Arts & Culture

Blue Ridge Irish Music School

The Blue Ridge Irish Music School (BRIMS) is dedicated to teaching the living art of traditional Irish music, as well as to fostering a dynamic environment for it in our community.

To carry out this mission BRIMS offers regular classes in Irish traditional music on various instruments, three styles of dance, and presents educational workshops, social events, and ceilis. In addition we sponsor master classes and field trips and actively support the local session scene. Scholarships are available, send us an email for more information.

Charlottesville Ballet Academy

Opened in 2011, Charlottesville Ballet Academy (CBA) is the official training school of the Charlottesville Ballet, Charlottesville’s professional dance company whose mission is to elevate the art of dance through wellness, performance, education, and community outreach. CBA offers training in all dance genres for ages two through adult and offers performance opportunities for young dancers alongside the professional company.

DMR Adventures

DMR Adventures provides professional performing arts training from the professionals. The high caliber of training serves to drive passion, discipline, and commitment in the students with whom we work. Part of this training includes a mentorship program, the Youth Leadership Program. This program allows driven students with an interest in leadership the opportunity to handle responsibilities as members of the creative or technical team on productions and assist or lead classes.

IX Art Park

To spark creativity and inspiration in people’s everyday lives.

Ix Art Park seeks to empower its community through curating welcoming spaces that allow everyone in the community a safe space to exist creatively. The Foundation believes that everyone is an artist and every artist deserves space to exercise their creativity.

The Foundation manages a 24-hour free mural and sculpture art park, Virginia’s first permanent immersive art experience, as well as several community-driven series including weekly markets supporting women and minority entrepreneurs, arts education programs for underserved youth, and creative empowerment programs for the whole community.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center

Located in the historic Jefferson School City Center, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s mission is to honor and preserve the rich heritage and legacy of the African American community of Charlottesville/Albemarle, Virginia and to promote a greater appreciation for and understanding of, the contributions of African Americans and peoples of the Diaspora.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection is the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to the exhibition and study of Indigenous Australian art.

Light House Studio

Throughout the year, we hold workshops and community events that give young people opportunities to build new and lasting skills. In addition to filmmaking and technical abilities our students learn soft skills: collaboration, communication, planning, citizenship, creativity, and empathy.

We remove barriers to access to provide film education for all youth. Workshops take place in school, after school or through community nonprofit partnerships. Our Keep it REEL program provides tuition-free digital filmmaking workshops for under-resourced youth.

We hold workshops for a wide range of ages, from elementary to college freshmen. Our Summer Film Academy is dedicated to teaching the art of filmmaking in 1 to 2-week long workshops. Check out what we have to offer!

Live Arts

Powered by hundreds of volunteers, Live Arts is a national model for engaged community theater. For more than three decades, we’ve dedicated ourselves to the mission of “forging theater and community” in Charlottesville, Virginia. Our engagement in local communities runs deep, and we happily attract participants and audiences from across Central Virginia. We’re known for exceptionally high caliber productions that reflect the remarkable talent of our volunteer actors and production teams.

Live Arts offers year-round, process-driven educational opportunities for children and teens. Our classes, workshops, camps, and youth programs allow fledgling artists to explore all aspects of theater, including acting, playwriting, script analysis, improvisation, musical theater, movement, design, and more. At Live Arts, we provide financial aid for all of our educational opportunities.

MIMA Music

MIMA (Modern Improvisational Music Appreciation) is an educational nonprofit that builds community through collaborative music-making.
We’re based in Charlottesville, VA. We play all over the world.

McGuffey Arts Center

Located one block from the downtown Charlottesville area, McGuffey Art Center is one of the oldest artist-cooperatives in the country, housing 45+ renting artists within the building and 100+ artists within the art center’s association. The artists within our community participate in varying ways to support McGuffey Art Center’s growth through teaching classes and workshops, showcasing works in exhibitions, participating and holding events, and doing community outreach.

Music Resource Center

We foster the youth of Charlottesville through music. The Music Resource Center is a safe, diverse, and creative community where teens learn, grow, and make music together. MRC is affordable to all.
As a nonprofit after-school program, the Music Resource Center provides unlimited voice, instrument, and dance lessons, practice space, mentorship, access to instruments and equipment, performance opportunities, summer camps, and recording studio time to 6th – 12th grade students.

New City Arts

New City Arts Initiative (NCAI) brings together local creators and the local community to spark connection, inquiry, and social transformation. We resource artists to make and share their work and offer programs that welcome diverse audiences to have meaningful encounters with art. Founded in 2009 by members of the local faith community, NCAI honors art’s unique ability to connect people by speaking to deep human experiences. We function as a welcoming hub for people seeking those connections.

Second Street Gallery

Founded in 1973, Second Street Gallery is the oldest nonprofit 501(c)3 contemporary art space in Central Virginia.

We promote contemporary artists through the presentation of their work in a professional gallery and encourage an appreciation of contemporary art by educating the public through exhibitions, lectures, workshops, classes, tours, and publications. Second Street Gallery is committed to offering Charlottesville and the Central Virginia region leading-edge new art in perspective and context, and to fostering an active and open appreciation of this art by directly engaging the issues surrounding works by the best contemporary artists in the field. Second Street Gallery presents 10-14 separate exhibitions each year and a full calendar of related outreach activities that complement its exhibition season.

The Art Bar

The Art Bar is designed to bring out your creative spark. We offer an array of art supplies, including paints, brushes, paper, and more, to help you craft your masterpiece. Our knowledgeable staff are always on hand to offer advice and help you find the right materials for your project.
No reservations needed!

The Bridge PAI

The Bridge builds, strengthens, and supports creative connections by providing financial resources, workspaces, and collaborative opportunities to empower the greater Charlottesville community. We envision a vibrant, accessible arts community that improves cultural, social, environmental, and economic possibilities for our creative world.

The Front Porch

At The Front Porch, we’re more than just a music school. We connect people through music. Our focus on music education extends outside of the walls of our Charlottesville location and into the heart of the city through our Roots & Wings outreach program. Our intimate listening room venue hosts concert experiences that will change your life. And our open jam program draws players from throughout Central Virginia.

The Paramount Theater

The Paramount Theater is a member of the League of Historic American Theaters, and is a significant part of our area’s history. Now a vibrant and versatile venue for performing arts and community events, The Paramount is a vital contributor to Central Virginia’s present and future quality of life as well as an economic driver for the region. As a nonprofit theater with a commitment to accessibility and excellence, The Paramount must rely on the support of donors, foundations and corporations to further its mission and bring the highest quality arts and educational programs to our citizens, while maintaining reasonable ticket prices and keeping rental rates affordable for our community’s many nonprofit arts organizations.

The Paramount averages close to 100,000 visitors annually for our regular performance season and approximately 15,000 students for the Arts Education Program.

The Mary Reese Community Access Fund allows The Paramount to reach out into the community and ensure that all citizens have access to the programs and events the Theater has to offer.

Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia

For 40 years the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia (YOCVA) has provided a full-season symphony orchestra experience for youth living in central Virginia. We currently serve elementary, middle and high school youth in seven Virginia counties. YOCVA comprises two full symphony orchestras, flute and clarinet ensembles, and a junior strings program. Our talent development spans elementary through high school, where, as a Youth Symphony member, students perform original masterworks. The competition is keen for the audition-only membership in the two orchestras, and the training is rigorous with full season weekly rehearsals and three concerts per year. Reaching musicians from diverse backgrounds and academic settings, YOCVA brings young artists together in a mutual, musical learning environment which enriches the arts in our community.

Founded as an outreach organization of the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia, today we complement public school programs reinforcing student development. YOCVA students frequently claim the highest honors in District, Regional, and State competitions. YOCVA also offers an avenue to private and home-schooled children who do not have access to other programs.