And just like that, the Virginia Film Festival is a wrap. The five-day fest was full of memorable on- and off-screen moments, from Jon Batiste’s piano serenade, to the U.S. premiere of award-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay’s Origin. A biographical drama inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, the film follows Wilkerson’s research around the globe, and chronicles her inspirations for writing the book, including the events in Charlottesville on August 11–12, 2017. DuVernay, who spent the day in the city ahead of Origin’s evening premiere, hosted a private screening and conversation with local community members who were directly affected by the deadly weekend before heading to The Paramount Theater, where she received the VAFF Visionary Award. “It seems to me that there’s no better place in this country to bring this film,” said DuVernay.
The statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee that has roiled Charlottesville since 2016—and led to 2017’s deadly influx of white supremacists—has ceased to exist, at least as a Lost Cause icon. When parts of the bronze monument hit the crucible in a 2,200-degree furnace recently, it was a solemn and emotional experience for the two women who orchestrated the melting.
For Andrea Douglas, executive director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, there was a sense of relief that what she set out to accomplish two years ago was finally happening. And there was a visceral feeling. When the light of the torch hit Lee’s face, “in some ways it was beautiful,” she says. “There was a quality to it that was moving.”
For Jalane Schmidt, religious studies professor at UVA and director of the Memory Project, there was “satisfaction that we’re finally moving forward.”
Most meaningful for her was when Lee’s sword went into the crucible. “This was a war fought to keep Black people enslaved,” she says. “To see it going down, down, down…”
Douglas and Schmidt are the originators of Swords into Plowshares, a project to melt down the statue of Lee, which stood in what is now Market Street Park for nearly a century, and to create a new work of public art. “After what the city has gone through, what we have gone through,” says Douglas, “some would see it as a finality but it’s just another step toward a better future.”
The idea harkens to the Isaiah verse in the Bible: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.”
Schmidt credits two Methodist ministers, Isaac Collins of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church and Phil Woodson of First United Methodist Church, who held 7am Sunday Bible study classes in 2019 at Confederate monuments. The classes were called “Swords into Plowshares: What the Bible says about Injustice, Idolatry, and Repentance.”
“They talked about white supremacy and the statues being worshiped as golden calves,” says Schmidt. “The theological framing—that resonated with me as a religious studies major and scholar, and also as a Christian.”
Photo by Eze Amos.
Also resonating with Schmidt and Douglas was when the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted to remove the mass-produced Johnny Reb statue from in front of its circuit court in 2020, and turned it over to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, which works “to preserve the hallowed ground of the Valley’s Civil War battlefields,” according to its website.
“It felt morally wrong,” says Douglas. “New people will have to deal with Charlottesville’s toxic waste in another community. It sort of made us decide on a process we could engage around the Lee statue.”
That included a conversation about “our contemporary moment and that reflects the consequences of white supremacy. Can we create something that is democratic and hopeful?”
Since the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that 168 Confederate symbols have been removed or renamed. Many of those Lost Cause statues are sitting in storage.
Schmidt wrote an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in October 2020: “Seller beware: The moral risks of hazardous statue disposal.” People suggested the statues go to museums. “They don’t want them,” says Schmidt, who talked to the Smithsonian and Civil War museums. They don’t have the storage, or would have to reinforce floors to support the multi-ton memorials, she adds.
And both scoff at the idea of contextualizing the 21-foot tall statue in then-Lee Park that Paul Goodloe McIntire gave to Charlottesville in 1924, and that was dedicated with the Ku Klux Klan out in force. “Should we be lauding McIntire for creating segregated spaces?” asks Douglas.
“What, with a mealy-mouthed, caveat-filled plaque with small font that doesn’t really interrupt the visual plane?” asks Schmidt.
“In a multiracial democracy, we should not maintain the artistic equivalent of a ‘whites only’ sign in our public parks in the name of teaching history,” she says.
“We are trying to write an alternative narrative,” says Douglas.
In April 2021, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that Charlottesville could remove its Confederate statues, and Swords into Plowshares was ready. The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center proposed melting Lee and creating a new work of public art, and City Council passed a resolution giving the center the statue on December 7, 2021. Another lawsuit followed.
Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation in Louisa and Tazewell-based Ratcliffe Foundation, which also proposed taking Richmond’s ousted Confederate statues, alleged that the city violated state procurement laws, the Freedom of Information Act, and state laws prohibiting the removal of war memorials.
“This lawsuit was frivolous,” says attorney Christopher Tate, whose firm Flora Pettit represented the Jefferson School pro bono. “It relied on unsupported legal theories and outright fabrications of fact.”
The Ratcliffe Foundation dropped out of the suit when evidence showed it had not been a legal entity since 2015, and the Trevilian Station Foundation voluntarily dismissed it after a judge tossed two of its three complaints. A judge signed Trevilian’s motion on September 26.
Schmidt contends the plaintiffs had a chance to take part in the city’s open process for bids, and that Trevilian Station never submitted a bid. “If they didn’t like the idea, they should have stepped up,” she says. “There was a time and place for that.”
Photo by Eze Amos.
The case shook Douglas’ belief in the legal system. She’s received personal threats, and the heritage center’s website was attacked twice.
Lee’s path to the furnace has been litigious. The first lawsuit filed against the city in 2017 kept the statues of Lee and Stonewall Jackson in place until 2021, albeit shrouded in black plastic for a few months after a neo-Nazi at the violent Unite the Right rally drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens more.
Schmidt was sued by one of those plaintiffs for defamation in 2019, as was this reporter. That case was dismissed. But the lawsuits, the hate mail, the racial epithets, the questioning of the UVA professor’s intelligence—“It takes something out of you, and it’s meant to,” she says.
It also strengthened the women’s resolve to see the melting of Lee through—and to create a template for how other communities might deal with their Confederate castoffs.
Gerald Harlow, president of the Trevilian foundation, did not respond to a call from C-VILLE Weekly, nor did Jock Yellott, director of the Monument Fund, a plaintiff in the 2017 suit against the city and a legal adviser in the most recent suit.
The removal of Confederate statues is a controversial business from which many contractors shied away. So too with the melting of monuments. The foundry owner who took the Lee job spoke to C-VILLE only on the condition that his name and location were not reported, and that he was referred to as Charles—not his real name.
His small foundry has never taken a job of this magnitude, melting the 6,000-pound bronze monument down into 24- and 79-pound ingots. He had time to think about it, and knew other foundries had rejected the job. “I knew it was something that needed to be done,” he says. It came down to, “How much do I believe in disassembling hate and symbols of hate?”
He had private conversations with his employees, and they were aware that other companies had been shunned or forced to file bankruptcy. “We agreed this was an important task that needed to be done,” he says.
At an October 26 press conference, Douglas said, “I am proud to announce today that we have fulfilled our promise to the city and to our supporters to melt Charlottesville’s statue of Robert E. Lee—the same statue that was at the center of the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017.” There were whoops and applause from Swords into Plowshares supporters in front of the Charlottesville Circuit Court.
The next step is to form a jury and solicit artist proposals, with the goal of announcing a finalist in 2024, the 100-year anniversary of the dedication of the statue, says Douglas. And to raise $4 million for the project. She hopes to have the work installed and donated back to the city by 2027, the 10th anniversary of Unite the Right.
“Our efforts have not been to remove history but bear witness to truths about our racist past and our aspirations for a more equitable future,” says Douglas.
Then-city councilor Kristin Szakos was the first to publicly suggest in 2012 the Confederate monuments should be removed, and she was “castigated,” says Schmidt. In 2016, 15-year-old Charlottesville High student Zyahna Bryant collected 700 signatures on a petition to remove the statues, and faced threats, says Schmidt.
She notes the success of “Jim Crow propaganda” artworks that “tricked generations of Americans into adopting a Lost Cause misinterpretation of the Civil War,” and that, like Lee and Jackson, stood in public parks for nearly a century.
“Swords into Plowshares is born of the conviction that we can transform white supremacist trauma into something beautiful,” she says. “Creativity and art can express democratic, inclusive values. We believe that art has the potential to heal.”
A photographer’s history of Lee
Photo by Eze Amos.
Normally reporters don’t want to become part of the story. But photographer Eze Amos has been shooting the statue of Robert E. Lee since 2016, when then-vice-mayor Wes Bellamy announced Zyahna Bryant’s petition to remove the city’s Confederate statues.
“It was the first time C-VILLE ran my photos,” recalls Amos.
He was there at tumultuous City Council meetings. He was there when the Ku Klux Klan came to town in 2017. He was clocked by a neo-Nazi wearing a Hitler T-shirt at the Unite the Right rally. He photographed Lee and Jackson wrapped in black plastic tarps—and again when they were unwrapped. He traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, when 100 citizens made a civil rights pilgrimage in 2018.
And he was there to photograph Lee one last time, as the dismantled general met a fiery furnace.
“It was a mix of emotions in a lot of ways,” says Amos, “the way a chapter closes is also the beginning of something new.”
He says, “It was an honor and privilege to witness, to be documenting this object of hate and fear, to be able to tell the final story of that statue. Where have you heard of a statue being melted?”
Amos moved here from Nigeria 16 years ago. “I always wanted to play a major role in my community,” he muses. “I had no idea it would be of this magnitude.”
Incumbent state Senator Creigh Deeds, a Democrat, is heavily favored to beat Republican Philip Hamilton in the newly drawn 11th District. Supplied photos.
With less than a week to go before Election Day, voters have either already cast their ballots or are preparing to head to the polls. Ahead of November 7, we take a look at local and legislative races, party control of the state legislature, and what different outcomes could mean for the Charlottesville area.
After an exciting primary season, local legislative elections are expected to be relatively routine. “Both of our legislative chambers are pretty safely Democratic,” says Miles Coleman from the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ Crystal Ball.
While Crystal Ball focuses on national races, Coleman offered his personal insight into the upcoming elections. He says those to watch include the 55th District House of Delegates race and the Albemarle County School Board at-large election.
Around Charlottesville, voters will cast their ballots in either the 54th or 55th House of Delegates District. Katrina Callsen is running unopposed in the 54th, while in the 55th, Democrat Amy Laufer is heavily favored against Republican Steve Harvey.
“Maybe the Republicans are looking to make a play at District 55,” says Coleman. “But to me, that is a seat that Youngkin got 44 percent of the vote … that’s probably your Republican ceiling. And if they do any better than that, that may catch my attention.”
In Albemarle County, voters will decide between Allison Spillman and Meg Bryce for the Albemarle County School Board at-large seat, a race where both candidates have spent unusually large amounts of money: Spillman and Bryce respectively raised $111,462 and $106,559 as of September 30, 2023, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Beyond spending, the contest interests Coleman because of its quasi-partisan nature. “It’s technically a non-partisan race, but it’s sort of caught my attention that it’s almost become a partisan race,” he says. Throughout her campaign, Spillman has aligned herself with Democratic values, and framed Bryce as a conservative due to both her platform and father, late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. “Even in a non-partisan race, it’s a very steep climb for a candidate who’s been sort of labeled as a conservative, fairly or not,” he says.
He doesn’t have a prediction for the ACPS school board at-large election, but Coleman says, “I think the general trend of the area has sort of hurt [Bryce]. I think just 10 years ago or so Albemarle County was more of a marginal political area. … Now it’s more like a 65 [to] 70 percent Democratic area.”
In the state Senate, Coleman expects incumbent Creigh Deeds to easily beat his Republican challenger Philip Hamilton in the newly drawn 11th District.
While both chambers of the state legislature are up for grabs, Coleman predicts the Democrats will likely retain control of the state Senate. “If you look at the 2021 governor breakdown, Youngkin, even though he won in 2021, would have only carried 20 of the 40 seats in the state Senate,” he says. “All Democrats have to do, assuming they win all of the [former governor] McAuliffe districts, which I think they’re in decent shape to pull along … [is] pull off one of those close Youngkin seats.”
In the Virginia House of Delegates, party control is more of a toss up. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the chamber, but that could change if competitive legislative races fall in Democrats’ favor.
“One dynamic I would look for on election night is if it’s sort of a wave election for one party or the other, a lot of the toss-up seats will break just one way or the other,” says Coleman. “I will say generally, that the kind of sources we talk to, it seems like the Democrats are sort of cautiously optimistic that they’ll take both chambers, while the Republicans keep emphasizing that there are just a lot of close races.”
With several legislators retiring, Deeds will soon be the second-most senior member of his caucus. If Democrats retain control of the state Senate, this puts Deeds in a powerful position to advocate for the region.
Charlottesville will have two new representatives in the House of Delegates, which could make getting funding more difficult. “I’m interested to see if those new members are gonna be able to look out for the area and bring home bacon as opposed to some of the more senior members,” says Coleman. “It’s always better to be in the majority, just in terms of passing your agenda. So if the Democrats take the majority, I’ll say broadly, that that would probably be … in favor of the Charlottesville-Albemarle area.”
Community leaders, including Mayor Lloyd Snook (second from right), were at Kindlewood when the neighborhood received a large check from HUD. Staff photo.
Kindlewood residents and local affordable housing leaders are celebrating after a $6 million check was presented to the Piedmont Housing Alliance and National Housing Trust by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The check closes a major funding gap in the Kindlewood redevelopment project, and will help cover the cost of solar installation and other energy-efficiency efforts in the neighborhood.
Presented to PHA and NHT on October 26, the large check was awarded as part of the Biden administration’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program. Kindlewood is one of 16 properties to receive funding through the program, which aims to fund otherwise cost-prohibitive energy efficiency improvements in affordable housing communities.
Split into four phases, the redevelopment of Kindlewood is both resident led and zero displacement. People began moving into new buildings this summer, and once PHA has finished the move-in of phase-one residents (by December or January), it will begin demolition and construction for phase two.
“We have had a commitment to the residents to start construction of phase two, as soon as phase one was complete,” said Sunshine Mathon, executive director at Piedmont Housing Alliance, following the check presentation. “We had a remaining gap in the financing until this $6 million came through. This closes our gap and allows us to stay on track and hold that commitment to the residents.”
Solar panels will be installed across the Kindlewood community as part of the upcoming construction.
“This funding allows us not only to finish the goal on phase two funding, but to do so with a deep commitment to some of the most energy-efficient housing in the commonwealth,” said Mathon. “The roofs will be 100 percent covered in solar, and that will provide direct benefit directly to the residents.”
For community leaders and residents, the most exciting benefit of the project is the expected reduction in energy costs that comes with solar installation. “You can build housing, but if the cost of the housing utilities are high, you really haven’t accomplished that much,” says Myrtle Houchens, former resident and current member of the Kindlewood Advisory Committee. “This will really, really, really allow the sustainability of the housing piece, [through] low-cost, energy-efficient homes.”
Brooks Wellmon, director of development and communications for PHA, says Kindlewood’s focus on sustainability marks an important shift in the conversation around affordable housing.
“Often when we’re developing housing, affordable housing for low-income individuals, cost is the primary factor, and so things like environmental sustainability, efficiency, green features often fall to the wayside,” she says. “This program, this project, is really a model of how we can combine something that’s good for the planet, that saves our residents money, and is still in a safe, affordable housing development.
Phase two of construction at Kindlewood is expected to begin in early 2024. Plans for the housing development include early learning and community centers, the former of which will be open to all of Charlottesville. Other elements include the creation of an additional park, which will eventually be deeded to the city.
After eight years in downtown Charlottesville, the Violet Crown theater will soon be under new ownership. The news comes at the end of the Virginia Film Festival, which showed several movies in the theater.
Violet Crown opened on the Downtown Mall in 2015, following the closure of a Regal cinema at the same location. The name of the theater will remain, but it will be operated by the Austin, Texas-based Elevate Entertainment Group.
EEG will acquire all four of Violet Crown’s U.S. theaters—which are located in Charlottesville, Santa Fe, Austin, and Dallas—in December of this year. Bringing on the four theaters allows the company to add 30 new screens.
EEG plans to improve the Downtown Mall location, including changes to the first-floor dining space, and hire more employees.
“Our journey with Violet Crown has been extraordinary,” said Violet Crown founder and CEO Bill Banowsky in a statement about the acquisition. “We’ve cultivated a unique moviegoing experience that caters to film-lovers, and that remains unchanged. I am confident that this acquisition will continue to bring the best film experience to the community, and am grateful that we found a team with the resources, passion, and vision to take Violet Crown to the next level.”
Student walkout at UVA
Tensions were high at the University of Virginia on October 25, when students staging a walkout in support of Palestine met counterprotesters on the steps of the Rotunda.
Organized by 15 student organizations—including Students for Justice in Palestine, Divest UVA, Arab Student Organization, and the Queer Student Union—the walkout called for the university to respond to the siege on Gaza. Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 civilians, Gaza has been under siege by Israel. Amid steadily worsening humanitarian conditions and Israeli airstrikes, more than 8,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
In an informational post about the walkout, students demanded that UVA call for an end to the attack on Gaza, acknowledge the “ongoing genocide” in Gaza, and “divest from weapons manufacturers” arming Israel.
Hundreds of students attended the walkout. While the event was peaceful, a small group of counterprotesters tried to sing over the walkout chants, and held up the Israeli flag.
Pro-Israel students referred to the walkout as ignorant, and said that protesters were supporting a terrorist organization.
In brief
Punkin chuckin’
Halloween has come and gone, but your jack-o-lanterns, soon to rot, are probably still sitting around. Never fear, the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority is bringing back its Great Pumpkin Smash, where you can dispose of your decorative gourds. Take your pumpkins to the McIntire Recycling Center by November 7, drop them into a large container, and they’ll be shipped off to a composting facility. The service is free and open to the Charlottesville and Albemarle communities.
Good’s gratitude
Congressman Bob Good congratulated Rep. Mike Johnson on being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Good wrote on Twitter/X that Johnson “brings new hope for the American people. I look forward to working with him to fight back against the radical Biden agenda.” Good was one of eight House Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to oust previous speaker Kevin McCarthy on October 3.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson. Supplied photo.
Darden donation
David and Kathleen LaCross have upped their multi-million dollar gift to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business to a total of more than $100 million, the largest gift in the school’s history. The LaCross family’s initial gift last year reached $50 million after being matched by UVA. The massive donation will go toward pioneering artificial intelligence and a new residential college, according to UVAToday. David LaCross is a Darden alumnus, while his wife graduated from the UVA College of Arts & Science.
KISS by Sanjay Suchak at Superfly Brewing Co. All images courtesy of the galleries.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. “Their World As Big As They Made It: Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance” showcases the visionary works of writers, artists, and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, plus other permanent exhibitions.
Artisans Studio Tour Various locations in and around Charlottesville. Over 50 artisans open the doors to their studios and showcase work in a variety of mediums. November 11–12.
Botanical Fare 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Works by Judith Ely. Through December.
The Bridge PAI 306 E. Main St. A First Fridays After Dark dance party. $10, 8:30pm.
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. On the main floor, “Congregation,” mixed-media vignettes by Aggie Zed. In the great halls, Edie Read’s “Wing” and Sara Clark’s “Ornatus Mundi” continue. Through November. First Fridays at 5pm.
Aggie Zed at Chroma Projects.
City Clay 700 Harris St., Ste. 104. The Autumn Harvest Table Show and Sale features vases, pitchers, cake plates, lanterns, candlestick holders, and more, made by local potters. First Fridays at 5pm.
The Connaughton Gallery McIntire School of Commerce, UVA Grounds. “Landscapes and Georgia O’Keeffe Revisited,” alkyd oil paints on canvas, MDF panels, and textile/multi-media works by Eric T. Allen and the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective. Through December 8.
The Create Gallery InBio, 700 Harris St. “Escapes,” paintings by Susan Klees. First Fridays at 5pm.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Backyard Nature Studies,” ceramic art by Corinna Anderson, and “Change of Seasons,” photography by Staunton artist Dale Carlson.
Dale Carlson at Crozet Artisan Depot.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “World On A String,” designs by ceramic jewelry artist Jennifer Paxton. Through November. First Fridays at 5pm.
Elmaleh Gallery Campbell Hall, UVA Grounds. “Portrait of a Nation,” a photographic narrative about America by Balthazar Korab. Through December 1.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. Exhibitions include “Look Three Ways: Maya Painted Pottery,” “Processing Abstraction,” and “N’Dakinna Landscapes Acknowledged.”
Grace Estate Winery 5273 Mt. Juliet Farm, Crozet. “Our Surroundings,” oils by Jane Goodman. Through November.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Three Women from Wirrimanu,” paintings by Black Indigenous women artists Eubena Nampitjin, Muntja Nungurrayi, and Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka. Through December 3.
Lazy Daisy Ceramics 1709 Monticello Rd. In the To Be Kinder Gallery, works by Eli Frantzen van Beuren.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Fleeting,” oil on canvas by Annie Harris Massie. Opens November 11 at 3pm.
Annie Harris Massie at Les Yeux du Monde.
The Local Restaurant 824 Hinton Ave. “True Nature,” oil paintings by Kris Bowmaster. Through November.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “The Pedestal Project,” an exhibition of sculpture and photographs relating to the figure by Frederic Crist. In the first-floor galleries, “Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead),” features memorial altars created by individuals, families, friend groups, artists, and non-artists. In the second-floor galleries, “LANDSCAPE: Creating a Sense of Place,” an all-members exhibition of painting, photography, sculpture, collage, and three-dimensional art. In the Associate Gallery, “Celebration.” Through November 19. First Fridays at 5:30pm.
Frederic Crist at McGuffey Art Center.
New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “Too Many Dinner Parties,” prints by Claire Szeptycki and Maddie Butkovich. Through November 22. First Fridays at 5pm.
Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. “Never a Dull Moment,” abstract acrylic and ink on canvas by Vickie Marsango. Through December 3. First Fridays at 5pm.
Pro Camera 711 W. Main St. “The Queens of Queen City” by Michael O. Snyder features photographs exploring the courage, risks, and repercussions of openly expressing LGBTQ identities in rural, conservative America. Through December 2. First Fridays opening.
The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. In the North Gallery, “Looking Small, Thinking Big” from Fenella Belle. In the South Gallery, “Drawn to the Light” by Deborah Davis.
Deborah Davis at The PVCC Gallery.
Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. Works by Michael Reisor. Opens November 9 at 5pm.
Random Row Brewery 608 Preston Ave. Watercolors byJuliette Swenson. Through January 15.
Juliette Swenson at Random Row Brewery.
The Ruffin Gallery McIntire Department of Art, UVA Grounds. “Thinking of Place iii” features 85 printmakers from around the world, inspired by the themes of space and place. Through December 15.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “After We Are Gone,” new works by Mike Egan. In the Dové Gallery, “Tales of Min’Umbra,” shadow art by Tania L. Yager. Through November 17.
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital 500 Martha Jefferson Dr. A multimedia exhibition featuring works by Ellen Osborne, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Juliette Swenson. Through December 4.
Studio Ix 969 Second St. SE. “Adjacent,” new works in steel and multimedia by Kim Boggs and Dale Morse. Through November 26. First Fridays at 5pm.
Dale Morse at Studio Ix.
Superfly Brewing 943 Preston Ave. “Charlottesville Stages: Concert Photography” showcases photographs of local bands and international superstars performing on Charlottesville’s stages by Henry Strauss, Sanjay Suchak, and Rich Tarbell. First Fridays at 7pm.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. An exhibition that includes a rare engraving of the Declaration of Independence. Through December.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Season of Light,” a group show. Through December.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Through a Glass Darkly,” paintings by Lucia Jones and Dylan Williams. Opens November 10.
Westminster Canterbury Blue Ridge 250 Pantops Mountain Rd. The SMJH Art Committee exhibit features oil, acrylic, mixed-media, and photography works by Matalie Deane, Bryan Fair, Julia Kindred, Susan Lang, and Stuart Scott. Through November.
Matalie Deane at Westminster Canterbury Blue Ridge.
Rachel Kobernick in Nathan Felix's immersive opera. Supplied photo.
A love triangle plays out in All is Apathetic in Love & War, an immersive opera from Mexican American composer Nathan Felix that utilizes space, movement, and acoustics in unconventional ways. Brothers Evander and Santiago (baritone Ryan Davis and tenor Vaughan Jones II) vie for the indifferent Ophelia’s heart (soprano Jenna Grissom) while navigating trauma and injury caused by war. The scenes play out in various spaces in and around The Fralin, with actors moving through an audience that’s encouraged to follow the performers as they move.
