Blog - Page 4 of 13 - Academy Center of the Arts

2018 National Juried Photography Exhibition Winners

September 14, 2018 Brittany Griffith

The 2018 National Juried Photography Exhibition, sponsored by the Academy Center of the Arts, has passed and the winners have been announced! See below for the list of cash awards given this year. Best in Show: $1000 award to Craig Shaffer (Lynchburg) for “Widow Walk” Sponsored by the Cary & Robert Roberts 2nd Place Award $500 award to Ashley Moog (Airville, Penn) for “Second Skin Series” Sponsored by the Academy Center of the Arts 3rd Place Award $350 award to George Gati (Poughquag, NY) for “Snowstorm at Midnight” Sponsored by the Academy Center of the Arts Juror’s Choice Award $250 award to Michael Hower (Enola, Penn) for ‘“Remorse Will Assail Him” Sponsored by the Academy Center of the Arts Juror’s Choice Award $200 award to Lisa Pitcher (Amherst, VA) for “Super Powers” Sponsored by the Blackwell Press Juror’s Choice Award $100 award to Rebecca Raybon (Huddleston, VA) for “Yesteryear” Sponsored by the Academy Center of the Arts Juror’s Choice Award $100 award to Sam Krisch (Roanoke, VA) for ‘“Hokkaido” Sponsored by Lynn Shapiro @ JSW Realtors, […]

Meet the Staff: Tremayne Edwards

September 6, 2018 Morgan Yeatts

by Morgan Yeatts Growing up, Tremayne Edwards, Box Office Manager here at the Academy Center of the Arts, never really had a answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up”. This wasn’t because he didn’t have any dreams or goals, but can be attributed to the fact that Tremayne has a deeply rooted desire to work with and help people, so he believed essentially any job that would allow him to do this was the job for him. He describes himself as one of those people who has never met a stranger. “If I haven’t made you laugh by the time we finish talking, I will buy you dinner”, he says, “and I’ve never had to yet”. One day, he was looking on the Academy website and saw the job posting for Box Office Manager, and knew that his passion for people and his personality would make him the perfect fit for this job. Since starting the job in February of this year, he’s assisted countless visitors and patrons. Tremayne calls himself the gatekeeper of the Academy. “Everyone has to go through me” he says, and he approaches this role wholeheartedly. […]

Announcing Historic Academy of Music Theatre Opening Week Events

September 5, 2018 Brittany Griffith

After 60 years in the making, the Academy Center of the Arts Board of Directors and staff are proud to announce that the Historic Academy of Music Theatre, built in 1905 and closed in 1958, will have completed its renovation and will open its doors to the public in December 2018 with two weeks of Opening events and performances. “The long-awaited opening of this community treasure deserves a week of activity and not just one night,” said Geoffrey Kershner, Executive Director of the Academy Center of the Arts. “We want as many people in our community as possible to share in the excitement of opening this theatre after so many years. With a wide range of programs and price points, we hope everyone will celebrate with us in December.” The Historic Academy of Music Theatre’s Opening Week will begin on December 6th, 2018, with a night celebrating the integration of the theatre, a space that was previously segregated when last closed. This night will feature a concert event with Devon Gilfillian and a legendary musical act to be announced on October 15, 2018, emceed by Leland Melvin, former NASA astronaut and community member. Three community arts and culture awards will also […]

Riverfront Park Concert Series Finale: Wynona and the Big Noise

August 31, 2018 Morgan Yeatts

Even before the gates opened at 5:00 for happy hour, fans were camped outside, waiting to claim their spot in the grass to see Wynonna Judd and her band, The Big Noise. They were soon joined by hundreds more who trickled through the entrances in pairs and groups. The mixed drinks and beer were provided by Blue Ridge Beverage. With plenty of time before the concert began, those in attendance enjoyed pizza, fries, and other crowd favorites from local food trucks Uppercust Pizza, Uprooted, Hibachi Guys, and Bistro Bros. VIP ticket holders enjoyed refreshments provided by {RA} Bistro in the shade of the VIP tent. Although the forecast had called for rain, when former Lynchburger Josh Wolfe took the stage to open the show at 6:30, the sky was blue and clear. Kids played frisbee, while the adults lounged in lawn chairs or stretched out on blankets. The ages of those in attendance ranged from infants and toddlers to the older couples slow dancing to the music, with a mix of ages between. Shortly after Josh Wolfe finished his set, The Big Noise took the stage. Led by Cactus Moser, Wynonna Judd’s husband, the group of four […]

Meet the Staff: Kelly Posenauer

August 17, 2018 Morgan Yeatts

by Morgan Yeatts Kelly Posenauer’s story of moving to Lynchburg for school and staying is not uncommon in a college town like this one. Originally from Pennsylvania, she came here to attend Liberty University. While she knew that her heart was in children’s education, she wasn’t sure if teaching was the route she wanted to take. Instead, she chose Interior Design, while her passion for children’s education remained, though unrequited. Years later, the perfect opportunity came along. A neighbor of Kelly’s at the time was an employee of the Academy Center of the Arts, (then the Academy of Fine Arts), and informed her that the position of Director of Education was open. Unsure if she met all of the requirements, she decided to apply and ended up securing the position. Now, nearly ten years later, she’s planned, overseen, and executed countless visual and performing arts classes for not only children, but people of all ages in the community. “With education, we get to serve all different ages, and especially with our outreach programs, all demographics, and it’s really cool to see how that has expanded through the years” she says. Kelly loves the opportunity she has […]

Outreach in Action

July 12, 2018 Morgan Yeatts

by Morgan Yeatts Our goal at the Academy “is to overcome barriers in the community in order to better serve underserved and underrepresented populations, [and to] reach those with the arts who don’t have access,” said Evan Smith, Director of Community Outreach. One of the best ways we complete this mission is through camps and classes designed to provide children, from toddlers to teens, with access to arts and culture in the safe and nurturing environment the Academy provides. “Our engagement in the arts for arts sake is not enough in telling our story,” said Geoffrey Kershner, Executive Director. Referencing an article from Americans for the Arts entitled The Top 10 Skills Children Learn From the Arts, he continued, “it has been proven that all 10 of these tangible life skills,” including creativity, confidence, problem-solving, perseverance, and other skills, “are acquired through arts activity. It is these very skills that are enhancing the effectiveness of the overall program and create value in what we are providing.” The Academy’s partnership and collaboration with the Lynchburg area YMCA is a perfect example of this mission in action. The 6-week “Summer Learning Loss Prevention” camp provides rising 3rd graders with […]

What Art Does: Building Confidence and Community Through Theatre

July 3, 2018 Morgan Yeatts

by Morgan Yeatts Summers at the Academy Center of the Arts are filled with excellent opportunities for the community to experience and participate in the arts, whether that be through concerts, classes, or camps. For years, the Academy has offered a summer theatre camp for high schoolers, Encore!, which gives campers the chance to spend entire days participating in master classes while building a product from the ground up, all in one month’s time. The camp is always a community favorite, and this year is no exception. The 29 enrolled students are currently finishing up rehearsals for their 2018 production of Once On This Island, a Broadway musical from 1990, whose 2017 revival was met with rave reviews and Tony Award nominations, winning Best Revival of a Musical. Michelle Velastegui, 7-year director of Encore!, relishes the experience to work with high schoolers from the community who share her love and passion for theatre. Her desire is for the campers to leave this experience with a better knowledge of all aspects of the theatre. “I hope they learn confidence and team building and that it’s more than just a performance,” she says. When asked why […]

Bridges Participants Experience the Arts

June 25, 2018 Brittany Griffith

by Morgan Yeatts Here at the Academy Center of the Arts’, our mission is to serve the community through arts and culture, and outreach is a crucial aspect of that mission. When a chance for the ACOA to partner with the Bridges Residential Treatment Center arose, it was yet another perfect opportunity to put this mission into practice. Bridges Residential Treatment Center is a program by Centra which houses children ages 6 through 17 who suffer from chronic mental health problems. The program is dedicated to providing a therapeutic, nurturing environment in which these children can feel safe and be encouraged to thrive. While the Bridges program provides excellent opportunities and resources, many of the children in the program don’t have access to traditional art classes or arts education on a regular basis. For Kelly Posenauer, Director of Education at the Academy, the route we chose to take the program was obvious. “Art,” she says, “is basically an avenue for healing…and a way to create open communication”. She says that, because of the children’s mental health problems, “in a traditional classroom setting, [they] often act out and don’t get the attention they need, so they don’t get […]

Creativity in Pastels with Sarah Raessler

May 24, 2018 Brittany Griffith

Sarah Raessler, the current artist featured in the Up Front Gallery of the Harrington Building, and her pastel teacher Christine Rooney joined us this week to share insight on Sarah’s history with art, what inspires her, and her process towards creating new work. Sarah began her journey with art in September of 2003 when she joined Christine Rooney’s pastel class. “She came up with her own color combinations and what she wanted to draw,” said Rooney. “She knew right away what colors went together, and it was extraordinary the way she would put them together.” All of the colors were a part of a family, to Sarah. “Sometimes I would give her a pastel that I knew wouldn’t be a part of that combination, and she’d say ‘no, no, that’s not it’.” “I think in abstract ways, and [putting colors in families] helps me understand that,” said Raessler. When asked about how she felt after finding out she would be showing at the Academy’s galleries, Sarah told us that she “was scared.” “I’ve never been shown in the Up Front Gallery before.” But now, after selling 17 of her 25 pieces, she says “it’s […]

A Session on Storytelling with Brian Reed

May 2, 2018 Brittany Griffith

In April, Brian Reed visited the Academy Center of the Arts’ Warehouse Theatre to discuss all things S-Town, as well as his work on Serial and as Senior Producer on This American Life, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Medi and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange. During the event, fans learned more about Reed’s storytelling process, particularly with regard to S-Town, but a special group of students from Lynchburg College’s Communications Studies department nabbed an intimate hour-long workshop with Reed prior to the event where he delved deeper into his process. “The Communication Studies Department at Lynchburg College is committed to exposing its students to experiential learning,” said Ghislaine Lewis, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Lynchburg College. “We were thrilled to have the opportunity through the Academy Center for the Arts for our students to have an intimate conversation with Brian Reed.” Prior to their workshop, students in Dr. Lewis’ course listened to the entire S-Town podcast, and came prepared with questions about the podcast itself, Reed’s process, and modern journalism as a whole. In a casual setting, Reed engaged these questions which ranged from how he approaches interviews, to the medium of podcasting, […]