The Fralin Museum of Art at The University of Virginia celebrates two remarkable gifts that will strengthen the museum’s community impact, teaching, and curatorial practice for years to come. Arriving at a pivotal moment as UVA plans for its new Center for the Arts, these contributions underscore the museum’s vital role at the university and its vision of bringing art to all.
Jill Orlov is a cave-diver of sorts. “I go what I call ‘spelunking in junkyards,’” Orlov, a graduate of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture, said. “I collect interesting things, just odds and ends.” Those odds and ends make their way into Orlov’s miniature sculptures – often miniature recreations of indoor spaces like game rooms, libraries or an artist’s studio. Her work has appeared in exhibitions at venues including the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, Arizona.
Connection often comes from unexpected places. At the University of Virginia, one of those places is The Fralin Museum of Art. The Fralin is known for its exhibitions, but once a week during the spring semester, its galleries become a space for both UVA students and elementary school students to experience, learn and engage with various works of art.
Led by Program Director Daniel Sender, UVA students and faculty enjoyed a week of immersive cultural activities in Hungary during Spring Break. In addition to historical sightseeing tours, the group engaged with folk music and dance, opera, and Hungarian classical music.
When Matthew Rusten first read the play “A Number” aloud with his University of Virginia classmates, each voicing a different character, the 2022 British drama’s sparse and fractured language stuck with him. He decided his scenic model set should feel the same way. The fourth-year architecture major is enrolled in Scenic Design, a course that challenges students to transform a script into a fully realized physical world. Over the semester, students complete three increasingly complex projects, taking them through script analysis, visual research, sketching, rendering and building small-scale scenic models.
When Priyanka Shetty arrived in Charlottesville from India in 2016, she came with a clear goal: to launch her career as an actor. She enrolled in the University of Virginia’s MFA in Acting program seeking strong foundational training that would support a life in theater, film and television. What she discovered, however, was something much bigger than that. Working alongside her peers and visiting artists and exploring a wealth of opportunities beyond the classroom, Shetty began to imagine herself not only as an actor, but as a creator of original theatrical works.
The Fralin Museum of Art at The University of Virginia announces Legacies of Independence, a slate of four exhibitions exploring varied themes and perspectives around the legacies of Thomas Jefferson and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. On view from August 29, 2026, through January 3, 2027, the exhibitions take both historic and contemporary approaches to consider the ways Jefferson helped shape the United States in its infancy and promoted ideals we continue to deliberate to this day.
From Thursday through April 3, the Ruth Caplin Theatre will travel back in time to 19th century Russia for the debut of the University drama department’s production of “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.” Decorative sets, dance interludes and passionate ballads make up the spirited narrative and energetic dance sequences of this immersive musical experience. The production features undergraduate, graduate and alumni performers with a wide range of talents and experience, all of whom have dedicated themselves to months of intense rehearsals in preparation for opening night.
Kicking off Friday, the Indie Short Film Festival is back in full-swing for its third year in Charlottesville, cementing the Indie Short Film Festival as a Charlottesville staple. The festival will run from Friday through Sunday with showings of around 130 short films in venues along the Downtown Mall, as well as panels, a cinematography workshop and a launch party for the festival featuring live musical performances.
Drinking tea is one of the most common practices in the world, with Americans alone consuming 3.9 billion gallons in 2021. With instant tea bags and cafe matcha lattes becoming more prevalent around the world, it can be easy to forget the cultural significance that tea drinking has in the ease and convenience that these products provide. The Fralin Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, entitled “Crafted for Tea: Connecting Cultures with Teaware and Traditions,” highlights the skill, artistry and history behind the making of this common drink.
In the Oscar-nominated movie “One Battle After Another,” Bob, a former left-wing militant played by Leonardo DiCaprio, has retreated to an isolated cabin in the woods with his teenage daughter, Willa, played by Chase Infiniti. When Bob questions Willa about the genders of some friends she plans to attend a dance with, she storms off to her bedroom, shouting, “It’s not that hard!” Chris Cortner, a University of Virginia alumnus and set designer, helped build that bedroom. His work, along with that of production designer Florencia Martin and set decorator Anthony Carlino, is now nominated for an Academy Award for best production design.
The subject is art, the theme is “truth” and the medium is data. The University of Virginia’s School of Data Science is hosting its annual Data Is ART Competition, inviting artists and data scientists to transform data into compelling visual narratives. In its third year, the competition is open for submissions until Sunday from artists across disciplines related to this year’s theme: what truth looks like in data. Awards include a grand prize of $2,500. Finalists’ work will be announced at a fall ceremony and publicly exhibited. In its inaugural year in 2024, the competition drew more than 130 submissions from seven countries and four continents.
