By Leah Johnston

Over the last decade, Richmond has been known for its flourishing culture in a smaller-scale, affordable Southern city. CNN Travel named Richmond America’s Best Town to Visit in 2024. Virginia’s capital city centers around the James River, whose park system is rated 22nd in the country by the Trust for Public Land, which also noted that “80% of Richmond residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.” As the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, the city is deeply rooted in a complex history. Richmond is also acclaimed for its excellent restaurant scene, including the ever-popular Stella’s, Lunch Supper, and Lemaire. In the last few decades, the city has seen yet another facet of culture thrive: the arts.

According to ARTnews, the top art hubs in the country are, unsurprisingly, the densely populated cities of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. However, these population centers have a higher cost of living, whereas small-to-medium sized cities are more affordable to an artist who is living off of gig money, commission art, and other less predictable means. Richmond is an unassuming artistic center because it has the variety and opportunities of a larger metropolis, but is less expensive, has less traffic, and has the slower pace of life of a Southern city. 

Students work in one of VCUarts’ many studios. Photo credit: Virginia Commonwealth University.

Richmond’s growing status as an artistic city is, in part, indebted to Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts (VCUarts). On College Advisor, powered by U.S. News and World Report, VCUarts is ranked the 11th-best art school in the country, above Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Consistently bringing young, talented artists and performers to the city keeps the arts scene fresh and ever-evolving. Casey Henley is a theatre student in the class of 2026 at VCU. Henley recently made her professional debut in Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after months of auditioning for shows around town. In correspondence with The Match, she described the Richmond arts scene as “truly intimate and always lovely to see some familiar faces.” Henley plans to move to Chicago or New York City after she graduates with her BFA, but said that going to school in Richmond was intentional: “I specifically chose to go to a school in a smaller city in order to have access to more opportunities before I move to a more populated area.”

Even among similarly sized cities in the Southeast, the Richmond arts scene is particularly strong. The Richmond Symphony leads the area in orchestral music, incorporating classical music with pop culture through events such as the “Pops” Series. Concerts in the Pops series are full orchestra arrangements of music in pop culture, such as the Harry Potter or Star Wars film scores. On February 3, 2024, Richmond Symphony blended classical Mahler’s “Resurrection” symphony with music by the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac in The Resurrection Mixtape. The familiarity of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac encouraged a younger generation, one typically less interested in classical music, to attend the performance.

Students rehearsing with the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra. Photo credit: Richmond Symphony School of Music.

The Richmond Symphony also has an outstanding Youth Orchestra Program. Collegiate musician Eleanor Qureshi (‘26) is a percussionist for Collegiate’s orchestra and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra. In an interview with The Match, she reflected, “I used to live in New Jersey, 45 minutes outside [New York City], and although it has amazing opportunities… there’s much more competition.” Since moving to Richmond in 2021, Qureshi has taken full advantage of the accessibility of Richmond arts: “I wanted an internship with the Richmond Symphony, and that would never be possible with the New York Symphony.” Qureshi hopes to stay in Richmond for college to pursue an Arts Administration major and stay involved with the scene.

Kehinde Wiley’s Rumors of War statue unveiled in New York’s Times Square prior to its permanent installation in Richmond. Photo credit: Kylie Corwin.

Beyond the city’s outstanding music, the visual arts are also well-renowned. Travel website Lonely Planet describes the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) as “the cornerstone of the local arts scene.” But the VMFA’s influence extends far beyond only Richmond. Critic Philip Kennicott of The Washington Post regards the VMFA as “a regional museum with national importance.” The VMFA is famous for its Fabergé, African, and Art Nouveau collections. In recent years, the VMFA caught the nation’s attention when they acquired Kehinde Wiley’s Rumors of War sculpture. The sculpture depicts a modern Black man on horseback in front of the museum on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, a direct reference to the Confederate monument of J.E.B. Stuart, which formerly stood nearby on Monument Avenue and was removed in 2020 by the City of Richmond. Not only is the visual arts scene thriving, but it is evolving to remain relevant.

A sold-out performance of Richmond Ballet’s Moving Art One at the VMFA’s Leslie Cheek Theater. Photo credit: Sarah Ferguson.

The performing arts also have a powerful foothold in the Richmond arts community. Richmond Ballet is well-known throughout Richmond for their annual holiday production of The Nutcracker, whose cast includes adult dancers from the Company and youth dancers from the School of Richmond Ballet, occasionally including Collegiate students. The Ballet recently welcomed Ma Cong as their new Artistic Director, taking over the role previously held by Stoner Winslet. This year, Richmond Ballet also returned to the newly renovated Leslie Cheek Theatre at the VMFA for the first time since the 1990s. Their Moving Art performances, which were formerly known as the Studio Series, will bridge the work of visual artists with different styles of dance. 

Richmond is also home to many theatre companies, including Firehouse Theatre, Richmond Triangle Players (RTP), and Richmond Shakespeare. Actor and Collegiate groundskeeper David Janosik has been acting in Richmond since he was a kid. Last winter, he was offered the role of Mr. Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Virginia Repertory Theatre. After that show’s run finished, he auditioned for the musical Waitress, also at the Rep, which will run this summer. In an interview with The Match, Janosik shared that he loves Richmond’s “variety for every artistic taste.” From an arts perspective, he characterized Richmond as a “Southern city with a Northern mentality,” or having an ability to combine “classical and avant garde.” He appreciates the distinct focuses of each theatre company. For example, Firehouse is known for producing new plays, RTP is devoted to sharing LGBTQ+ stories, and Richmond Shakespeare specializes in their Shakespeare Festival outdoors at Agecroft Hall. He concluded, “Richmond, because of diversity, has made me a better actor, and more castable.”

While the arts scene on the whole is thriving, it has also faced challenges. Arts around the world suffered immensely due to restrictions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. When the pandemic first began, most arts organizations, along with the rest of the world, stayed closed. The VMFA was closed for the first four months of the pandemic. They adjusted to virtual galleries and exhibition tours to keep the public connected to art, and when they reopened in July 2020 they limited museum capacity, required face masks, and encouraged families and groups to socially distance in the galleries. Local dance, music, and theatrical performances were canceled to prevent large groups from congregating. Other organizations were not fortunate enough to adapt their arts for an in-person audience safely.

Virginia Rep’s November Theater on Broad Street. Photo credit: Virginia Repertory Theatre.

In Richmond, some organizations are still bouncing back from the era. Richmond Shakespeare canceled their production of Jesus Christ Superstar in December 2024, while Virginia Rep canceled Fat Ham in February 2025. Both organizations cited financial concerns as the reason for the cancellations. This year, Virginia Rep has been facing a profound financial crisis. In September 2024, the Rep announced that unless they received a $600,000 infusion within two weeks, they would be forced to close. The Theatre was able to raise this sum but still faces a 1.7 million dollar deficit, which is attributed to a failed building sale and leadership changes. In an effort to restructure their finances, the Rep listed their Northside educational property for sale. 

Virginia Rep is not the only arts non-profit in Richmond that needs to restructure their finances. Over the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has granted Virginia $16,639,290. Arts organizations, particularly non-profits, often depend on federal, state, and donor funds to operate. However, two executive orders from the current Trump administration limit grant funding to projects 1) “promoting ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and 2) programs that do not align with the “policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female” or include “gender ideology.” These executive orders could severely impact the funding that arts organizations receive from the federal government, and recent Trump administration cuts to NEA funding have impacted arts programs around the country. 

Despite the challenges faced by some local arts organizations, Collegiate’s arts department continues to thrive, serving as a microcosm of the greater Richmond arts scene. 

Collegiate’s Director of the Arts Mike Boyd, who oversees the school’s visual and performing arts programs for students JK-12, believes that “Collegiate’s great arts is a reflection of a city that really supports art.” Boyd grew up in the region and has been involved with the Richmond arts scene since he was a teenager. He started playing local clubs as a drummer at age 14, eventually forming the band Fighting Gravity and touring the US professionally for many years. Boyd now interacts with the arts daily from a business and administrative side. In an interview with The Match, Boyd shared his appreciation for the opportunity to expand his view of the arts beyond music at Collegiate. His mantra is that every day he “puts good art into the world” is a successful day. 

Boyd said that at Collegiate and in Richmond, “most people don’t realize how amazing our artists are.” Several of Collegiate’s talented arts faculty have significant ties to the Richmond arts scene. Theatre Production Technicians Gabe Yelanjian and Andy Santalla both attended VCUarts at the same time. Upper School Theatre Director Steve Perigard has performed in and directed dozens of shows around Richmond, with credits at many local theatre companies, including Cadence Theatre Company, Virginia Rep, and Richmond Shakespeare. Perigard also served as Interim Co-Artistic Director for Virginia Rep in 2021.

When asked if he was concerned with the financial situation at Virginia Rep and around the city, Boyd stated that while many organizations will “need a new business model” in response to changes in funding, the arts scene will continue to be resilient and find ways to thrive.

An Upper School strings ensemble performs with masks in winter 2022. Photo credit: Taylor Dabney.

Along with the city’s arts organizations having to be resilient and adapt during the height of pandemic, Collegiate was also challenged to find ways to create art when musicians, dancers, actors, and audience members were masked and social distancing. Fortunately for Collegiate student artists, the School’s ability to operate in-person during the 2020-2021 school year kept the arts running, with some modifications. This ability to continue arts education was a privilege many students attending other schools were not afforded. In her May 2022 Match article “The Resilience of Collegiate’s Arts Program,” Emily Deskevich (‘22) wrote, “Collegiate’s ability to keep going helped develop a larger interest and support of Collegiate arts, audience-wise, since the pandemic. An increase in attendance since the return to live, in-person audiences, has brought along with it sold-out shows and more interest from younger students.” 

Those younger students are now in the Upper School, and there has been an increase in audience attendance. The 2024 Honors Dance Showcase, held in the Seal Dance Studio on November 21, 2024, was packed with attendees. Students who came to support their peers at the show sat on the ground or stood in the back, once all seats had been filled. The support of Collegiate’s students, faculty, and staff for the arts is astounding.

An architectural rendering of Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, opening summer 2025. Image credit: Richmond Magazine.

As artists continue to move to Richmond, and the arts scene continues along a positive trajectory, moving away from the COVID-19 era, the future for the visual and performing arts in Richmond is dazzling. This summer, the Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, a venue capable of hosting 7,500 people, will open. Since the closing of the Richmond Coliseum in 2019, larger, more well-known artists have not been as attracted to Richmond. Concerts still happened at The National, Brown’s Island, and even Maymont, but none at the expected scale of the new amphitheater. When the amphitheater opens in summer 2025, Dave Matthews Band, Glass Animals, and Boyz II Men are all slated to perform, and more show announcements for this year are expected.

The River City’s art scene has a prosperous future ahead. The arts connect Richmond and its inhabitants through shared stories, celebration, and community. Writer and monk Thomas Merton said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” The arts rely on support from the public. Set aside a few hours to get lost in a museum, become enveloped in a story told through theatre or dance, or feel the energy of live music. Support the arts at Collegiate and in the region by purchasing tickets to a show, exhibition, or event today.

Featured image courtesy of VCUarts.