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Tessa Ader with the Ader Emerging Artists with the Charlottesville Opera

Celebrating the Life Tessa Ader

The recent passing of historic UVA Arts benefactor Tessa Ader marked the final chapter of a life filled with love, art, a sense of adventure, and a legacy that will enrich the UVA and Charlottesville communities for generations to come. Ader’s historic lead $50 million gift to fund the building of a performing arts center is the largest gift to the arts in the University’s history and will transform the arts landscape by providing a state-of-the-art home for concerts, dance, theater and interdisciplinary art forms.

February 5, 2026
A movie poster with the title, "Silents Scored: Live" in large white letters. Behind the title is a collage of various male and female silent films stars.
Film

Silence is Golden: Celebrating the History of Silent Films

Matt Marshall is a film lecturer, screenwriter, composer, and accompanist. He teaches Cinema as Art and Screenwriting at the University of Virginia and Film Appreciation for Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Prison Education Program. He has been composing and performing live music to classic silent films for over 20 years with the Virginia Film Festival and other venues throughout the Commonwealth.

https://engagement.virginia.edu/learn/thoughts-from-the-lawn/20260204-Marshall

Bright orange background with a flower boarder. In the center says "Virginia Theatre Festival" in white letters, the word "Theatre" larger than the rest.
Drama

Virginia Theatre Festival Announces 2026 Season

The Virginia Theatre Festival’s 2026 season will open on Saturday, June 20 with the melodramatic madcap romp, Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty. VTF’s 52nd season runs through July 26 and will also feature the Tony Award-winning musical Disney’s Newsies and Frida…A Self Portrait, a one-woman show that explores and celebrates the life, art, and enduring legacy of legendary artist and cultural icon Frida Kahlo. The Virginia Theatre Festival is a program of the University of Virginia, with support from the Office of the Provost, Vice Provost for the Arts, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Drama, and The Caplin Foundation.

https://virginiatheatrefestival.org/virginia-theatre-festival-announces-2026-season/

Large black letters in the top left corner say "ABCs" and the rest of the page is filled with the alphabet with colorful backgrounds. The bottom right says "of the UVA Library."
Visual Art

From Artists’ Books to Zines — the ABCs of the UVA Library

The idea was simple but ambitious: stage an “ABCs” exhibition spotlighting UVA Library collections, entirely curated by Library staff. The exhibition would showcase the breadth of the Library’s holdings, and also serve as a welcome for new University Librarian and Dean of Libraries Leo Lo, who was set to begin at UVA just days before the opening.

https://library.virginia.edu/news/2026/artists-books-zines-abcs-uva-library?mtm_campaign=em&mtm_kwd=sub

A blonde man in a white jacket adjusts a large framed photograph in a hallway, admiring the picture.
Visual Art

Studying Medicine, Creating Art

Brett Goerl is pursuing psychiatry with a camera in hand. Goerl, currently a student in both the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine and its Darden School of Business, created a photographic exhibit, “Figuring the Sublime,” on display in the UVA Health University Medical Center’s main lobby through March 12, one of six art displays scheduled for 2026.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/studying-medicine-creating-art

A rainbow ambient background with a film clapper for "Death on the Nile" titled on the front.
Film

So Hoos Asking: Why Was A UVA Law Diploma Used In ‘Death on the Nile’?

The 1978 mystery film “Death on the Nile” is based on a novel by the famous British writer Agatha Christie, featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and set in Egypt. So how did a University of Virginia School of Law diploma end up on one character’s office wall? When UVA Today received the question from Mary Farsetta, a quality improvement coordinator in the Heart and Vascular Center at UVA Health, we knew we had to take a crack at it.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/so-hoos-asking-why-was-uva-law-diploma-used-death-nile

A navy blue background with a clipart image of an open book with a golden rocket shooting out of it. On the rocket is a banner with the GameStop logo.
Creative Writing

‘Memestock’ Turns to Paper Stock: Hoo’s New Book Fictionalizes GameStop Short Squeeze

In late January 2021, nearly 800 million shares of video game retailer GameStop changed hands as amateur investors inspired by the WallStreetBets subreddit snatched up its stock, sending prices soaring by as much as 51%. That “short squeeze” – in which the amateur investors targeted hedge fund managers who were betting financially against the flagging retailer – is the inspiration for a novel by University of Virginia alumnus Frank Hamlin.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/memestock-turns-paper-stock-hoos-new-book-fictionalizes-gamestop-short-squeeze

A close up of the top of a lamppost with two light blue banner signs saying "Downtown Cville."
Music

A Preview of Spring 2026 Arts Events That Offer Something for Everyone

Spring is a time of renewal — more specifically, a time to visit one of Charlottesville’s many offerings to reignite an old artistic passion or explore a new one. The Charlottesville area is home to many affordable arts events, varying from orchestra performances to drag shows. Here are six upcoming arts events in the area from January through March for those looking to get in touch with the creative side of the community.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026/01/a-preview-of-spring-2026-arts-events-that-offer-something-for-everyone?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A dark auditorium with lights on at the front of the room where a group of performers stand while interacting with the chalkboard.
Drama

Joint Comedy Student Group Performance Proves That ‘Good Things Come in Threes’

The Incident, Amuse Bouche and The Whethermen joined forces Friday in Warner Hall for their semesterly tradition — a free, three-group comedy show. Aptly titling the show “Good Things Come in Threes,” the three groups each brought their own unique humor to the performance over a hilarious evening.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026/01/joint-comedy-student-group-performance-proves-that-good-things-come-in-threes?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A light blue background with a whimsical hand drawing of a radio tower emitting radio waves, reaching a red car on the road, and three people in their homes. The phrase "WTJU 91.1 FM Community Folk Marathon" is written across the image.
Music

2026 Folk Marathon Is All About Community

WTJU’s volunteer hosts are curating a Folk music mecca, running February 2 – 9, all to raise money for your favorite non-commercial radio station as it continues to find its footing after federal funding cuts. Your support continues to be more important than ever.

https://www.wtju.net/folk2026/

The cover of a book with a navy blue background and an image of light-bending shape against a cream colored wall. The title below the picture states "Soundscape Architecture."
Architecture

Soundscape Architecture Explores Listening as a Social and Political Act

Soundscape Architecture, a new book co-authored by former UVA School of Architecture Dean Karen Van Lengen, explores how architecture and art can enhance listening as a social and political act. “When we listen, we begin the first act of engagement and communication with others,” writes Van Lengen. “Listening is also critical when we consider our local natural habitats, and it can remind us, in a particularly visceral way, of the fragility of our lived environments, increasingly stressed by climate change. We ask, therefore, how the act of intentional listening can prompt us to engage more fully in the world and with the people in it; and how architecture and urban design can encourage this type of engagement.”

https://c-ville.com/soundscape-architecture-explores-listening-as-a-social-and-political-act/