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Articles by Kate Nowak
Multiethnic Russian dance troupe brings culture and music to ODU
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo via Barynya Ensemble The Barynya Ensemble travels the world and presents dance, music and song from various ethnic and cultural groups in Europe and Asia. The touring Barynya Ensemble represents a range of traditional dances, including Roma, Ukrainian, Cossack and Russian. These dancers have stomped, kicked and leaped around the country in styles reflective of their Cossack, Jewish, Ukrainian, Roma or Russian origins.
On Saturday, Zeiders honors local creative spirits who rarely stand on stage
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo courtesy of Liana Courts Liana Courts, chair of the visual arts department at the Governor's School for the Arts, on a ladder, helping her students paint a mural on Olney Avenue in an undated photo. Courts will be honored at the Z Creativity Honors on Sat., Oct. 17. The Z Creativity Honors recognizes people in nontraditional performance fields, such as medicine, government and education, who make an impact in the arts community.
Walk among the Tuskegee Airmen in a new immersive show at Virginia Beach museum
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo via Rouge: Theater Reinvented Production image from the 'Tuskegee: An Immersive Experience,' which runs Sept. 17 through 26 at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented is producing the show, set among the vintage WWII aircraft at the Military Aviation Museum. Junior's studying — reciting theorems on airplane mechanics, navigation methods and gunnery tactics — led to this point.
Norfolk Zine Fest on Saturday: 'The best secrets are always on paper.'
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Kate Nowak Eleanorah-Pearl Antons working on zines, mini-magazines, at her Norfolk home. The hand-crafted books have resurged in popularity, artists say, as people want to disconnect from social media and AI-generated content. The annual festival invites artists and readers to share, sell and discuss zines, compact, mini-magazines that have been growing in popularity — again. As a kid, Eleanorah-Pearl Antons loved comics.
Exhibition at Norfolk Botanical Garden encourages people to 'Bloom'
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Kate Nowak Jaida Garrison recently opened a solo show, 'Bloom,' at Norfolk Botanical Garden. She also co-creates a monthly immersive art program, 'The Doper Show,' on YouTube. Artist Jaida Garrison's solo exhibition, 'Bloom,' highlights the light and dark, beautiful and distorted aspects of life, she said.
Community and connection at Saturday's 'Womxn's Fest' in Norfolk Original
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Kate Nowak The gallery of paintings, 'Unsung,' highlights unknown women in history. The display is at Zeke's cafe on Granby Street in Norfolk. The artwork will be on sale as part of a Womxn's Fest on Saturday at The Plot. Friends Alyssa McGuire and Savannah Kerrick created the Womxn's Connective more than a year ago to create a network of female-identifying artists and vendors.
'The Barber of Seville' gets a new look in GSA's 'Groom and Glow.'
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo courtesy of The Governor's School for the Arts Governor's school alums, DJ King Rico, left, and Will Liverman, during a rehearsal of their opera,' Factotum: The Groom & Glow Lounge.' It is their take on the classic, 'The Barber of Seville.' Opera star Will Liverman and producer DJ King Rico are staging their opera with their alma mater, The Governor's School for the Arts. The shows are Friday and Saturday.
Find out 'what remains' at the Hermitage Museum and ROŪGE's new venture
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Samuel Flint A scene from "What Remains: An Immersive Audio Journey" at the Hermitage Museum & Gardens in Norfolk. It is the 10th year that The ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented has created an immersive production. The show runs Thursdays through Saturdays through April 4. The ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented marks its 10-year collaboration with the Hermitage Museum & Gardens with an immersive story loosely based on Hermitage co-founder, Florence Sloane.
Virginia Arts Festival opens season this week with the famed BalletX
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Whiney Browne / Courtesy of BalletX Lanie Jackson in Nicola Wills’ “Two People in Love Never Shake Hands.” Lanie Jackson, a former dancer and teacher at Ballet Virginia in Norfolk, will be performing Thursday in the Arts Festival's season opener. Each morning, Lanie Jackson stretches and shakes off the rust of sleep before strapping into her pointe shoes for her 9:00 a.m. company class.
Sunday talk looks at Richmond-born Moses Ezekiel - Jewish, Confederate, artist
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Courtesy of Samantha Baskind Author Samantha Baskind is the Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University in Ohio. She is the guest speaker at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk on Sunday, Dec. 14. Professor Samantha Baskind, author of a book about Moses Jacob Ezekiel, will discuss his work at the Chrysler Museum, particularly his series of sculptures at Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
'& Juliet' Imagines a Life Beyond Romeo in the hit Broadway show coming to Norfolk
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Evan Zimmerman Fabiola Caraballo Quijada in the North American Tour of "& JULIET." The tour comes to Norfolk at Chrysler Hall Dec. 3-6. In '& Juliet', Shakespeare and his wife tinker with the plot of 'Romeo & Juliet' and throw in contemporary pop hits to tell a new story. Shakespeare's famous star-crossed lovers will appear in Norfolk from Wednesday through Saturday, but this time, Juliet gets a second chance at a happy ending.
Is that Macbeth in the kitchen? Immersive theater hits home this weekend
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Courtesy of ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented One night. Three parties. ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented is hosting "PlayNight" on Saturday, Nov. 15. Three homes in Norfolk will become the setting for scenes from three popular shows. Patrons pick their play and can be a silent bystander or join the show. The evening is a fundraiser for ROŪGE.
Dead Petals Press, a new mobile bookstore, coming to a parking lot near you
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Kate Nowak JB Akers opened Dead Petals Press, a mobile bookstore, in August to feature independent authors, particularly local writers. The trailer also carries local coffee beans, handmade soaps and reading accessories. JB Akers recently bought an old trailer and outfitted it with shelves to become a cozy, mobile bookstore. She carries a variety of genres by independent authors.
Ballet Virginia's 'Petite Matinee' aims to bring more children to the theater
Arts & Culture Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Photo by Victoria Romulo Emmanuel Patterson, left, as the Wolf and Lauryn Hedelund as Little Red Riding Hood in a scene from Ballet Virginia's "Petite Matinee" in Virginia Beach on Nov. 8 BV's Saturday, 'Petite Matinee," is a new program for families. It features crafts and activities before the show to introduce children to the world of dance.
Artist threading Filipino culture and local history into a mural near ODU
Cans of paint waited by a gray brick wall, which was covered in messy black lines. The artist was above, on a ladder, sketching what would become an homage to Norfolk history and Filipino heritage, linked by a crimson line. A passerby beckoned to the artist, wanting to know more. Muralist Venazir Martinez started her “red thread movement” in the Philippines; in every mural she paints, she includes her signature scarlet string, connecting each piece to her previous works.
LAVA block party on Saturday bubbles over with creative spirit, music
Chappell Roans, with wild red hair, bedazzled Western wear and drag makeup, performed not at the Pink Pony Club, but at last year’s LAVA Halloween Extravaganza in Norfolk. The family-friendly event returns Saturday to Toast and Perro Blanco on the corner of Colonial Avenue and West 24th Street for its ninth year of food, drinks, a costume contest and live music. This year, local artists are channeling performers such as James Brown, Rage Against the Machine, Heart and Smashing Pumpkins.
The 10th annual NEON Festival this week marks a decade of art and entertainment
Dance concerts in church, skate parks in alleyways and caricatures in the courtyard — the NEON Festival will use every inch of the NEON District Thursday and Friday to showcase the area’s artistic, culinary and historic diversity. For the 10th anniversary of the district and festival, attendees can learn about the history of the area, which stretches from St. Paul’s Boulevard to Yarmouth Street.
'Great Filipino American ASWANG Pageant' combines folklore, fiends and fun
Pageant contestants in dazzling ballgowns and glittery makeup parade around the stage, showing off their sunny smiles, beautiful voices and favorite ways to eat human flesh. "The Great Filipino American ASWANG Pageant" debuts these glamorous monsters at Old Dominion University on Thursday. Playwright Kat Stevens said the aswang, a shape-shifting creature in Filipino folklore, is often used as a catchall for disasters and misfortunes.
A unique art idea started as a secret and bloomed into a beauty
A 10-by-4-foot painting hangs in a crowded corridor, the mismatched panels of watercolor creating a larger-than-life mosaic of flowers. The collaboration among 10 artists was kept secret from the public — and the artists themselves — until the boards covering each panel were recently removed one by one to reveal the full picture.
Egyptian festival in Hampton this weekend is a 'community service.'
The smell of hot kebabs and the strum of the lute will snake through a bustling bazaar this weekend in Hampton. The 18th Egyptian Festival, hosted by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, will offer a slice of authentic food, culture and history. Tom Miller, head of youth programming and education at the church, said that the history of Egypt and its influence on Christianity are rarely taught in America.
'It's just like an art school, almost.' Creative Well opens near the Oceanfront
Paintings and metalwork of the endangered Whooping Crane line the gallery walls while artist Jessica Folck chats with visitors who have wandered in through the building’s open garage door. To the right, two resident artists work in their studios while they chat through their open doors. Shelves of art supplies line the classroom walls and the tables are stained by every imaginable color of paint.
The joy of a school book fair - with rooftop views, wine and beer
Live music, adult beverages and cozy reads are drawing bookworms into Norfolk for The Ghent Rooftop Bar’s Boozy Bookfair Thursday and Friday. Raina Mayhugh, the event’s organizer and co-owner of the bar, said she wanted to recreate the excitement of elementary school book fairs, but for adults. “It was always the best day at school.” So Mayhugh started inviting local independent bookshops and readers to the restaurant in The Palace Shops & Station on 21st Street.
Love & loss at Lynnhaven: 'Romeo & Juliet' set at a historic home in Virginia Beach
A disillusioned young man making films about a world he doesn’t understand falls for the beautiful and willful heiress to a real estate empire. These star-crossed lovers are the faces of the ROŪGE’s production of “Romeo & Juliet,” which will be performed on the grounds of the historic Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach beginning Thursday. The show runs through June 21. The characters have a contemporary silhouette.
International Night Market Series returns to the ViBe Creative District
Last May, the quiet cul-de-sac of 20th Street was transformed as the air filled with the sound and smells of sizzling foods. Pulsing music brought colorfully dressed performers, couples and young children to their feet. The Virginia Beach street buzzed with vendors, artists and hundreds at the first International Market Night. The evening reminded Victor Leite, the event’s creator, of growing up in Brazil, which is why he wanted to replicate the experience.
DJ Mike Arlo still rockin' and rollin' with his listeners after 50 years
The “on-air” sign lights up outside Mike Arlo’s Chesapeake studio as he emerges from Pink Floyd’s “Money.” “Arlo on your radio—welcome to the Electric Lunch!” he says, his signature handlebar mustache nearly touching the mic. Today, like most, he’s wearing one of his 28 Mayflower Marathon Food Drive T-shirts. The food drive is one of his favorite community partnerships. Arlo picks up the blinking request line.
Williamsburg marks the 250th anniversary of 'the shot not heard around the world'
During the early morning of April 21, 1775, bored guards abandoned their posts at the Williamsburg Powder Magazine, where the town kept its ammunition. Virginia Governor John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, was waiting for this opportunity. He ordered his men to seize the gunpowder. Caught in the act, he told the angry townspeople that his men were taking their stores as a precaution against the threat of slave revolts. But really, Lord Dunmore feared the colonists, and they realized it.
Governor's school alum dancing his way to success in Arts Fest opener this week
Chesapeake native Adam Ross has played the bugle boy from Paul Taylor’s “Company B " and danced in works such as “Classic Kitetails” and “New Moon” by Erik Hawkins. This week, Ross performs in Hampton Roads as a rabbit, a woman and a madman in the world-touring production of "ALICE," the season opener for the Virginia Arts Festival. “It’s always been a part of who I am,” the 24-year-old said about dance.
Norfolk native returns home with Navy Band and performs in free concert Tuesday
Turns out there were a lot of gay soldiers in the Confederacy & they were probably all boinking - Queerty We know there have always been queer people throughout history. But if we are to believe that fact, it means accepting an uncomfortable truth: not …
Norfolk native returns home with Navy Band and performs in free concert Tuesday
Norview High senior Danlie Cuenca knew she was a good singer. But when she performed in the school’s 2013 talent show, she already had plans for a military career. She was a member of the school's nationally ranked Navy ROTC and thrived under its structure and camaraderie. After the talent show, her choir director’s husband—a retired Navy musician— told Cuenca that the Navy hires vocalists. The Norfolk native saw the opportunity to combine her passions into a career.
Training 'mutts' for a critical mission -- helping disabled vets and first responders
Twenty-something puppies and their handlers filled the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach audience to watch a dress rehearsal. A handful of ears perked during a few loud scenes, but the dogs lay quietly on their mats. The theater invited Mutts with a Mission to give the actors an audience before opening night and the dogs practice with live entertainment. Mutts with a Mission is a nonprofit that trains dogs to aid veterans and first responders who acquire disabilities on the job.
Ampersand Fest bringing in rappers, artists, dancers to Williamsburg this week
For most of his life, comedian James “Murr” Murray came to Williamsburg with his family for fun, especially at Busch Gardens. This week Murray, star of the popular TV show “Impractical Jokers,” will be in Williamsburg to be funny. He’s one headliner of the annual Ampersand International Arts Festival, which runs Monday through Sunday.
Alma Deutscher conducts 'Cinderella' this weekend - an opera she wrote at age 10
Alma Deutscher began playing piano when she was 2. By age 5, she composed songs from her imaginary country, “Transylvanian.” At 10, she wrote her first opera, “Cinderella,” her version of the fairy tale centers around music. A decade later, the British composer joins the Virginia Arts Festival to perform with other young talents from the Governor's School for the Arts this Saturday. Deutscher never liked being called a child prodigy; she feels people will hesitate to take her work seriously.
'Little Shop of Horrors' feeding love, fun and good music at the Wells Theatre
After 40 years, Seymour is still the sweet, spineless florist pining for his coworker, Audrey. He’s still misguided as he finds fame and fortune from a plant that can talk, sing and needs human blood to grow. The Virginia Stage Company’s “Little Shop of Horrors” starts Wednesday and keeps recognizable elements of the popular musical with new twists. “It is a tremendous amount of foam and fabric and a detailed structure underneath,” director Tom Quaintance said about the Audrey II puppets.
"Fat Ham," a delectable play with sides of humor and heart, at Wells Theatre through Sunday
“Fat Ham,” by James Ijames, is a modern take on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and uses biting humor, absurdly big personalities and heart to explore familial tensions and cultural expectations in the context of a Southern barbecue. The Pulitzer-prize-winning show, produced by the Virginia Stage Co., features Juicy, our modern Hamlet, who grapples with what it means to be a young queer Black man rejecting the violent and hardened examples of manhood he’s always known.
Discarded tampon dispensers, pens and lighters are the tools renowned artist Duke Riley uses in his solo exhibition, "O’er the Wide and Plastic Sea," opening this weekend in Virginia Beach
Artist Duke Riley used match heads, tampon applicators and seashells — collected from the shores of Virginia Beach — to create a mosaic of a cargo ship barging through an ocean filled with whales. The piece, “O’er the Wide and Plastic Sea,” is one of several in his show at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, which opens this weekend. The exhibition weaves humor, nautical-inspired art, his love of maritime history and concern for environmental destruction.
The 2025 Tattoo honors birthdays of the Army, Navy and Marines
The 2025 Virginia International Tattoo will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps starting April 24. The Tattoo debuted at the Norfolk Scope in 1997 with one show. It now fills an entire weekend with performances, and attracts fans of military bands and music. This year’s event, a part of the Virginia Arts Festival, has four performances featuring more than 800 military and civilian performers from seven nations.
Scrooge and Sherlock come together for Virginia Stage Company’s pair of holiday shows
The Virginia Stage Company presents “A Merry Little Christmas” and its sequel “A Sherlock Carol” in repertory at the Wells Theater in Norfolk, meaning an original and sequel are performed in the same season – and in some cases, the same day. Both productions will continue throughout December. “A Merry Little Christmas” takes a traditional staging of the classic “A Christmas Carol” story, with added elements of self-referential humor and some new interpretations of the original characters.
Yorkie’s in Virginia Beach teaches local students, serves community
Local chef Kip Poole’s cooking and community focus are inseparable. He picks herbs from the garden he started at W.T Cooke Elementary, partners with local farms and breweries, and on Saturdays, he rides his bike to the local farmer’s market to gather produce for the week. “It’s kind of a no-brainer,” Poole said.
Norfolk’s first ReUse Festival will teach about composting, jewelry repair and more
The first ReUse Festival, organized by Keep Norfolk Beautiful and Norfolk Public Libraries, showcases creative ways to reduce waste. The free event features workshops, environmental organizations and local artisans showing residents how to upcycle, repurpose and repair a variety of materials. Visitors can also learn about topics like composting, jewelry making and repair, basic hand sewing, basket weaving and decorative metal-working.
Norfolk celebrates more than 100 years of Virginia’s first public library open to Black visitors
The first publicly-funded African American library in Virginia recently celebrated its 103rd anniversary of providing support and resources for Norfolk residents. Blyden Public Library started in a room in Booker T. Washington High School for Black residents. Part of that was because of the legacy of Virginia’s anti-literacy laws, which criminalized Black peoples’ attempts to learn to read and write, said Vincent Greer, director at Blyden.
Virginia MOCA’s Made In VA exhibit is the biggest yet with 61 Virginia artists
For more than 30 years, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art’s Made in VA Biennial has featured local artists from around the state and this year’s series is the largest yet, with 87 works by 61 artists on display until Jan. 5. “When it started, it was just open to members,” said Heather Hakiamzadeh, senior curator at the Virginia MOCA. The series’ popularity has exploded, and the museum received a record number of 699 submissions this year and can give artists the biggest awards yet.
“We can break the rules”: Virginia MOCA exhibit examines identity with AI-generated art
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“We can break the rules”: Virginia MOCA exhibit examines identity with AI-generated art
Nikki Leone’s “Rule Breaker” exhibit comes to the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art to challenge preconceived notions of art, identity, and following — or breaking — tradition. The exhibit, which features AI-generated pieces like a dog with grills, a “bi-racial” swirl ice cream cone and a vacuum cleaner decorated like a hot rod low-rider car, breaks down some of the barriers and rules that dictate customs of what makes something masculine motherly or more broadly, what makes something art.
Virginia MOCA invites you to talk to bees in new exhibit
The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art has three “bee hotels” in its new exhibit, “Tell the Bees.” Artist Heather Beardsley tackles themes of environmental change and biodiversity in her exhibit, which features hotels for bees, some of which have microphones connected to small speakers softly playing directly to bee larvae. A total of eight bee hotels will reside throughout Hampton Roads until September 15.
Virginia Beach arts groups and schools bring murals to city schools
A collaboration between the ViBe Creative District and Virginia Beach Public Schools commissioned murals by 17 local artists for 17 schools to engage students in art. The theme is ‘Better Together,’ which focuses on diversity and unity. The murals are bright, fun and inspiring, often with themes of nature and inclusivity. “Art is so vitally important to the education of children,” said Kimberly Jones, the muralist for Thalia Elementary School.
Artist Adeye Jean-Baptiste explores liberation, belonging at Juneteenth Glass After Dark event
New York-based glass artist Adeye Jean-Baptiste will host a special Glass After Dark eventat the Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio for Juneteenth. They spoke with Kate Nowak for WHRO before hosting the event. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Kate Nowak: Thanks so much for talking with me today Adeye. The Glass After Dark Juneteenth celebration features your glass blowing art to celebrate the holiday. What are some of the themes that we can expect to see in your work?
The largest collection of Indigenous Canadian art is on display at the Chrysler Museum
Norfolk is the third and final stop in the U.S. for the first large-scale survey of Canadian Indigenous art to travel internationally. “Early Days: Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection” is on display at The Chrysler Museum of Art and features more than 100 paintings, sculptures and photographs spanning several centuries and from across North America.
Virginia Beach’s ViBe District will add more public art with first mural festival
The ViBe Creative District, both a neighborhood and nonprofit in Virginia Beach, continues to solidify its 15-block span as a place that fosters art and community with its first street art festival this month. Fifteen artists will paint their own neighborhood identifier in the district from May 30 to June 2, a weekend that coincides with the Jackalope Festival and Point Break Reggae Festival.
Virginia Beach artist brings Filipino quiltmaking to the Museum of Contemporary Art
Virginia Beach artist Rowena Finn is the latest to take residency in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Artist in Residence program to show off a new blend of traditional American and Filipino art mediums—Filipino quiltmaking. “There’s a huge history of the importance of quilting, the family stories passed down,” Finn said. Although there is a huge cultural significance of quiltmaking in many white and Black cultures, the concept doesn’t really exist in Filipino culture.
Virginia Beach’s neighborhood performances “makes a big city feel like a small town”
Virginia Beach’s new Arts all Over program brings free mainstream performances to neighborhoods to enhance the reach and distribution of arts throughout the city. The Roūge VA Theater curated this year’s programming which explores the theme of “home.” The pilot program uses non-traditional venues like the Military Aviation Museum, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia and the Simon Family Jewish Community Center.
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