMONA AUSTIN

▼ ▼ ▼

matic players whose intentions are not motivated by transcendent issues.

Does our first amendment right to free speech mean hands-off pornographic snuff films that result in non-consensual degradation and ultimate death?

Society must always debate if the jack-booted heel of condemnation crushes its soul, or if a permissive indulgence does harm to innocents, such as roving pedophiles who prey on Third World countries whose laws are no match for appetites given power

by privilege.

These issues must always be rigorously debated in the art institutions of the West that have such a disproportionate influence on world culture. Art must look into the dark places of the human soul, ask the questions we are afraid to pose, but also ask if it has the capacity to harm.

Ramona Austin is curator for The Baron and Ellin Art Galleries at Old Dominion University.

contact us

Have an opinion about this or another arts-related topic? We want to hear it. You may respond with a letter to the editor or contact us at darden.publishing@cox.net to discuss your interest in writing a future essay on some arts-related topic for this column. – Editor’s note

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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MUSIC

Barbershop participants and listeners alike

AN ARTS SAMPLER

B Y D E B I WA C K E R

H

ere in Hampton Roads, we have an uncanny ability to honor the past while savoring the moment and transforming our cultural arts to appeal to future generations.

And so it is with the barbershop style of singing.

An original American art form, the harmonizing sounds of barbershop music has grown to be a passion for hundreds of men and women in Hampton Roads.

“People hear the music and fall in love,” says Susan Nelson, a barbershop singer from Newport News’ Publick Times chorus. “The sound literally grabs you. You feel it down to your soul.”

Barbershop is an a cappella (in the style of the chapel) form of music, meaning it is unaccompanied by instruments and has no vibrato.

Tenor, lead, baritone and bass voices come together in four-part harmony.

The goal is to create a fifth tone – called an overtone.

Barbershop songs date back to 1890, but are most popularly from the 1920-1950 era. Youth quartets in high schools and universities are rebounding and on the rise – bringing this breathtaking art form to its current level of appeal. YouTube videos, featuring songs from “Grease,” “Phantom of the Opera” and the like, number visits in the tens of thou-

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

COURTESY OF THE COMMODORE CHORUS

Singing thrills

Patty Leveille, former director of the Commodore Chorus, leads the group at the 50th anniversary of the Norfolk, Virginia, Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society concert on March 31, 2007, at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk.

sands with profoundly positive response.

This is not your father’s straw hat, Hampton Roads! And, it’s not just for men.

DIVAS UNITE! The sounds emanating from the allfemale, 29-member Virginia Coast Chorus set the air vibrating. Memories surface, sparking that familiar chill up the spine when one is in the presence of something very special… something sacred.

The Virginia Coast Chorus is one of Hampton Roads’ three female barbershop choruses and a chapter of the regional division of Sweet Adelines International (SAI), a highly respected worldwide organization committed to advancing the barbershop musical art form. The chorus recently returned from regional competition in North Carolina with two medals, including first place in small chorus and fifth place overall.

Publick Times is a chorus with more than 35 members in Newport News, and the Boardwalk Sounds chorus calls Virginia Beach its home.

There are eight female barbershop quartets in our area, all with members from diverse backgrounds, talents and ages.

Young Women in Harmony (YWIH), a branch of SAI, has choruses and quartets for females ages 13 to 24.

The choruses have performed in a number of popular venues – professional sports stadiums, civic ceremonies such as the World War II Day at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, Holiday Music festivals in Old Town Portsmouth and Yorktown, and with major symphonies.

Private birthday and anniversary parties, corporate functions and assisted living homes are also privy to this musical treat.

Jamie Stafford, spokesperson and member of Virginia Coast Chorus, Fire & Ice Quartet, has sung for more than 18 years and first joined a barbershop chorus because of the a cappella factor. One of the attractions for the musical artist is the nearly unlimited pallet the voice provides. The same singer can sound sultry one moment, cold and abrupt the next, and then transform to a soft harmonic background.

A love for music spurs a love for each other. Lifelong friendships and self-expression blossom in these organizations. “The chorus filled two needs for me when I first moved to Virginia,” says Stafford. “I met a lot of great women and I got to sing.” Her quartet, Fire & Ice, has been together for six years.

Other female adult quartets in the area include Calliope, Captivation, Decades, East Coast Edition, NOTEorious, Rapport and Shenanigans.

‘CONGENIAL MEN OF GOOD CHARACTER’

The Fire and Ice women’s quartet perfom with “Abbott and Costello” at the Hampton Roads Convention Center for a USO performance.

Barbershop Harmony Society lets me do what I love with men who have the same passion.”

Patrick’s quartet Acclaim and four other quartets spun off from the 30-member Commodore Chorus.

Patrick says quartets tend to happen spontaneously as members gain skills and friendship and voices mesh.

Debi Wacker a freelance writer living in Virginia Beach. Contact her at dwacker@lightsourcemarketing.com.

For more information about upcoming events visit: Sweet Adelines International and Young Women in Harmony in Hampton Roads: www.sairegion14.org Virginia Beach Women’s Chorus: www.virginiacoast.org Newport News Women’s Chorus: www.publicktimeschorus.tni.net Virginia Beach Women’s Chorus: www.geocities.com/boardwalksounds Men’s Choruses: www.barbershop.org

THEATER

B Y R O O PA S WA M I N AT H A N

COURTESY OF THE ATTUCKS THEATRE

Portsmouth and the Peninsula also have male choruses.

Members perform in competitions and for special events and occasions at regional convention centers, weddings and anniversaries, and corporate events. The group recently helped a deployed serviceman deliver an emotionfilled “singing valentine” to his wife in Hampton Roads.

The Harmony Foundation, the outreach arm of the Barbershop Harmony Society, encourages the vocal arts in schools, provides scholarships, and funds museums and camps.

Community service functions include performances at nursing homes and hospitals in conjunction with Tidewater Arts Outreach.

At a recent rehearsal of the Virginia Coast Chorus, a novice barbershop aficionado witnessed the intensity and “wild abandon” that Director Cheri Danner evokes from her singers. The professional sound is silky, like lyrical honey – thick with emotion, sweet to the soul and an essential cultural arts experience.

COURTESY OF FIRE AND ICE

Pat Patrick is a leader with the Norfolk chapter of the men’s Barbershop Harmony Society – an international organization boasting 35,000 members worldwide and 30 chapters in Virginia. Patrick joined the men’s Commodore Chorus simply because he loves to sing. What he found were strong, deep friendships with men who also enjoyed raising their voices.

“These guys are very special and important in my life,” he says. “The

Historic Attucks enhances area with African-American programming he Attucks Theatre played host to many famous entertainers through the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s and early ‘50s, including Norfolk’s Gary U.S. Bonds and Portsmouth’s Ruth Brown. And, since it’s restoration and reopening in 2004, it has once more come to life as a cultural beacon, offering diverse arts activities for Hampton Roads and beyond.

Located at the intersection of Church Street and Virginia Beach Boulevard, the historic theater is near Norfolk’s numerous entertainment and cultural attractions, including Harbor Park, Harrison Opera House, Scope, Virginia Stage Company and Waterside.

The Attucks Theatre was financed, designed and constructed by African-American entrepreneurs in 1919. It was named in honor of Crispus Attucks, an African-American who was the first American patriot killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770.

Gail Easley, managing director of the Crispus

T

(continued next page)

COURTESY OF ALVIN SWILEY

VISUAL ARTS

Ambassador Andrew Young was the keynote speaker at the Attucks Theatre for the 2008 Africa Channel Launch Celebration.

(continued from previous page) Attucks Cultural Center (CACC) recalls how the theater came to be. The CACC, the non-profit arm of the Attucks Theatre, was incorporated in 1990 to save and revitalize the Attucks Theatre, which was named as a national historic landmark in 1977.

Members believed the restored theater would not only meet the cultural needs of the community but also serve as a catalyst for further redevelopment of Church Street.

The CACC, the City of Norfolk and the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority formed a partnership to restore the Attucks, which took three years and cost $8 million.

The CACC owns the Attucks Theatre and is responsible for planning, promoting and implementing arts-based educational and community programming and supervising the operation of the Attucks.

“The center provides arts and cultural activities that improve respect for diversity and cultural heritages, and supports arts activities that engage the community,” says Easley.

“It also provides high quality, diverse programming for people who have been largely underserved by the arts. The Attucks has emerged as a positive social force that builds bridges across communities and cultures. It is a place where all may feel at home.”

The core annual programs are the Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival, a juried competition and showcase for filmmakers from around the world; Attucks Theatre Summer Arts Program; and a holiday theatrical production of “Black Nativity” by

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Langston Hughes. Proceeds from the film festival and Black Nativity help fund youth programming throughout the year. This summer the center will sponsor an art camp for inner city children in grades six through eight.

The center’s arts incubator provides year-round, on-site educational programming for students of all ages in dance, theatre, music, literary and visual arts; and technology. High-quality programming taught by professional artists include appreciation for the African, AfricanAmerican, Caribbean and other African Diaspora experiences.

Classes and workshops are offered in traditional African dance and drumming, capoiera (Afro-Brazilian martial arts), and steel drum workshops, to name several.

The center offers free workshops and activities, and provides scholarships and apprenticeships to youth ages 7–17.

The Attucks Theatre has seen many legends. Easley recalls a story about Dempsey Sumler, who was 15 when he landed a job operating the stage lights at the theater, called the Booker T at the time.

His parents didn’t know he had the job when visiting blues legend B.B. King paid him to guard Lucille, his famous guitar, between shows.

“Here I was a young boy, who had no business on Church Street anyway, and B.B. King gives me two dollars to watch Lucille,” Sumler said. He watched it, but was too star struck to touch it.

The crowning jewel of the Attucks Theatre is the restoration of the original three-story, 30-foot-wide stage curtain, painted to honor namesake Crispus Attucks.

“The Attucks Theatre is a vibrant addition to the cultural landscape of Hampton Roads, with potential for even more,” Easley says. “We are committed to the development of artists and audiences, in addition to establishing the Attucks as a prominent African-American cultural institution.”

For more information about upcoming events visit: www.attuckstheatre.org.

Roopa Swaminathan is a freelance writer based in Norfolk.

Suffolk visual art exhibit is ‘In-Material’

BY SANDY GRECO

T

his is not your mother’s quilting show. Well, actually some of it may be.

A multi-venue visual art exhibit is ready to unfold in downtown Suffolk. In a progressive opening on Aug. 24, the Suffolk Museum, Shooting Star Gallery and The Red Thread Gallery will lay out an eclectic collection of quilt and fiber art works that is as colorful, whimsical and diverse as the Suffolk art community itself.

“InMaterial” at Shooting Star Gallery on Main Street showcases a bold collection of hand-dyed fabrics and inspired multi-media applications.

“It is like painting with fibers,” said gallery owner Brenda Wright.

She has invited eight artists from around the country, including featured Newport News artist Kat Allison, to display innovative pieces that make use of creative materials and diverse techniques.

At The Red Thread Gallery on West Washington Street will be “Piecing it All Together – Life and Art.” This vibrant representation of smaller pieces will feature various forms of art media, including hand-painted silks and wearable works. By design, each selected piece communicates its own uniqueness, yet collectively adds to the harmony of the overall exhibit.

Around the corner, The Suffolk Quilters’ Guild’s Seventh Triennial Exhibition will return to the Suffolk Museum. This much-

COURTESY OF SUFFOLK MUSEUM

Mrs. Emily Dalton (right), one of the original six members of The Suffolk Quilters’ Guild, is one of the 50-plus members invited to submit their works for the guild’s exhibition in the Suffolk Museum. Museum coordinator Nancy Zinzunger (left) has worked to include both traditional and contemporary quilts in the display.

anticipated display of handmade traditional and contemporary quilts blends past and present, old and new, hand and machine stitching in a dazzling collection of fabrics and styles. Emily Dalton, one of the original six members of the guild, is one of the 50-plus members invited to submit their works for this colorful and significant show.

Wrapping around the exhibit venues this year, the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts will offer classes in textiles and weaving for those interested in trying their own hand at this fun and functional art form. Fiber artwork will also be featured in Jester’s Gift Shop.

The three exhibitions open progressively from 2-6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24 and provide the perfect opportunity to meet the artists and curators who created this multi-layered event. More than 1,500 people are expected to visit this interesting collage of visual art shows that runs through late September.

The Suffolk Museum’s quilting exhibit will remain open until Oct. 17.

Woven together this exhibition’s mix of local and national artists, traditional and ultra-modern works and curious multi-mediums create a unique and inspiring artistic experience. Though each location adds its own special touch to the event, as a whole, Suffolk’s quilt and fiber art exhibition presents a seamless nature of the work that is rich, creative and … dare we say, full of texture.

For more information, visit www.shootingstargallery.net.

Sandy Grecco is a freelance copywriter who lives in Norfolk and has a particular passion for creative writing and watching her two Pony League All-Stars rip one out of the ballpark.

shooting star gallery, llc.

• Photography • Conservation Framing • Fine Art & Crafts by Regional and National Artists • Soaps & Candles • Photo Restoration • Gift Certificates, Shipping Service, Phone & Email Orders

Brenda C. Wright,

Shooting Star Gallery, LLC 118 N. Main Street, Suffolk, Va (757) 934-0855 www.shootingstargallery.net www.shootingstarartists.etsy.com

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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MUSEUMS & LITERARY ARTS Dreams and Turned Wood Ekphrastic poetry enlivens exhibits at Courthouse Galleries

BY B.C. WILSON

Readers of John Keats’ unforgettable “Ode on a Grecian Urn” know the power of language to enliven and be

COURTESY OF COURTHOUSE GALLERIES

enlivened by a work of art.

Shonda Buchanan reads her poem during “EKPHRASIS: Poems About Art” at the Courthouse Galleries in Portsmouth.

The practice of writing in response to visual works even has a name, ekphrasis, from the Greek ek and phrasis, “out” and “speak,” respectively, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name.

Luisa Igloria, associate professor of poetry in the MFA Creative Writing Program at ODU, has brought this tradition of poetry to the Courthouse Galleries in Portsmouth with an annual event, “EKPHRASIS: Poems About Art.” For the past five years, Igloria has led a troupe of her students and colleagues in readings inspired by works on display at the galleries. This year’s reading in March drew

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poets and fans to admire works of turned wood and hear words evoking memories, images and associations drawn from the sculptures and paintings on display.

As with Keats’ “Ode”, “The writing is not a literal transcription of the work, but a reaction to it,” said Igloria. The idea is not to merely describe a work of visual art, but to let it be an inspiration and a source of creative direction.

This year the first-floor galleries hosted “New Revolutions: Woodturners from Tidewater,” featuring the work of woodturners from Tidewater and beyond, many of whom are members of the Tidewater Turners. Turned wooden vases, bowls, chairs and abstracted forms were displayed

by Bob Chiavarini, Tom Crabb, Mike Dennis, Gerald Felix, Cliff Guard, Jim Vogle, Wolfgang Voglebean and Jerry Whitehurst.

The first reader, Shonda Buchanan, an assistant professor at Hampton University, was inspired by a spindled wood rocking chair by artisan Gerald Felix. Her poem, “Rocking Chair in Michigan,” evokes images of her grandmother seated in a similar chair, blending memory and fantasy into an eerie and pleasing rumination of youth and age, memory and “rememory.” Buchanan’s poem beautifully illustrates the possibilities of the ekphrastic form.

Andea Nolan, an ODU student, read “Wood-turner,” a series of linked sonnets dedicated to and inspired by her uncle Art Hoag, a woodturner and Chesapeake Bay native himself. Her poem describes him in his workshop, bent over a project, engaged in the painstaking process of finishing wood to a high polish, working up through higher and higher grades of sandpaper until the artist is rubbing the wood only with a fine cloth.

“It seems impossible/for cloth to influence wood,” she wrote, “like water/on rock.

After days of patience, the surface trans-

forms/into feather – feels like the skin of an infant whose warmth/breathes through to the finger’s touch.”

The students from ODU’s creative writing program are part of a growing cadre of writers to earn their MFA from that school, which established the graduate degree program only in 1994. ODU offers an MFA in fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and enrolls up to 35 students each year.

Sheri Reynolds, author of The Rapture of Canaan, currently directs the program, along with five other full-time faculty, including Igloria.

Located on High Street in the heart of Old Towne Portsmouth, The Courthouse Galleries are housed in a stately red brick building constructed in 1846. The Galleries host a serious of exhibits each year, including visual arts, performances and educational events.

A collection of encaustic, or hot wax paintings, will be on view until August.

More than 300 spectacles and vision aids from around the world will be on exhibit until October. From August to October, a collection of ceramic works from the Ceramic Design Association of Hampton Roads will be exhibited.

In December they’ll roll out the popular “Coleman Collection” of holiday displays, a Hampton Roads favorite, acquired when Portsmouth’s Coleman Nursery closed its doors in 2004. One wonders what kind of ekphrastic poetry might be inspired by the sight of galleries filled with more than 100 animated elves, glass-eyed reindeer, kitschy Victorian ice-skaters and snoring Santas.

BC Wilson is an internet product developer, freelance writer and graduate student in ODU’s MFA in Creative Writing Program. He spends his free time dragging his two children around in a bike trailer. He lives in Norfolk.

by Shonda Buchanan COURTESY OF COURTHOUSE GALLERIES

Response to New Revolutions exhibit (chair by Gerald Felix)

The side door, my mother said, blew open A dead of winter breeze.

My grandmother’s rocking chair Began creaking in the chill.

Like I said my sister was already asleep But one of us was dreaming.

She was there, my mother said, Grandma Manuel in her chair Where she spent hours watching Over her granddaughters and their children Worrying the pattern out of the rug Waiting for us to come home. To stop bleeding This is how Our stories get told through dreams and turned wood That breathes

Luisa Igloria

that pearl hour between midmorning and cranberry night I was a hiccup of a girl slender as talcum powder In sheets My sister already asleep

L

COURTESY OF LUISA IGLORIA

Rocking Chair in Michigan

uisa Igloria, founder of the ekphrasis reading series, is a poet, writer and associate professor in the MFA Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University.

Originally from Baguio City in the Philippines, Luisa is also an 11-time recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in three genres (poetry, nonfiction and short fiction); the Palanca award is the Philippines’ highest literary distinction.

Her work often reflects the influences of her multi-cultural personal history. Her upcoming book, “Juan Luna’s Revolver,” due out in November from the University of Notre Dame Press, revisits the lives of Filipino intellectuals and artists who left the Spanish colony in the east for Europe in the 1800s.

“The poems in ‘Juan Luna’s Revolver’ ponder the influence of specific historical moments on any reader who can claim a connection to the idea of heritage,” says Igloria.

Igloria’s work has appeared or will be forthcoming in numerous anthologies and journals including Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, The Missouri Review, Indiana Review, Poetry East, Smartish Pace, Rattle, The North American Review, Bellingham Review, Shearsman, PRISM International, The Asian Pacific American Journal and TriQuarterly.

She has published nine books including “Encanto,” “In The Garden of the Three Islands” and most recently “Trill and Mordent.” “Trill and Mordent” was a runner-up for the 2004 Editions Prize, the recipient of the 2005 Calatagan Award from the Philippine American Writers and Artists, nominated for the ninth annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards in 2006 and co-winner of the 2007 Global Filipino Literary Awards.

You can learn more about her at www.luisaigloria.com.

&

In circles And rememories of women Who were once young When we were between Childhood and woman, night and dawn And no matter if we decided to stay And sleep Or wake up out of the dream Someone was there. Watching.

Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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Orchesis

William & Mary’s releases creative, original modern dance works for Hampton Roads audiences

DANCE

PHOTO BY GEOFFREY WADE

Orchesis performs the dance “Awakening,” choreographed by Lauren Williams.

Meghan Cavanaugh, a rising senior at William & Mary, is the dancer on the far right.

B Y B R U C E E B E RT

W

hen Orchesis takes the stage in Williamsburg, some of the most dynamic expressions of Hampton Roads’ artistic creativity are unleashed.

Twice a year, about 30 students in The College of William & Mary’s modern dance program glide, fly and spin across the stage of Phi Beta Kappa Hall, putting into human form and motion the choreography their own professors – or they themselves – have conceived.

“You can take the simplest movements, combine them with the most complex, and put together the most aesthetically pleasing work,” says Orchesis dancer Meghan Cavanaugh, a rising senior from Virginia Beach.

For Cavanaugh, whose eyes are on a career in veterinary medicine – while her legs, arms and torso bend, spread and leap with rubber-band flexibility – modern dance was the next logical step for a young woman who, like many other Orchesis members, was introduced to dance through ballet as a child.

She says she dances for pure

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

enjoyment.

“There are two kinds of enjoyment,” she explains. “Dance movement makes me happy, but choreography is something that originates within your mind – and you give that to dancers to follow.”

Dance is also an effective defense against stress, Cavanaugh notes – something “bigger than everyday walking around, sitting and doing homework.”

For the 2008-2009 season, Orchesis’ fall offering will be original works by the dance program’s three full-time professors, Denise Damon Wade, Joan Gavaler and Leigh Glenn. Wade is spending part of this summer following what’s left of old Route 66, seeking inspiration from touchstones of early- and mid-20th-century Middle America. “I don’t know exactly where the inspiration will come from,” she said prior to her departure. “Filling stations, state troopers … Who knows?”

The score will be written by American composer Virgil Thompson.

Glenn’s contribution will be an etude, a short work that involves African and Native American drumming, and dancing

in the style of Jose Limon, the late choreographer known, according to one critic, “for powerful, masculine dancing and dramatic choreography.”

Gavaler’ work for fall performance will collaborate with flutist Maria Figueroa on a work exploring aspects of Mayan culture.

Founded in 1941, William & Mary’s dance program has consistently won the praise of critics and audiences for its creativity and execution. The fall performance, called DANCEVENT, takes place Oct. 30 and 31 and Nov. 1, while the spring show will be on March 26, 27 and 28. Tickets, $5 for students and $10 for the general public, are available by calling 221-2674, and online at www.wm.edu/boxoffice.

A freelance writer living in Williamsburg, Bruce Ebert has worked in public relations, journalism and more difficult jobs too numerous to mention. As a reporter he wrote about everything from a horse born without a tail to the sessions of the Virginia General Assembly – and to this day cannot clearly discern the difference.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

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FINALE

partnerships

Cultural Alliance builds uniting arts and culture in Hampton Roads B Y PAT R I C I A R U B L E I N

our members through a partnership with Optima Health.

The Cultural Alliance’s founders believed that arts and Hampton Roads BRAVO! magazine, a collaboration between cultural organizations must work together for the good of the the Cultural Alliance and Darden Publishing, is dedicated to the industry and to assure the health of individual organizations. promotion of our arts and cultural community. Events such as That was never more true than it is today. the ALLI Awards provide opportunities to recognize the many Organized in 1983, the Cultural Alliance of Greater businesses and individuals that support the arts and artists.

Hampton Roads this year celebrates 25 years of arts Forums and roundtable discussions occur several times advocacy and service. We are one of the earliest members a year around the region for convenient access, providing of the national local-arts agency movement. opportunities to network, collaborate and learn best practices Participants in the 1983 conference that created the and current information about industry-related topics.

Cultural Alliance concluded that they had to work together Municipal arts commissions gather twice annually at the to ensure that the arts were recognized as a key contributor Commissioners Roundtable, the only opportunity for the to our economy and quality of life. Serving all of Hampton region’ s commissioners to gather and share ideas.

Roads, the Cultural Alliance is uniquely positioned to advance The Cultural Alliance provides and represent the region’s arts and information to member organizations cultural community, assure its well being to help everyone become better arts and promote the industry as a primary I’ve always believed advocates. Advocacy efforts are enhanced attraction for tourism.

by Cultural Alliance activities and our We encourage membership from that the arts are the relationships with the Virginians for the arts organizations, artists and individuals. “antennae of the race.”

Arts and Americans for the Arts.

Like most of the organizations it serves, And the magnificent The Cultural Alliance promotes its the Cultural Alliance is a 501(c)(3) members through an online newsletter, nonprofit organization and depends on contribution they make e-CONNECTIONS, and other printed grants, membership dues, and corporate will be fully realized materials.

A recent member survey and private donations to provide prowhen the arts are seen provides new data to plan and design grams and services. We celebrate the new services and programs. diversity of our industry by welcoming as essential elements Together we make the world of all arts organizations and artists to our in all aspects of creativity and the making of art more table – traditional and familiar, new and public and private life. vibrant.

Together we sow the seeds of a experimental. Arts education is getting region rich in culture by taking a seat at renewed attention in our advocacy — Ralph Burgard was first many tables – school boards, local govefforts as well. director of the Arts Councils erning boards, legislatures, board rooms I invite you to renew your memof America, (now Americans for and statewide committees. bership or join the Cultural Alliance for the Arts). He died on July 3 at his Through a cultural plan that began home in Duxbury, Mass., at 81. the first time. We are the only organizaalmost 30 years ago under the guidance tion working exclusively to stimulate of the great visionary, Ralph Burgard, the cultural vitality and facilitate a healthy Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton cultural industry. Join us in “speaking Roads works to sustain the arts community – and by extension with one voice” for more than 300 Hampton Roads arts and the region’ s quality of life.

JOIN US – KEEP THE ARTS cultural organizations. Our programs and services are many.

STRONG IN HAMPTON ROADS! Our web site, www.culturalli.org, includes a resource directory of all regional organizations, a comprehensive regional Patricia Rublein is executive arts events calendar, a list of venues, grant opportunities and director of the Cultural Alliance of much more. Visit the site – members can edit their own Greater Hampton Roads. She can information at any time. Special member discounts are provided be reached at 889-9479 or at workshops and forums. patricia@culturalli.org.

Group and Individual Health Insurance is now available to

“

SINCE 1983 THE CULTURAL ALLIANCE HAS BEEN THE REGIONAL ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF ARTS AND CULTURE.

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Hampton Roads BRAVO!

EVERY DAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR CHANGE. THE INSIGHT TO KNOW HOW.

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