The celebration that many feared might never happen DID happen, on Saturday, June 18! And what a celebration it was!! The Academy Historic Theatre Restoration Campaign was complete at 16.75 million dollars, exceeding the goal set in 2012 of 16.6 million! Over 1,000 donors at all levels were invited to gather at the Warehouse Theatre […]
Interns Making a Difference
The Academy Center of the Arts would like to thank our spring 2016 intern class. They were great to work with and helped us serve our community through arts and culture. If you wish to hear about future internship opportunities, please contact Evan Smith, Director of Community Outreach at 434-528-3556 x114.
National Juried Art Awards
The Annual National Juried Art Exhibition at the Academy Center of the Arts opened on Friday, April 1. The juror, Siobhan Byrns, Department Chair of Art at Lynchburg College, selected 51 artists from 20 states. The exhibition of 66 pieces encompasses a wide variety of media: including oil paintings, cast paper, clay, stainless steel, wood, […]
Academy Children’s Theatre Offers New Winter Camp
LCS and Homeschoolers – spend your February school break at the Academy! We are very excited to introduce a new winter break theatre camp (February 15-19, from 9am to 4pm each day). Students will rehearse and perform Alice in Wonderland in just one week as well as take classes in the afternoon in costuming, make up, […]
The Creation of ACOA Logo Art: Jon Roark
This blog post comes from Artist Jon Roark’s personal blog. We are thrilled to feature it here. Since I am trying to make this a more regular venue for my random and sketchy observations, (get it? regular for random?) I am going to try to put down some more thoughts on recent projects. I am partway […]
Region 2000 Workforce Development Partnership
As a recent graduate of Randolph College, I know how important experience beyond the classroom can be. Young people need opportunities in professional settings to gain experience and to be competitive in the job market. During my first two months at the Academy Center, I have started to build connections with local high schools and […]
A Free Hour of Code
Software Development is a booming industry. The most in-demand jobs in this field average out to about $88,000 a year. Studies show that by 2020 the demand for these jobs will increase by over 30%, leaving a million more jobs than Computer Science students. Why does this matter? Learning how to code is not only […]
New name. New Look.
As a child, I had the fortune of participating in activity at the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center. This experience was important to me on a number of levels. One, it was an opportunity to for me to spend quality time with my father who was also involved. Two, it was during this time that I […]
High School Theatre Showcase
A community is oftentimes defined as a group of people with a particular characteristic in common; a fellowship, and a common set of goals or interests. Community has a deep meaning and defining purpose to the Academy. “The arts are a community builder,” said Executive Director Geoffrey Kershner. “The arts gather people together to share […]
Kids Out Loud
For years, the Academy’s Kids Out Loud program has been a smash success with R.S. Payne and T.C. Miller here in Lynchburg. Now, the Academy hopes to expand the program into surrounding county elementary schools. Kids Out Loud was founded by Paddy Dougherty, a local singer-songwriter. With Dougherty’s guidance and encouragement, students from the 3rd […]