Thursday, April 30th, 2026

Spectrum

Punks, ravers come together for moshing, mutual aid

April 29, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor It was a normal day in Scuffletown Park, the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming and the punks and ravers were moshing and dancing.  Femmefest, a festival of DJs and hardcore punk bands, celebrated feminine-presenting people, both in and out of music.  Miles Dillahunt, vocalist of PlutoniumWomb and creator of the fest, wanted there to be a space for newcomers to become involved in the scene.  “I wanted to create a safe space for people who might be nervous to get involved with activism or shows due to their queerness or femme identity, just so that way they feel less alone and encouraged to go to more shows,” Dillahunt said.  A big motivator for the event was the reaction to a previous story by The CT about women in the hardcore scene in Richmond. The comments under the article spoke volumes to how many men in the scene feel about women speaking out against issues they face within the hardcore community, Dillahunt said.  “The comments were vile,” Dillahunt said. “Both Judas and Lexi received death threats for speaking on their lived experiences. A lot of the people in the comments aren’t even authentic punks,

Professor teaches VCU’s first Asian American history class 

April 29, 2026

Burke Loftus, Staff Photographer VCU’s Department of History now offers a new course, Intro to Asian American History, the first of its kind in the university’s history.  Second-year political science student Trina LaFortune is a Filipino American from Annandale, Virginia. Growing up in Northern Virginia, she said most of her knowledge of Asian American culture came from conversations with her family, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the early 2000s, and other Asian immigrant families. “We only highlighted ‘Asian studies’ in junior and senior year, and that was the extent of it,” LaFortune said. “There [are] a lot of Asian people in NOVA. Even then, my education just had a narrow scope of what Asian American history was.”  In the fall of 2025, LaFortune’s focused inquiry professor, Frank Cha, announced to the class that he would be teaching an Intro to Asian American History course in the spring — asking students to email him if they were interested. “Part of me was like, ‘Oh my god, this is representation,’ but also part of me was like, ‘No, I think I’m just more curious to see what else I can learn,’” LaFortune said. “I wanted to see

Fourth annual Animation Festival brings international film to Richmond

April 29, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer    The Richmond Animation festival started as a creative initiative of three artists and animators — Zack Williams, Jordan Bruner and Dash Shaw. This year marked their fourth festival, celebrating short films from artists all around the world and Q&As with awarded animators.  Williams enjoyed animation from a very early age and studied traditional animation, worked in commercials and later realized working in 3D allowed more creativity and gave more freedom. “We both got interested in animation when there wasn’t much awareness of animation and independent films, we just wanted to recreate those instances where people would come out and see films and share our passion, which is very important,” Williams said. “I looked into animation as another medium, pushing it into the fine art space. We are taking our shared appreciation for that kind of animation into the festival.”  Bruner, a VCU alumnae and Williams’ partner, started as an illustration major but transitioned into animation. Bruner discovered the work of Martha Colburn, an artist whose work was based on puppetry, animation and stop motion which Bruner found fascinating.  “I felt like those two worlds fuse together in a way that felt exciting,” Bruner said.  The husband

Lesbian Field Day enriches Richmond

April 29, 2026

Alessandra Caceres Mendoza, Contributing Writer Pink and orange hues decorated all corners of Abner Clay Park as queer spirit radiated among the smiles of lesbian participants, while cheerleaders dressed in their unique outfits applauded those in the midst of a decisive round of tug-of-war. Lesbians of diverse backgrounds gathered at the park Saturday for Lesbian Field Day, an outdoor community gathering organized by VCU first-year students Denisha Chisolm, Samaya Waldo and Danny Williams. Chisolm, Waldo and Williams have hosted other events centered around strengthening community. In October studs, mascs and butches faced off in Monroe Park for their Performative Stud Competition, and just this month they hosted Sapphic Baby Oil Wrestling at Babes of Carytown. This butch vs. femme-themed event featured competitive activities like tug-of-war, potato-sack racing and a water-balloon fight. These two prominent lesbian identities teamed up and clashed in friendly competition throughout the day in pursuit of prizes, notably carabiners — a simple object that has become a recognized symbol within the community.   Participation in the activities required attendees to be 18 or older. Although catered towards lesbians, the event was open for all to enjoy. Abner Clay Park is within walking distance of the Gladding Residence

Punks, ravers come together for moshing, mutual aid

Spectrum Editor April 29, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor It was a normal day in Scuffletown Park, the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming and the punks and ravers were moshing and dancing.  Femmefest, a festival of DJs and hardcore punk bands, celebrated feminine-presenting people, both in and out of music.  Miles Dillahunt, vocalist of PlutoniumWomb and creator of the fest, wanted there to be a space for newcomers to become involved in the scene.  “I wanted to create a safe space for people who might be nervous to get involved with activism or shows due to their queerness or femme identity, just so that way they feel less alone and encouraged to go to more shows,” Dillahunt said.  A big motivator for the event was the reaction to a previous story by The CT about women in the hardcore scene in Richmond. The comments under the article spoke volumes to how many men in the scene feel about women speaking out against issues they face within the hardcore community, Dillahunt said.  “The comments were vile,” Dillahunt said. “Both Judas and Lexi received death threats for speaking on their lived experiences. A lot of the people in the comments aren’t even authentic punks, and don’t go to shows in the area, so I felt like Femmefest would be a good opportunity for femmes, queer people and the whole sea of  ‘weirdos’ — just people who feel left out to take up space. The situation lit a fire under my a** to fly harder for the event.” Bringing the two jarring genres of music together was a two birds, one stone situation, Dillahunt said.  “It honestly arose from my love for both shows and raves, the politics in both of these spaces and a moment of opportunity,” Dillahunt said. “With both the punk and rave communities, I’ve felt like we get a lot of newcomers who aren’t familiar with the politics or community aspects and thus deem it unimportant or just seem ignorant to it all together.” It is important to talk about political issues and what is going on in the world in music because they would not just go away if ignored, according to Dillahunt.  “They will keep building, they will keep getting worse and politicians will keep getting away with their shitty behavior — to ignore is to be the idiot the politicians say you are,” Dillahunt said. “Through activism, I’ve

Punks, ravers come together for moshing, mutual aid

April 29, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor It was a normal day in Scuffletown Park, the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming and the punks and ravers were moshing and dancing.  Femmefest, a festival of DJs and hardcore punk bands, celebrated feminine-presenting people, both in and out of music.  Miles Dillahunt, vocalist of PlutoniumWomb and creator of the fest, wanted there to be a space for newcomers to become involved in the scene.  “I wanted to create a safe space for people who might be nervous to get involved with activism or shows due to their queerness or femme identity, just so that way they feel less alone and encouraged to go to more shows,” Dillahunt said.  A big motivator for the event was the reaction to a previous story by The CT about women in the hardcore scene in Richmond. The comments under the article spoke volumes to how many men in the scene feel about women speaking out against issues they face within the hardcore community, Dillahunt said.  “The comments were vile,” Dillahunt said. “Both Judas and Lexi received death threats for speaking on their lived experiences. A lot of the people in the comments aren’t even authentic punks, and don’t go to shows in the area, so I felt like Femmefest would be a good opportunity for femmes, queer people and the whole sea of  ‘weirdos’ — just people who feel left out to take up space. The situation lit a fire under my a** to fly harder for the event.” Bringing the two jarring genres of music together was a two birds, one stone situation, Dillahunt said.  “It honestly arose from my love for both shows and raves, the politics in both of these spaces and a moment of opportunity,” Dillahunt said. “With both the punk and rave communities, I’ve felt like we get a lot of newcomers who aren’t familiar with the politics or community aspects and thus deem it unimportant or just seem ignorant to it all together.” It is important to talk about political issues and what is going on in the world in music because they would not just go away if ignored, according to Dillahunt.  “They will keep building, they will keep getting worse and politicians will keep getting away with their shitty behavior — to ignore is to be the idiot the politicians say you are,” Dillahunt said. “Through activism, I’ve

Professor teaches VCU’s first Asian American history class 

April 29, 2026

Burke Loftus, Staff Photographer VCU’s Department of History now offers a new course, Intro to Asian American History, the first of its kind in the university’s history.  Second-year political science student Trina LaFortune is a Filipino American from Annandale, Virginia. Growing up in Northern Virginia, she said most of her knowledge of Asian American culture came from conversations with her family, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the early 2000s, and other Asian immigrant families. “We only highlighted ‘Asian studies’ in junior and senior year, and that was the extent of it,” LaFortune said. “There [are] a lot of Asian people in NOVA. Even then, my education just had a narrow scope of what Asian American history was.”  In the fall of 2025, LaFortune’s focused inquiry professor, Frank Cha, announced to the class that he would be teaching an Intro to Asian American History course in the spring — asking students to email him if they were interested. “Part of me was like, ‘Oh my god, this is representation,’ but also part of me was like, ‘No, I think I’m just more curious to see what else I can learn,’” LaFortune said. “I wanted to see

Fourth annual Animation Festival brings international film to Richmond

April 29, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer    The Richmond Animation festival started as a creative initiative of three artists and animators — Zack Williams, Jordan Bruner and Dash Shaw. This year marked their fourth festival, celebrating short films from artists all around the world and Q&As with awarded animators.  Williams enjoyed animation from a very early age and studied traditional animation, worked in commercials and later realized working in 3D allowed more creativity and gave more freedom. “We both got interested in animation when there wasn’t much awareness of animation and independent films, we just wanted to recreate those instances where people would come out and see films and share our passion, which is very important,” Williams said. “I looked into animation as another medium, pushing it into the fine art space. We are taking our shared appreciation for that kind of animation into the festival.”  Bruner, a VCU alumnae and Williams’ partner, started as an illustration major but transitioned into animation. Bruner discovered the work of Martha Colburn, an artist whose work was based on puppetry, animation and stop motion which Bruner found fascinating.  “I felt like those two worlds fuse together in a way that felt exciting,” Bruner said.  The husband

Lesbian Field Day enriches Richmond

April 29, 2026

Alessandra Caceres Mendoza, Contributing Writer Pink and orange hues decorated all corners of Abner Clay Park as queer spirit radiated among the smiles of lesbian participants, while cheerleaders dressed in their unique outfits applauded those in the midst of a decisive round of tug-of-war. Lesbians of diverse backgrounds gathered at the park Saturday for Lesbian Field Day, an outdoor community gathering organized by VCU first-year students Denisha Chisolm, Samaya Waldo and Danny Williams. Chisolm, Waldo and Williams have hosted other events centered around strengthening community. In October studs, mascs and butches faced off in Monroe Park for their Performative Stud Competition, and just this month they hosted Sapphic Baby Oil Wrestling at Babes of Carytown. This butch vs. femme-themed event featured competitive activities like tug-of-war, potato-sack racing and a water-balloon fight. These two prominent lesbian identities teamed up and clashed in friendly competition throughout the day in pursuit of prizes, notably carabiners — a simple object that has become a recognized symbol within the community.   Participation in the activities required attendees to be 18 or older. Although catered towards lesbians, the event was open for all to enjoy. Abner Clay Park is within walking distance of the Gladding Residence

Summer events in Richmond to look out for

April 29, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer Summer is coming full blast to Richmond and there are many things to do across the city. Whether you are planning ahead or just taking things one day at a time, something is always happening.  From VCU and its surrounding neighborhoods to across the James River, there is an event for everyone. Here are a few to start with. Dance the night away at Maymont Park Celebrating 100 years and hosting its annual summer concert series, Maymont’s spokesperson Melissa Abernathy said the goal is to “create a space where people can slow down and experience both music and landscape together.”  Expect picnics spread across the lawn accompanied by a plethora of musical talent — upcoming shows to include the Punch Brothers and Carbon Leaf — as well as different tours of the gardens that surround the Gilded Age mansion.  More information about their events can be found on their website, maymont.org. Refresh and relax with local watermelons It would not be summer in Richmond without the Carytown Watermelon Festival. Organized by Three One One Productions and held every August, the festival has grown from a neighborhood gathering into a citywide tradition with arts and craft vendors,

Zack Fox gets VCU moving at annual RamFest

April 26, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Zack Fox — actor, rapper, DJ and comedian — dazzled nearly 1,000 people at the Activities Programming Board’s 2026 RamFest at the VCU Student Commons plaza on Thursday.  The APB hosts events for students all year round, and usually ends the school year off with a celebration headlined by big-name artists. Last year, they hosted their take on a Tiny Desk concert headlined by Rico Nasty, with opener Jay Irvine who performed again this year.  Irvine was accompanied by Kwajo and SH1NOB1 on mic, with Aidan Kohn playing guitar and Justin Dono mixing it up on the sound board.  Dono is 22 and started experimenting with DJing 11 years ago alongside Irvine.  “This is crazy, like we actually almost made it. You know? The DJ set I was using was like a CDJ mixing setup. That was my dream setup when I was a 6th grader. So this is a full circle thing,” Dono said.  The events are a part of the APB’s annual Havoc Week, a tradition to round-out the end of the school year. In 2023 they invited Young Nudy to headline, took a break from the big names in 2024 and then started

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