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Early architectural drawing of the Rotunda.
Architecture

McKim, Mead and White Architectural Drawings, 1895-1907

When the Rotunda burned down in October of 1895 — faulty wiring was to blame — University of Virginia officials immediately pushed to rebuild, and in 1896, after a false start with McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky, the Board of Visitors hired prominent New York architects McKim, Mead & White. Stanford White, the artistic force of the firm, was the lead architect on the Rotunda redesign. The University also hired the firm to design three new buildings to enclose the South Lawn. These buildings, also designed by White, came to be Rouss, Cocke, and Cabell Halls, and White also went on to design Garrett Hall as well as Carr’s Hill, the UVA president’s home.

https://library.virginia.edu/news/2025/mckim-mead-and-white-architectural-drawings-1895-1907

Three images of special collections exhibitions. All three show glass display cases with various artifacts and wall texts inside.
Art History

UVA Library Special Collections: 2025 Exhibitions Overview

The Library’s exhibitions program allows us to serve the UVA community and beyond as an evolving space for discovery and celebration of our shared cultural heritage, by showcasing to the public the rare and unique materials available to the University’s faculty, students, and visiting researchers in a controlled environment, and celebrating them in creative and edifying ways. Exhibitions also allow us to take advantage of partnerships with other institutions and guest curators to bring fresh insight and new treasures to our galleries.

https://library.virginia.edu/news/2025/uva-library-special-collections-2025-exhibitions-overview

Photo of David. J. Getsy in a suit standing outside infront of a brick building.
Art History

Accolades: Art Historian Earns Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

David J. Getsy, the Eleanor Shea Professor of Art History, has been awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, recognizing his groundbreaking research at the intersection of art history, queer studies, trans studies and performance studies. Getsy’s work has significantly contributed to understanding how non-normative genders and sexualities have shaped art and cultural history.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/accolades-art-historian-earns-prestigious-guggenheim-fellowship

Piece by Joan Mitchell on a blue wall at the exhibition, with the wall text to the right.
Visual Art

“Joan Mitchell: Uncovering 100 Years” Is a Fascinating Look at the Complexities Behind Art Restoration

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American artist Joan Mitchell’s birth, museums all over — such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Seattle Art Museum — are displaying collections of her work. However, along with celebrating the artistry of Joan Mitchell, the Fralin Museum of Art exhibit also centers the process of restoring the artwork itself.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/05/joan-mitchell-uncovering-100-years-is-a-fascinating-look-at-the-complexities-behind-art-restoration?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

A colorful puppet creature is shown in front of the Rotunda at night.
Visual Art

Fantasy Comes Alive at UVA’s Festival of the Moving Creature

Creatures from the sky and the sea met Friday evening on the University of Virginia’s Grounds. Delia, a flying creature, and her aquatic companion Peri marched from Culbreth Theatre to the Rotunda and back as part of the annual Stan Winston and Steven Warner Festival of the Moving Creature.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/fantasy-comes-alive-uvas-festival-moving-creature

Molly Rathbun poses at New Dominion Bookstore, holding a stack of books.
Creative Writing

Amplifying Deaf Stories: UVA Student Creates First-Ever Festival

When University of Virginia fourth-year student Molly Rathbun propped open the doors to Nau Hall on a rainy February morning, she wasn’t sure who would brave the weather for the event she created. By day’s end, Rathbun’s Deaf Literature Festival had welcomed more than 80 attendees, featured six authors in the Deaf community and hosted an open mic session.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/amplifying-deaf-stories-uva-student-creates-first-ever-festival

From left, astronomy professor Roger Chevalier, music professor Nicole Mitchell Gantt and biology professor Raymond Keller are among the newest fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Music

Accolades: American Academy of Arts & Sciences Welcomes 3 More UVA Faculty Members

Add three more University of Virginia faculty members to the list of American Academy of Arts & Sciences fellows. The prestigious honorary society and research center announced April 23 that biology professor Raymond Keller, music professor Nicole Mitchell Gantt and astronomy professor Roger Chevalier join this year’s 250-member class. The academy dates to the American Revolution, and fellowship is considered one of the highest academic honors for faculty.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/accolades-american-academy-arts-sciences-welcomes-3-more-uva-faculty-members

Three UVA Cavalier Daily writers are pictured
Creative Writing

Roundtable: From Arts and Entertainment Bylines to New Beginnings

The University’s arts scene is a thriving one with student-run theater productions and a cappella concerts, coupled with film screenings, gallery shows, comedy nights and literary journals. This is, in no small part, a result of the passionate student artists on and around Grounds who bring it to life — not just as performers or creators, but as writers, editors and commentators.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/05/roundtable-from-arts-and-entertainment-bylines-to-new-beginnings?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

A picture of The Merton Spire, which is a tower carved from soft, porous limestone.
Visual Art

So Hoos Asking: What Is a Limestone Spire From Across the Pond Doing on Grounds?

Don’t worry if you’re unsure about the three-ton limestone sculpture in the lower garden of Pavilion VI, why it’s there remains a mystery. The sculpture is the Merton Spire, a really big gift from Merton College, Oxford, that originally perched atop a chapel buttress. A plaque on the piece reads “A pinnacle of Merton College Chapel Tower, erected 1451, presented to the University of Virginia, 1927, by Merton College, Oxford.”

https://news.virginia.edu/content/so-hoos-asking-what-limestone-spire-across-pond-doing-grounds

Grid of various movie covers, some including Lilo and Stitch, Barbie, and Minecraft
Film

Why Are Movie Reboots So Successful?

In the first episode of the Apple TV series, “The Studio,” Seth Rogen plays a Hollywood studio boss tasked with making a box-office hit and prestige film about the Kool-Aid Man. He recruits director Martin Scorsese to make the movie, only for the Oscar-winning director to become intent on making a movie about Jonestown, the cult settlement in Guyana where followers took their own lives drinking poisoned Kool-Aid.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/why-are-movie-reboots-so-successful

Yellow box with the word Overcranked

Overcranked Film Festival’s Final Act Was a Celebration of Year-long Endeavors

As the academic year winds to a close, students begin to reap the fruits of their labors from the previous two semesters. Some students have particularly tangible, triumphant final projects — namely those who debuted their short films Monday night to a crowd of around one hundred attendees at the Ruth Caplin Theater during the Overcranked Student Film Festival.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/05/overcranked-film-festivals-final-act-was-a-celebration-of-year-long-endeavors

Cast members Marc and Yunina shared their excitement about the production, highlighting its innovative approach.
Drama

'Hamlet' Gets a Hilarious, Modern, Queer Twist in 'Fat Ham' at Austin Playhouse

Shakespeare's classic tragedy "Hamlet" is getting a fresh, funny, and modern twist with "Fat Ham," now playing at Austin Playhouse. This unique adaptation brings a queer perspective to the timeless tale, promising audiences a theatrical experience like no other. Cast members Marc and Yunina shared their excitement about the production, highlighting its innovative approach. "It's Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' but with a funny, modern, queer twist," they said, inviting theatergoers to witness this bold reimagining.

https://cbsaustin.com/features/we-are-austin/hamlet-gets-a-hilarious-modern-queer-twist-in-fat-ham-at-austin-playhouse