Dr. A.D. Carson, Associate Professor of Hip Hop at the University of Virginia and the nation’s only tenured professor of hip hop, has earned multiple official entries in the 68th Annual GRAMMY® Awards for his orchestral-rap project & metaphors, recorded live with the Charlottesville Symphony and countertenor Patrick Dailey.
As the month of October looms on the horizon, that can only mean one thing for the city of Charlottesville — the Virginia Film Festival is making its return. The 38th annual iteration of one of the eastern seaboard’s most reputable festivals draws cinephiles and industry professionals alike to Charlottesville. From Oct. 22 through Oct. 26, the festival will bring together more than 100 of the year’s best films for an incredible weekend celebrating the cinematic art.
Walk across any college campus and you’ll spot them everywhere: laptops transformed into personal billboards, with screen backs covered in a collage of stickers. Each carefully chosen sticker tells a story, from academic affiliation and club involvements to beloved music, movies and inside jokes shared with friends. UVA Today talked to five University of Virginia students about their laptop sticker collections and discovered the interesting stories behind their sticker choices.
Artificial intelligence is everywhere in the music business, whether you recognize it or not. It’s there when you stream – every Spotify recommendation is the product of AI-driven algorithms – and composes music based on its knowledge of previously published works. It’s even breathed new life into long-gone voices of performers like John Lennon.
Dr. A.D. Carson, Associate Professor of Hip Hop at the University of Virginia and the nation’s only bona fide professor of hip hop, is speaking out about the ongoing scapegoating of rap music in American culture and politics. In recent weeks, Carson’s work and commentary have been featured in HipHopWired, ContrabandCamp, and NBC News, where he addressed both the far-right intimidation he has personally faced and the media’s misrepresentation of hip-hop.
On September 3, 2025, The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia (The Fralin/museum) announced the acquisition of a new work by Alison Saar. Mutiny of the Sable Venus (2024) is now on view in the museum’s Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Entrance Gallery. Based in Los Angeles, Alison Saar (b.1956) is an influential sculptor, mixed-media, and installation artist. Her artwork focuses on the African diaspora and Black female identity. She cites African, Caribbean, and Latin American folk art, rituals, and spirituality as influences.
The Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee approved the schematic design plan for the new Center for the Arts, which is planned to be completed in fall 2029. The Committee also heard a construction report from Donald Sundgren, vice president of facilities management and chief facilities officer, in which he discussed updates on projects such as the Karsh Institute of Democracy, student housing in the Emmet Ivy Corridor and the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology.
A home for the arts is taking shape on Grounds. The Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee on Thursday approved the schematic design for the proposed Center for the Arts in the University of Virginia’s development parcel on Ivy Road, sending it to the full board. The board on Friday likewise approved the design.
Live Arts is proud to announce the launch of The 434 Initiative, a bold new effort designed to welcome a new generation of theater lovers into the heart of Charlottesville’s vibrant performing arts scene. Rooted in the belief that theater should be accessible to all, The 434 Initiative offers $4.34 tickets to anyone 25 or younger—or anyone who has never been to a Live Arts production before.
A broad cross-section of artists, cultural workers, and community leaders has been selected to serve on the Steering Committee for the Charlottesville Area Arts Council planning project. The Steering Committee will guide the community-driven process to explore the creation of a future Arts Council for the Charlottesville area. Their role is to provide insight, ensure broad community perspectives are represented, and co-create recommendations for how a future Arts Council can equitably serve the city’s diverse arts and culture ecosystem. The committee members were chosen from a pool of 59 applications submitted by local artists, organizers, educators, administrators, and community supporters.
Chet’la Sebree is the author of Blue Opening, a poetry collection published earlier this month, as well as Field Study, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and other work. She is an assistant professor at George Washington University and teaches in Randolph College’s low-residency MFA program. She spoke to C-VILLE about her new book, its themes of chronic illness and the body, and what it’s like to care for self and others in this moment.
If you can’t go to the mountain to relax, just bring the mountain to you. University of Virginia architecture students and assistant professor Katie Stranix have created a Humpback Rock-inspired reflection room in Student Health and Wellness to offer students a little respite.
