VCUarts

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

Eleven of our very own VCUarts students, alumni and faculty artists were awarded 2026-27 Visual Arts Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts!

The VMFA awarded a total of $154,000 in fellowships, ranging from $2,000 for a half-year undergraduate fellowship and $4,000 for a full year to $6,000 for graduate students and $8,000 for professional-level artists.

VCUarts was well-represented with recipients across disciplines:

• Jordan Bruner, painting

• Riley Goodman, photography

• Kathleen Kennedy, crafts

• Katy Layman, painting

• Eva McMullan, printmaking

• Sirena Pearl, painting
(+ Cy Twombly Graduate Fellowship recipient)

• Elizabeth Schweizer, crafts

• Manavi Singh, photography

• Thomas Smith, photography

• Lauren Thorson, department chair and associate professor of graphic design, drawing

• Sasha Waters, professor of photography and film, film and video

Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Learn more about the fellowship through the story link in our bio 🔗

06/01/2026

The 2026/27 Rennolds Series is here! 🎵🌟 Five world-class performances, one extraordinary season at the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall.

Miró Quartet with David Shifrin. Hermitage Piano Trio with Jordan Bak. Santiago Cañón-Valencia. Shai Wosner. Turtle Island Quartet.

More here: arts.vcu.edu/music/concerts-and-events/rennolds-series/

06/01/2026

Behind every big moment is a crew making it happen. 🙂‍↕️🎥
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VCU alum Alex Coyle (’17) has helped bring some of the world’s biggest productions to life, from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ to Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl halftime performance. 🏈
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Read more about her path from VCU to Hollywood: https://bit.ly/42uxpIW

06/01/2026

Undergraduate Painting + Printmaking student Zakari Yonkers was recently featured in a VCU News article after their acceptance into the latest GLAAD Equity in Media and Entertainment Initiative cohort! 🎉

GLAAD is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 to focus on LGBTQ+ advocacy and cultural change, and offers national and local programs that advance LGBTQ+ acceptance. GLAAD’s Equity in Media and Entertainment Initiative (EMEI) is a program designed to address the gap in equitable representation among various entertainment media, particularly in regards to Black LGBTQ+ storytellers and individuals living with HIV. This year, the program is highlighting visual artists!

As part of the accepted cohort, Zakari will be participating in an exhibition opening in June in New York City. For their project featured in the exhibition, Zakari will be interviewing four individuals to highlight their careers and identities as Black, q***r artists.

“In the final exhibition, I plan to have some of the audio from the interviews playing in the background. I want it to feel like an immersive space and experience.”

Congratulations, Zakari, on this momentous achievement!

To read the full article, follow the link our bio! 🔗

05/28/2026

Transfer students, have VCUarts on your mind but haven’t made it official?

Let us know by June 1 if you want to join us in the fall!
We have admissions representatives available who are eager to help you with your next steps if you need them!

⭐️ Tap the Accepted Student link in bio for more info

⭐️ Tap the Connect with Us link in bio to connect with an admissions representative

05/27/2026

05/20/2026

VCU students will have three new interdisciplinary minors to choose from this fall, expanding options for those interested in using innovative media in art education, leveraging creative expression as a powerful tool to improve community health, and crafting stories for the screen.

These minors include:
⌨️ Creative technology instruction
The creative technology instruction minor, offered by VCUarts Art Education, aims to fill that gap by examining critical approaches to teaching digital media making.

🩺 Public health and the arts
Offered by the VCU School of Public Health in collaboration with VCUarts, the minor in public health and the arts is designed for students with an interest in careers at the intersection of health, nonprofits, public agencies and creative organizations.

🎞️ Screenwriting
The minor in screenwriting, offered by VCUarts Cinema, provides students with the knowledge and skills to develop professional-level scripts. It also equips them to become better storytellers and filmmakers.

Read more: https://news.vcu.edu/article/students-can-choose-from-three-new-interdisciplinary-minors-with-an-arts-emphasis-this-fall

05/20/2026

See for yourself why VCUarts is one of the top art schools in the U.S.! Take a tour with one of our student tour guides, see our facilities, and check out everything that we have to offer! We have tours on weekdays and select Saturdays.

Tap the link in bio to find more info and register for a tour 🔗

05/19/2026

This spring, VCUarts was proud to honor six faculty members who have shaped generations of artists, designers, performers and scholars.

The six honorees—Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ken Wood, Deidra Arrington, Laura Chessin, Pamela Turner and E. Gaynell Sherrod—brought vastly different experiences, perspectives and backgrounds to VCUarts. Collectively, their careers span more than 130 years of service to the school.

“The faculty of VCUarts are the foundation of everything we build here. Across decades of teaching, making, researching, performing and serving, they have left an indelible mark on this
university, on their disciplines, and on the lives of everyone who worked and learned alongside them.”
- Dean Carmenita Higginbotham

Their influence has made our school richer and for that we are deeply grateful. Join us in celebrating and share some love for our exceptional faculty in the comments!

Read about our May retirement celebration at the ICA and the bios/accomplishments for our retiring faculty through the link in our bio 💐