CultureWorks announces the sixth annual artoberVA – a month-long celebration of arts and culture in the Richmond and Tri-Cities throughout October!
During artoberVA, we encourage collaboration among artists, organizations, and businesses in the area to shine a light on unique arts and cultural experiences. Before COVID-19, nonprofit arts and culture represented a $360 million economic engine for our region, supporting 10,700 full-time jobs. COVID-19 precautions shut down this engine over the past year. In addition to the hope and healing that arts and culture provides, our region is boosted by our creative ecosystem. It is more important now, than ever, to elevate arts and culture in our region. In its sixth year, artoberVA events will be a hybrid of safe in-person and virtual offerings as we continue to adapt to the ever-changing climate. In 2021, artoberVA will continue to have an intentional focus on cultural equity, consistent with our mission, vision, and strategic plan. artoberVA increases awareness of and participation in our region’s abundant arts and culture community, highlights events from every genre, and spotlights a variety of diverse organizations and artists.
From the return of the Folk Festival, to ART 180’s Black Is YOUTH 365 augmented reality collaboration with Hidden in Plain Site, to the launch of a collaboration between CultureWorks, Performing Statistics and the Greater Richmond Transit Company, and so much more…we’re ready to DIG IN! People in our region are eager to experience inspirational performances and cultural experiences!
Community Impact
People in our region continue to seek a sense of community, healing, and personal expression through arts and culture as we continue to rebuild; artoberVA helps with this. During artoberVA 2021 we will be able to safely bring a curated arts and culture 
experience into an underreached community through our partnership with Better Housing Coalition. Acclaimed musician and songwriter, Trey Charles, will offer an “Opportunity Open Mic” experience for youth in a Better Housing Coalition community, guiding them through songwriting and performance techniques. The goal of the Opportunity Open Mic is to create a safe and nurturing space for aspiring artists to tap into their creativity while providing some general tips, tools, and techniques to further enhance their artistry. We can’t wait to see what this and other artoberVA experiences have in store for local youth!
artoberVA reaches deeper into the Richmond and Tri-Cities region through key focus areas.
Collaborations: Virtual and In-Person
Cross-pollination between different disciplines in art, culture, and local business, strengthens our community by exposing audiences to new experiences. We’ll spotlight artists and organizations who are collaborating throughout the month.
Family-Friendly Events
Families that engage in experiences together are stronger for it! Teaching our children to enjoy arts and culture is an important step in creating future artists and audiences. We’ll spotlight educational events, online resources, and family friendly experiences throughout artoberVA 2021.
Pop-Ups
Free, accessible, spontaneous, temporary culture and arts experiences are not only fun, but they also draw new audiences from the general public and increase visibility.
Art in New Locations
Inclusive arts and culture experiences that provide interactive opportunities are an important way to connect with all populations in Richmond and the Tri-Cities area. Outdoor adventures, here we come! artoberVA 2021 will continue to drive meaningful impacts across the region.
“artoberVA 2021 brings new opportunities to dig in to our region’s incredible arts and culture, and by doing so together, reconnecting with each other and our community. Our arts and culture organizations and artists have been working to reopen and bring incredible experiences to their theaters, galleries, exhibits, and more – some returning old favorites and some brand-new ones. And they are focused on keeping everyone involved safe and healthy. A friend of mine recently shared that he hadn’t realized how important the arts are to him until he experienced last year’s lockdown. He said “Then I realized that’s one of the things I missed most.” So, I encourage us all to dig into arts and culture during this month-long celebration- maybe its returning to something you’ve missed, or maybe it’s time to try something new. artoberVA will be a month of possibilities, so start making your plans to dig in to artoberVA!” – Scott Garka, president of CultureWorks.
Plan your artoberVA experience through our interactive Arts & Culture Calendar, and learn more here. Capture your favorite moments and share photos via social media – tag @artoberVA and use #artoberVA.
NEW AND/OR RENEWED IN 2021!
Community-wide storytelling: Share with us about why arts and culture is important to you! What inspires you to be creative? Click here to share your stories in written, video, or audio form. Don’t forget to follow us on social media, as we will post your submissions throughout artoberVA!
Safe and accessible artoberVA events on the Arts & Culture Calendar: The arts and culture community has come together again to create virtual content and safe, indoor and outdoor events and experiences in response to the continued global pandemic. As a result, the artoberVA calendar will be full and lively again this year with hundreds of experiences throughout the month!
Limited edition cityscape t-shirts: Bonfire and CultureWorks are collaborating again to offer t-shirts designed by Ajah Courts through Studio Two Three. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to CultureWorks directly.
#ArtsHuntRVA: What IS #ArtsHuntRVA? Well… it’s a scavenger hunt- but not your average scavenger hunt. Instead of hunting for objects, you will be hunting for arts and cultural organizations! Once you arrive at a location, locate the arts hunt poster, scan the QR code to learn more about the organization, and watch exclusive video content curated just for you! Be on the lookout for clues to finding secret locations & win prizes!
ABOUT ARTOBERVA
Since 2016, artoberVA has been the catalyst enabling increased access to free arts experiences and opportunities throughout the region through collaborations with artists and community-based organizations.
Every October, in conjunction with National Arts and Humanities month, CultureWorks presents artoberVA to promote events, pop-ups, exhibits, performances, collaborations, and any arts or culture experience happening in the Richmond & Tri-Cities area. artoberVA increases participation in arts and culture events and expands the exposure of organizations, venues, and artists that are shaping our vibrant and creative scene. Each year there are hundreds of artoberVA events to DIG IN to during the month of October. Visit the Arts & Culture Calendar and see all that our region has to offer! Also, it’s not too late for organizations, artists and businesses to get directly involved. To learn more, visit artoberva.com.
artoberVA is made possible in part due to the support of generous partners:
Altria Group, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts & Virginia Commission for the Arts, Capital One, Vivian Keasler, McGuireWoods LLP, Troutman Pepper, EY, Kings Dominion, Valley Road Vineyards
