Thursday, April 23rd, 2026

Spectrum

Richmond Ren Faire brings jubilant display of grassroots artistry, craftsmanship

April 23, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Once upon a time peddlers, paupers, painters, pirates, poets and a plethora of ye ole Renaissance faire goers paraded the ground of Dorey Park — henceforth marking April 18 and 19 as the first Richmond Ren Faire.  It is safe to say the folks of RVA had a jolly good time at the inaugural event, through rain and shine, as over 14,000 guests attended between both days. The Richmond Ren Faire was brought to the community by Virago Alley and supported by a roundtable of Richmond nonprofits.  The faire was the brainchild of Amanda Robinson, founder of Virago Alley, Gallery5 and now the Richmond Ren Faire. She has been heavily awarded for her work within the city’s art scene and her persistent dedication to convening communities in the name of creativity.  Virago Alley is a nonprofit organization set on the quest to bring people together and share knowledge and skill. They ultimately plan on opening a community center equipped for combat training, archery and workshops teaching a variety of historical trades. The Richmond Ren Faire was focused on the tradespeople and artisans who encompassed the Renaissance Era. It was split into 12 unique guilds, all specializing

Richmond exhibitions to check out as art comes into bloom

April 22, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer As spring settles in and the city starts to warm up, Richmond’s art scene is stepping into the spotlight. From major museum exhibitions to intimate gallery shows and pop-up experiences, there is no shortage of creativity to explore across the city. Wander through world class collections at the VMFA Constantly changing, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hosts several exhibitions at a time — from African and Indigenous art to portraits of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward. Former fan favorites include “Frida: Beyond the Myth,” a major exhibition exploring the life and work of Frida Kahlo, alongside photography exhibitions like “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which reflects on childhood through a series of striking images. Current exhibitions are “Views of the Tōkaidō by Utagawa Hiroshige and Kawase Hasui,”, “Titus Kaphar and Junius Brutus Stearns: Pictures More Famous than the Truth,”, “Alvin Lester: Portraits of Jackson Ward and Beyond,” and “Community and Continuity: African Art and Indigenous American Art.” Visitors can find out more about each exhibition on vmfa.museum. Experience raw local voices at Southside Contemporary Art Gallery The exhibition “Keep it 1000” brings the authentic energy of nine emerging artists to Richmond’s Southside. Featuring contemporary art, priced reasonably

Annual VCUarts fashion show will summon ‘Synergy’

April 22, 2026

Kara Haas, Contributing Writer  VCUarts fashion design and merchandising students will display their works in the theme of “Synergy” at their annual student-run fashion show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on April 28. “Synergy” conjures up movement, according to Kimberly Guthrie, associate professor and chair of the department. “The synergy that we’re focusing on is if we have the tracks between merchandising and design come together and make synergy,” Guthrie said. Design students are focusing on fabric and textiles in their garments. When designing, each student composes a own story within them, Guthrie said. “Young designers are able to start developing a design point of view or design ethos,” Guthrie said. “Inspiration can come from a fabric, a technique or a cultural moment, and then that inspiration is what starts the story.” Guthrie mentioned multiple fashion classes are involved such as a tailoring course, where students explored different pants designs. In the senior level course, they focus on the shapes and details of pants. Other classes include “Mixteco,” focusing on indigenous craft. There is also a zero-waste collection where the dresses are made from pieces of waste fabric. Students in the “CLO3D” course create designs on an online

VCU R.A.A.C.E address injustice, teaches equity 

April 22, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  The VCU School of Social Work Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change and Equity, or R.A.A.C.E, was formed in 2020. Their mission is to address the racial injustices that exist in the field of social work, in the past and today.  It is a focus of RAACE to level the playing field of academia, according to Lisa Borntrager, Ph.D. student and co-chair of R.A.A.C.E. They hope that the organization can bring about a more diverse and equitable environment.  Check your bias To do this, the board hosts different events that break down the barriers of these conversations. Just this last month they have hosted three of their own events. “Check Your Bias,” by Ra-Twoine “Rosetta” Fields, challenged participants to confront their own biases.  Fields challenged students and faculty to acknowledge their own biases and confront them. He brought different hypothetical scenarios to the crowd surrounding different racial, social and religious groups and asked participants to answer honestly what they thought. “Y’all are being nice,” Fields claimed, as the group danced around what they wanted to say, scared that they would say the wrong thing. However, in this room, there was no right or wrong, just honest. As

Richmond Ren Faire brings jubilant display of grassroots artistry, craftsmanship

Spectrum Editor April 23, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Once upon a time peddlers, paupers, painters, pirates, poets and a plethora of ye ole Renaissance faire goers paraded the ground of Dorey Park — henceforth marking April 18 and 19 as the first Richmond Ren Faire.  It is safe to say the folks of RVA had a jolly good time at the inaugural event, through rain and shine, as over 14,000 guests attended between both days. The Richmond Ren Faire was brought to the community by Virago Alley and supported by a roundtable of Richmond nonprofits.  The faire was the brainchild of Amanda Robinson, founder of Virago Alley, Gallery5 and now the Richmond Ren Faire. She has been heavily awarded for her work within the city’s art scene and her persistent dedication to convening communities in the name of creativity.  Virago Alley is a nonprofit organization set on the quest to bring people together and share knowledge and skill. They ultimately plan on opening a community center equipped for combat training, archery and workshops teaching a variety of historical trades. The Richmond Ren Faire was focused on the tradespeople and artisans who encompassed the Renaissance Era. It was split into 12 unique guilds, all specializing in a historical craft. In the absence of monarchy, guilds rely on the existence of one another.  It was important to focus on all aspects of the Renaissance time period and the cultural exchanges taking place, not just Europe, according to Ash Moore, managing director of Virago Alley. They were inspired by the exchanges that took place on the Silk Road. “Taking that approach was important to us,” Moore said. “The way that we’re shifting the focus towards the everyday people. Most Renaissance faires follow the storylines of nobility and figures who were in a higher class system and we’re choosing to focus in on the artists and the tradesmen of the era.”  As the faire came together, Moore noticed the way the different grassroots organizations, or guilds, supported each other — making the Richmond Ren Faire what it was.  “I always joke that the real renaissance is the community building that we see behind the scenes,” Moore said. “I’ve watched this event come together and I’ve watched people come together from various communities and they’re really building something. I think that’s what’s so special about all of this — it’s inspiring in a lot of various ways.”  Preparations for

Richmond Ren Faire brings jubilant display of grassroots artistry, craftsmanship

April 23, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Once upon a time peddlers, paupers, painters, pirates, poets and a plethora of ye ole Renaissance faire goers paraded the ground of Dorey Park — henceforth marking April 18 and 19 as the first Richmond Ren Faire.  It is safe to say the folks of RVA had a jolly good time at the inaugural event, through rain and shine, as over 14,000 guests attended between both days. The Richmond Ren Faire was brought to the community by Virago Alley and supported by a roundtable of Richmond nonprofits.  The faire was the brainchild of Amanda Robinson, founder of Virago Alley, Gallery5 and now the Richmond Ren Faire. She has been heavily awarded for her work within the city’s art scene and her persistent dedication to convening communities in the name of creativity.  Virago Alley is a nonprofit organization set on the quest to bring people together and share knowledge and skill. They ultimately plan on opening a community center equipped for combat training, archery and workshops teaching a variety of historical trades. The Richmond Ren Faire was focused on the tradespeople and artisans who encompassed the Renaissance Era. It was split into 12 unique guilds, all specializing in a historical craft. In the absence of monarchy, guilds rely on the existence of one another.  It was important to focus on all aspects of the Renaissance time period and the cultural exchanges taking place, not just Europe, according to Ash Moore, managing director of Virago Alley. They were inspired by the exchanges that took place on the Silk Road. “Taking that approach was important to us,” Moore said. “The way that we’re shifting the focus towards the everyday people. Most Renaissance faires follow the storylines of nobility and figures who were in a higher class system and we’re choosing to focus in on the artists and the tradesmen of the era.”  As the faire came together, Moore noticed the way the different grassroots organizations, or guilds, supported each other — making the Richmond Ren Faire what it was.  “I always joke that the real renaissance is the community building that we see behind the scenes,” Moore said. “I’ve watched this event come together and I’ve watched people come together from various communities and they’re really building something. I think that’s what’s so special about all of this — it’s inspiring in a lot of various ways.”  Preparations for

Richmond exhibitions to check out as art comes into bloom

April 22, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer As spring settles in and the city starts to warm up, Richmond’s art scene is stepping into the spotlight. From major museum exhibitions to intimate gallery shows and pop-up experiences, there is no shortage of creativity to explore across the city. Wander through world class collections at the VMFA Constantly changing, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hosts several exhibitions at a time — from African and Indigenous art to portraits of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward. Former fan favorites include “Frida: Beyond the Myth,” a major exhibition exploring the life and work of Frida Kahlo, alongside photography exhibitions like “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which reflects on childhood through a series of striking images. Current exhibitions are “Views of the Tōkaidō by Utagawa Hiroshige and Kawase Hasui,”, “Titus Kaphar and Junius Brutus Stearns: Pictures More Famous than the Truth,”, “Alvin Lester: Portraits of Jackson Ward and Beyond,” and “Community and Continuity: African Art and Indigenous American Art.” Visitors can find out more about each exhibition on vmfa.museum. Experience raw local voices at Southside Contemporary Art Gallery The exhibition “Keep it 1000” brings the authentic energy of nine emerging artists to Richmond’s Southside. Featuring contemporary art, priced reasonably

Annual VCUarts fashion show will summon ‘Synergy’

April 22, 2026

Kara Haas, Contributing Writer  VCUarts fashion design and merchandising students will display their works in the theme of “Synergy” at their annual student-run fashion show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on April 28. “Synergy” conjures up movement, according to Kimberly Guthrie, associate professor and chair of the department. “The synergy that we’re focusing on is if we have the tracks between merchandising and design come together and make synergy,” Guthrie said. Design students are focusing on fabric and textiles in their garments. When designing, each student composes a own story within them, Guthrie said. “Young designers are able to start developing a design point of view or design ethos,” Guthrie said. “Inspiration can come from a fabric, a technique or a cultural moment, and then that inspiration is what starts the story.” Guthrie mentioned multiple fashion classes are involved such as a tailoring course, where students explored different pants designs. In the senior level course, they focus on the shapes and details of pants. Other classes include “Mixteco,” focusing on indigenous craft. There is also a zero-waste collection where the dresses are made from pieces of waste fabric. Students in the “CLO3D” course create designs on an online

VCU R.A.A.C.E address injustice, teaches equity 

April 22, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  The VCU School of Social Work Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change and Equity, or R.A.A.C.E, was formed in 2020. Their mission is to address the racial injustices that exist in the field of social work, in the past and today.  It is a focus of RAACE to level the playing field of academia, according to Lisa Borntrager, Ph.D. student and co-chair of R.A.A.C.E. They hope that the organization can bring about a more diverse and equitable environment.  Check your bias To do this, the board hosts different events that break down the barriers of these conversations. Just this last month they have hosted three of their own events. “Check Your Bias,” by Ra-Twoine “Rosetta” Fields, challenged participants to confront their own biases.  Fields challenged students and faculty to acknowledge their own biases and confront them. He brought different hypothetical scenarios to the crowd surrounding different racial, social and religious groups and asked participants to answer honestly what they thought. “Y’all are being nice,” Fields claimed, as the group danced around what they wanted to say, scared that they would say the wrong thing. However, in this room, there was no right or wrong, just honest. As

Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair

April 15, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor  Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect.  Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.  “Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA. “So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF,

VCU’s Doomsday to put on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ musical 

April 15, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Buffy, Spike, Willow and the other residents of Sunnyvale will gather on stage at Richard Newdick Theatre in Shafer Street Playhouse from April 17-19. Doomsday VCU, a theater company on campus will be putting on “Once More, With Feeling,” a production of the musical episode of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” The musical is taken from the season six episode of the same name, when the demon Sweet puts the town of Sunnyvale under a musical curse.  “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” is a beacon of late 1990s and early 2000s fashion. When creating the costumes for the show Ian Lambert, first-year cinema major and the show’s costume designer, pulled inspiration from the original episode, as well as the series as a whole.  “A lot of like that 90s, early 2000s fashion has been super popular recently. Which is very helpful in terms of finding those types of pieces out in the wild, like thrift stores,” Lambert said. “That’s been very helpful, that our fashion interest lines up with everybody else right now.” Buffy has been one of Lambert’s favorite characters to style — having fun with the vampire slayer’s bolder outfits and red leather pants in which

Fringe Fest artists bring whimsy and weirdness to annual festival

April 15, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Richmond’s Fringe Festival brought performances of art, music and theater to venues across the city last weekend, fostering connections between Richmond locals, viewers and performers from all over the country. Fringe Fest is a queer led event created in 2020, focused on a curated set of events and performers and framed around a profit-sharing model arts and creativity event that aims to “cross-pollinate” people in Richmond through performance and mutual aid, according to their website.  The festival ran from April 10-13 and kicked off with workshops at the Virginia Repertory Theater and a “Fring-aoke Sneaky Opening Party” at Fallout on Friday night. With RuPaul as the backdrop on every screen in the room, Fringe lovers, artists and performers gathered to usher in the long weekend with karaoke classics like Amy Winehouse, Mariah Carey and even a little Weird Al.  For Paolo Garbanzo — a Richmond native, VCU alum, juggler, comedian and Dungeons and Dragons aficionado, karaoke means Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” or an attempt at a Tenacious D song.  Garbanzo is spending the first April in 12 years in his hometown, and had a new version of his show this weekend — Decide Your Endangerment, a fast-paced

Stories and songbooks; Richmond Library to hold spring concert series 

April 15, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer At the crossroads of storytelling and sound, the main branch of the Richmond Public Library transformed its space into something more than shelves and study tables this spring for its monthly concert series.  As part of a three-part concert series dedicated to bringing free, genre-spanning art to the community, the library will host the next performance this month on April 18 from 2-4 p.m.. Headlining the event is Mia Zabelka, a composer and violinist whose work pushes far beyond conventional boundaries.  Described as “acoustic experiments,” her performances blend playing techniques — what she calls “sonic body impulses” — and electronics to reveal the hidden vibrations of matter. Zabelka’s work reflects the very spirit of the series — an exploration of art that challenges, connects and resonates across disciplines. For organizer Michael McBean, that spirit is intentional. The series is designed to reflect the full range of Richmond’s DIY music scene and make room for experimentation. “We try to book concerts that are representative of the Richmond DIY scene,” McBean said. “We’re mainly just trying to represent all the corners of that scene and get people out.” Since stepping into his role last year, McBean has also

Richmond chooses new Poet Laureate at annual festival 

April 15, 2026

Lelia Contee, Contributing Writer  From page to stage, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond hosted its fourth annual Richmond Poetry Fest on Friday and Saturday. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, or VisArts, is a nonprofit organization that helps adults and children explore creativity and make art. The festival featured a Parallel Listening series that blends live music and literary readings, “Book Club Breakfast,” the Young Voices of RVA, “Drag Queen Story Hour” and community poetry readings and performances, with American Sign Language interpretation provided. “If people come to the poetry fest not being familiar with poetry they’ll realize how much they actually are familiar with poetry,” poet Joanna S. Lee said.  Lee was elected as Richmond’s second Poet Laureate in 2024, as a part of the city’s Poet Laureate Program that was launched in 2020. The program highlights local artists and uses poetry to support the Richmond community.  Lee said a poet laureate mean being “a voice for the city,” where she engaged in readings, mayoral events and spoke with diverse audiences, including those not typically involved in Richmond’s art scene. Lee’s current project aims to collaborate with parks and departments to integrate poetry with the trails being built

Spectrum editor’s back to school list

August 24, 2022

Chloe Hawkins, Spectrum Editor Welcome back to campus, Rams! As we transition out of the “summer scaries” and back into reality, it’s important to remember