Despite all of the challenges this year has presented, CultureWorks is excited to announce that artoberVA 2020 is happening virtually! artoberVA is a month-long celebration of arts and culture in Richmond and the Tri-Cities. artoberVA promotes events, pop-ups, exhibits, science, history, collaborations, and any arts or culture experience happening in the Richmond & Tri-Cities area every October. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are shifting gears this year to celebrate arts and culture virtually in order to ensure that our community remains safe. In addition to virtual events and experiences, we will also be focusing on in-person events that follow appropriate health and safety guidelines.

A few weeks ago, CultureWorks issued a survey to artists and arts and culture organizations in the region to gauge interest in artoberVA. The results were extremely helpful in making our decisions for this year’s celebrations!

• Nearly 70% of respondents are likely to extremely likely to participate in artoberVA 2020, knowing that programming will be mostly virtual.

• While there is uncertainty around whether or not collaborations are possible and what they would look like, there is still an eager willingness to try to figure it out!

• We found an overall appreciation for the value of artoberVA and its impact in our community and the desire for it to continue.

We concluded that artoberVA 2020 must go on because arts and culture are vital for a happy, healthy, and successful community, especially during times of crisis.

This year, artoberVA will have a heavier emphasis on cultural equity, consistent with the strategic plan we adopted in February and responsive to the recent turmoil in our nation. In response to social distancing from COVID-19, and as a tool to help us process the current protests and civil unrest, people in our region are seeking a sense of community and a conduit for personal expression through arts and culture.

The overarching goals of artoberVA will remain the same:

• to increase awareness of and participation in our region's abundant arts and culture community

• to highlight events from every genre, and

• to spotlight a variety of diverse organizations and artists.

artoberVA reaches deeper into the Richmond and Tri-Cities region through key focus areas.

Virtual Collaborations

Cross-pollination between different disciplines in art, culture, and local business, strengthens our community by exposing audiences to new experiences. We’ll spotlight artists and organizations who are using Zoom, Facebook and Instagram LIVE, and other online platforms to offer collaborative events throughout the month.

Family Friendly Events

The family that engages in experiences together are richer for it! Teaching our children to enjoy arts and culture is an important step in creating future audiences. We’ll spotlight educational events, online resources, and family friendly content throughout artoberVA 2020.

Pop-ups

Free, accessible, spontaneous, temporary culture & arts experiences are not only fun, they draw new audiences from the general public and increase your visibility. Social media will enable us to share LIVE virtual pop-up performances from various local artists and groups!

Art in New Locations

Inclusive arts and culture experiences that provide interactive opportunities are an important way to connect with all populations in Richmond and the Tri-Cities area. Virtual scavenger hunts, here we come!

While we are still in the process of planning artoberVA, there are a few things you can do right now:

• Add your virtual October events to our Arts & Culture Calendar. These can be artist talks, behind the scenes live-stream tours and more; think outside the box from traditional events and performances. The sooner they're uploaded, the easier it is for us to promote them!

• Upload in-person events as well! While artoberVA this year will largely focus on virtual events, we encourage you to share your events that are following current health guidelines. Health and safety remain a critical priority.

• Start to spread the word that artoberVA 2020 is happening via social media, word of mouth, e-blasts, megaphone (ha!), or any other form of broadcast. Tag @artoberVA and use #artoberVA!

• Purchase a Limited Edition Richmond Cityscape t-shirt via Bonfire, benefiting CultureWorks! These will be available now through the end of artoberVA 2020 (9/2 - 10/31) only. Image designed by Ajah Courts in partnership with Studio Two Three.

• Ready to Dig In? E-mail Erin Frye (erin@richmondcultureworks.org) if you're interested in being a Champion Partner for artoberVA 2020!