The new semester brings with it a vast array of opportunities for people to enjoy the arts at William & Mary as the university continues its celebration of the Year of the Arts.

While not an exhaustive list, the entries below feature a number of events that are currently planned in the categories of art, dance, film, Muscarelle Museum of Art, music, poetry and theatre. For updates and additional events, such as a talk on the power of the arts as a diplomatic tool on Feb. 19, please see the Year of the Arts calendar. 

Art

A graphic that says Year of the Arts
See more events and find additional information on the Year of the Arts website.

Catron Scholars Exhibition & Reception

Feb. 19-23
Andrews Gallery

Please join the Department of Art & Art History and the Charles Center in celebrating the work of this year’s recipients of the Catron Scholarship for Artistic Development. Featured works by the Scholars will be on display in the Andrews Gallery Feb. 19-23.  

Also, on Thursday Feb. 22, 5-7 p.m., a reception will be followed by brief presentations by each of the scholars.

Distinguished Lecture in Art History: Suzanne P. Blier

March 6
5-6 p.m.
Andrews Hall, Room 101

Suzanne Preston Blier is the Allen Whitehill Clowes Professor of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Her most recent books include “The History of African Art” and “The Streets of Newtowne: A Story of Cambridge, Ma.” She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and currently serves as chair of the Executive Committee of Delegates for American Council of Learned Societies

Braithwaite Event with Muriel Miguel, Spiderwoman Theatre

April 3, 5:30 p.m., “Muriel Miguel, A Retrospective,” Glenn Close Theatre, Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall

April 4, 5-9 p.m., Storyweaving Workshop. Lab Theatre, Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall (admission by registration)

April 5, 2-6 p.m., Material Witness: Fabric Workshop. Lab Theatre, Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall (admission by registration)

Sponsored by: Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, the American Indian Resource Center, Theatre & Dance, and Art & Art History

More Art & Art History:

  • March 11-24 (pending): Video Art Screening, Andrews Gallery, in conjunction with Ampersand Arts Festival
  • March 25-April 5: Non-Majors Exhibition, location TBD
  • April 11-26: Honors Exhibition, Andrews Gallery. Reception: April 18, 5-7 p.m.
  • April 26-27: Art History Senior Colloquium. Keynote lecture on April 26, 5 p.m.; student research presentations on April 27, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Andrews 101.
  • May 3-22: Senior Exhibition, Andrews Gallery
  • May 11, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.: Art & Art History Community Open House, Andrews Hall and Gallery. The event is to welcome students and families from Tidewater Virginia for workshops in studio art and art history, live music and performance.

Dance

Dance: An Evening of Dance featuring Orchesis Modern Dance Company

March 27-30
7:30 p.m.
Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall, Glenn Close Theatre
Tickets are available online.

An Evening of Dance is an annual concert in which students explore and develop original choreography performed by their peers in the Orchesis Modern Dance Company, under the mentorship of the Dance faculty.

Film

Manufacturing Freedom by Elena Shih

Feb. 22
3:30-7 p.m.
Blow Memorial Hall, Room 201

This event features a film screening of Yin Q’s “Fly in Power” and book talk on “Manufacturing Freedom: Sex Work, Anti-Trafficking Rehab, and the Racial Wages of Rescue” with Elena Shih. Shih is Manning Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, where she directs a human trafficking research cluster through the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

Arts & Sciences Inclusive Inquiry Speaker Series Film Festival

Feb. 22-23
5-8 p.m.
Sadler Center, Commonwealth Auditorium

This two-day film festival features Cadence Theatre Company’s Sitelines BLM ACTION short films. The keynote speaker is director, writer, producer and William & Mary alumnus, Omar Kamara ’15. Kamara’s “Mass Ave” was selected in 2021 as a finalist at the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). His debut feature African Giants will premiere in 2024 at the Slamdance Film Festival. Kamara will deliver the keynote address on Feb. 23.  See the website for event details.

Ampersand Film Festival

March 18-24

For nearly two decades, the Ampersand International Arts Festival (formerly the W&M Global Film Festival) has brought the Williamsburg community and visitors together for an annual celebration of the arts. This year is no exception. The festival features an extraordinary collection of events that promise to make the week of March 18-24 something truly memorable. As part of its program, the festival will feature guest conversations, films and industry summit events from dozens of W&M alumni, students and faculty.

Here are a few highlights:

Monday, March 18

5 p.m. – Blue Talon Prix Fixe Dinner inspired by The Taste of Things
$75, includes ticket to 7 p.m. film screening, meal taxes, and gratuity
TICKETS | MORE INFO

7 p.m. – The Taste of Things
2023, France, French with subtitles, 134 min, PG-13
Kimball Theatre, $12
TICKETS | MORE INFO

Tuesday, March 19

7 p.m. – The Passion of Joan of Arc silent film with live score
1928, France, French (with English intertitles), 114 min, Not Rated
Original score composed by George Sarah
Kimball Theatre, $16
TICKETS | MORE INFO

Wednesday, March 20

7 p.m. – Citizen Sleuth with Director Chris Kasick
2023, USA, English, 82 min, Not Rated
Kimball Theatre, $16
TICKETS | MORE INFO

9:30 p.m. – 24 Speed: W&M Student Film Competition Screening
Produced in partnership with W&M Libraries & the Reeder Media Center
Kimball Theatre, free
MORE INFO

Thursday, March 21

7:30 p.m. – Live Comedy: Maria Bamford
Kimball Theatre, $35
TICKETS | MORE INFO

Friday, March 22

7:30 p.m.- We Grown Now pre-release screening with Producer Joe Pirro
2023, USA, English, 93 min, PG
Kimball Theatre, $16
TICKETS | MORE INFO

7:30 p.m. – W&M Shorts #1Featuring a showcase of short films from current W&M students
Tucker Theater, free
MORE INFO

Saturday, March 23

10:30 a.m. – W&M Shorts #2
A double feature of short films from W&M alumni
Tucker Theater, free
MORE INFO

3 p.m. – Author Talk: Kiley Reid
Williamsburg Regional Library, $16
TICKETS | MORE INFO

5 p.m. – A Conversation with Daveed Diggs
Kimball Theatre, $35
TICKETS | MORE INFO

8 p.m. – A Conversation with Cord Jefferson
Kimball Theatre, $35
TICKETS | MORE INFO

9:30 p.m. – 24: Speed: W&M Alumni Filmmaking Competition Screening
Tucker Theater, free
MORE INFO

Sunday, March 24

11 a.m. – 24 Speed: Alumni Remix Challenge Screening
Tucker Theater, free
MORE INFO

12:30 p.m. – W&M Shorts #3
Featuring a showcase of short films from W&M alumni
Sadler Center Commonwealth Auditorium, free
MORE INFO

1:30 p.m. – Madu pre-release screening with Editor Georgia Dodson
2024, Nigeria | USA, English, 100 min, TV-PG
Kimball Theatre, $16
TICKETS | MORE INFO

3:30 p.m. – WeMake Filmmakers Student Film Showcase
Featuring a showcase of short films from current students
Sadler Center Commonwealth Auditorium, free
MORE INFO

Muscarelle Museum of Art

Editor’s note: While the Muscarelle Museum of Art continues to be closed for construction, the museum will continue to host pop-up exhibitions across campus and town and other events.

Nascent Themes: Recent Collages by Clive Knights

On display now through May 18
Daily Grind

This exhibition features collage work by English artist and architect Clive Knights. It serves as the lab portion for “Neuroaesthetics: The Artist and the Mind,” a course co-taught by faculty in art & art history and psychological sciences.

Collage Workshop

Feb. 17
Noon-2:30 p.m.
The Grind

Visiting artist Clive Knights will host a collage workshop.

Two-day Workshop, Observational Drawing

Feb. 13
5-8 p.m.
W&M Campus Center
$35 for Muscarelle members, W&M staff, faculty and students; $50 for non-members
Limited to 15 participants. Register online.

The tradition of “still life” spans the history of art and across cultures. Join us for two evenings in February to learn the basics of observational drawing using charcoal and pencil. Instructors Steve Prince, Director of Engagement, and Sarah Wicker, Community Engagement Specialist, will share with participants creating a range of values, simplifying shapes, measurement systems, and positive and negative space to create their image. All materials provided. All skill levels welcome.

The Fullness of Fragments: Clive Knights Lecture & Reception

Feb. 16
4-5 p.m.
Tucker Hall

A lecture by Knights will take place in Tucker Hall Theater, followed by a reception and viewing of the exhibition in the Daily Grind. By way of introduction to a life in collage, illustrated with work created across several decades, the presentation will articulate Knights’s thoughts on the cultural value of collage, its role as poetic making and its metaphoric potential to animate common human themes.

Michelangelo: Divine Architect

Feb. 21
5-6 p.m.
Register online.

The Muscarelle’s spring Selected Topics in Architecture lecture series will focus on the flourishing Renaissance period, when architectural innovation resulted in some of the world’s most breathtaking and magnificent structures. Adriano Marinazzo, curator of special projects at the Muscarelle, will deliver the lecture.

Art of the Book

People hold up books

March 1-2
10-3 p.m.
Matoaka Art Studio
Muscarelle members $25, non-members $30
Limited to 15 participants. Tickets are available online.

Explore the history of books in Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center. Participants will examine rare books in Special Collections, learn about the history of the book, and create collaborative artwork using one of the oldest forms of bookmaking through relief printmaking. All materials will be provided, as will lunch each day. This workshop is designed for adults and youth aged 14-plus.

Instructors: Steve Prince, director of engagement & distinguished artist in residence,
Muscarelle Museum of Art; Sarah Wicker, community engagement specialist,
Muscarelle Museum of Art; Meghan Bryanth, head of public services & instruction,
Special Collections Research Center; and Tyler Goldberger, special collections research and instruction associate, Special Collections Research Center.

Explore them all at muscarelle.wm.edu/shop.

Artist in Residence: Delita Martin

March 19
5-6 p.m.
Commonwealth Auditorium

Multidisciplinary artist Delita Martin will provide a voice-of-the-artist lecture after a week spent using historic resources and recent research in collaboration with The Lemon Project. She will create an imaginative portrait of one of the documented enslaved women at William & Mary. She will then work with current students in a printmaking atelier to create a limited edition print of the work. Martin’s art addresses issues of identity and representation, using a rich vocabulary of recent and historic signs, symbols and language focusing on the stories of Black women.

Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance Architecture

April 3
5–6 p.m.
Tucker Hall Theater
Register online.

The buildings conceived by Italian artists in the 15th and 16th centuries, who were frequently pressed into architectural duty, were a collective reflection of the great structures from the Roman empire that still existed across the Italian peninsula. From Brunelleschi and Alberti, through Bramante and the Sangallos, to Raphael, Michelangelo, Peruzzi, Guilio Romano and Andrea Palladio, the architectural production of the period includes many important treasures that survive to this day and have influenced the design of buildings across the world. Muscarelle Director David Brashear will present.

Voice of the Photographer: Ron Tarver

April 10
5-6 p.m.
Tucker Hall, 127A
Register for the event online.

For nearly 50 years, photographer Ron Tarver’s work has explored facets of the Black community. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, he produced photo essays on subjects ranging from double-dutch jump rope to the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s. His exhibitions have explored Black architectural legacy and the experiences of Black veterans, and his most recent project appropriates images his father made in the 1940s-1950s to comment on the current racial climate. His broad range of works shows his love for the medium relating to the community at large and is deeply personal.

America in Black & White: Depression-Era Photographs from the Farm Security Administration

April 15-May 31
Stryker Center, City of Williamsburg

A selection of photos from the New Deal-era government project that created a pictorial record of American life between 1935-1944 and launched the careers of American photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Gordon Parks.

Muscarelle Explorations

Various dates, times and locations

In conjunction with the museum’s two pop-up exhibitions focused on photography, Muscarelle Explorations will dive into the art of photography and its power to tell human stories through a series of events including a #Buscarelle trip to the National Gallery of Art, a Voice-of-the-Photographer lecture, a screening of the film “Exposing Muybridge” and a photo screen printing workshop. More information is available on the Muscarelle website.

Music

Ewell Concert Series: Belvedere Series Trio

Feb. 9
7p.m.
Music Arts Center, Recital Hall

Domenic Salerni is a violinist, composer, arranger, and teacher. A member of the multiple Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet, Domenic is based in Brooklyn, New York. He was the first violinist of the Dalí Quartet from 2016 to 2020, where he collaborated extensively with musicians like Ricardo Morales and Olga Kern. The Dalí Quartet recorded the Brahms and Shostakovich piano quintets with Kern for Delos Records in 2019. With the Dalí Quartet, he was a recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program’s 2019 Aspire Award.

Honduran-Venezuelan cellist Andres Sanchez began his cello studies at the age of eight under the wing of current Puerto Rico symphony cello principle Miguel Rojas. After two years, he moved his studies to the cello studio of Jesus Morales, cellist of the Dali Quartet and past principle of the Puerto Rico Symphony. At age 10, he made his first solo debuts with the Midwest Clinic of Chicago and the Ocean City Pops Orchestra, which was followed by his Carnegie Hall debut.

Ingrid Keller is the founding artistic director of the Belvedere Series. A member of the W&M faculty, she has performed nationally at the Kennedy Center, Symphony Hall in Boston, Jordan Hall, the Banff Centre and Tanglewood. Recent collaborations have brought her on stage with the Mark Morris Dance group, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Richmond Symphony and alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Leonidas Kavakos and Joe Burgstaller.

Ewell Concert Series: Duo Del’Ato

Feb. 24
7 p.m.
Music Arts Center, Concert Hall

Daniel Inamorato is a multidisciplinary performing artist from Brazil, recently hired as piano faculty at William & Mary. Inamorato is the founder and director of The Toy Piano Sanctuary & Neurodiversity Music Institute and director and curator of A Teia de Idéias, a special-needs-focused company in Brazil that builds affordable pedagogic materials and adapted musical instruments for people with disabilities.

Brazilian-born clarinetist Tiago Delgado promotes equity, diversity and inclusion through collaborative music-making. He currently serves as faculty at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and served as clarinet teaching artist (agent of artistic experience – inspiring children to achieve their full potential through orchestral music) at the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and as instructor at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine.

Ewell Concert Series: Richmond Piano Trio

March 7
7 p.m.
Music Arts Center, Recital Hall

Neal Carey has been principal cellist with the Richmond Symphony since 1988 and has served as principal cellist of the Williamsburg Symphony since 2002. Joanne Kong gave the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass’s Side by Side, the first concerto that features a keyboard soloist in the dual role of pianist and harpsichordist. Daisuke Yamamoto was hand-picked by Michael Tilson Thomas to participate in the Thomashefsky Project, an homage to Tilson Thomas’s grandparents who were pioneers of the American Yiddish Theater. The project was recorded for DVD and was aired on PBS Great Performances.

Ewell Concert Series: Harris Simon

Harris Simon

March 23
7 p.m.
Music Arts Center, Concert Hall

A member of the performing artist faculty of William & Mary since 1994, pianist Harris Simon has performed with many well-known jazz musicians, including Jane Ira Bloom, Tom Browne, Sonny Fortune, Dexter Gordon, Clifford Jordan, Red Mitchell and Claudio Roditi. He has played at jazz festivals in New York, Montreal, Montreux, Edinburgh, Tokyo, Helsinki and Stockholm among others. In 1983, Simon won First Prize at the Kalisz International Jazz Piano Competition in Poland. He has been a regular at the Williamsburg Winter Blues Jazz Fest and has performed as a jazz pianist/accompanist with the Williamsburg Symphony. In 2013, he performed at Carnegie Recital Hall in a program of poetry and music sponsored by the Muscarelle Museum.

Ewell Concert Series: Victor Haskins

April 5
7 p.m.
Music Arts Center, Concert Hall

Victor Haskins is a multi-instrumentalist, multidisciplinary artist, international performer, composer, improviser, bandleader and educator. He specializes in generating unforgettable memories through the power of performance. As a soloist and bandleader, Victor has appeared at the Henrico, Richmond, Elkhart and Apex jazz festivals, the Kennedy Center REACH Opening Festival, the Richmond 2nd Street and East End festivals, the Festival of New Trumpet Music (New York City), the Winter Blues Jazz Fest (Williamsburg) and the Christopher Newport University Trumpet Festival. He has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Contemporary Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Ewell Hall (W&M), the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the Jazz Gallery (NYC), iBeam (NYC), Résonance Café (Montreal), Snug Harbor (New Orleans, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa) and Teatro SESI Rio Vermelho (Salvador, Bahia, BR), amongst others.

Ewell Concert Series: The Wren Masters

May 3
7 p.m.
Music Arts Center, Recital Hall

The Wren Masters baroque ensemble will present the program, “Baroque Brilliance,” which features music by virtuoso composer-performers of the 18th century. The program includes music by Telemann, Marin Marais, Buxtehude, and J.S Bach. Based in Williamsburg, the Wren Masters specialize in historical performance of 17th and 18th century music played on harpsichord, recorder, baroque violin and viola da gamba. The ensemble is sponsored by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and drawn from current and former William & Mary music faculty and Colonial Williamsburg.

More Music

Additional musical performances are scheduled throughout the spring semester. Please check the music calendar for updates and additional information.

February

  • Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m., W&M Choir, Music Arts Center, Concert Hall

March

  • March 2, 4 p.m., Music from the Margins, Music Arts Center, Comey Recital Hall

April

May

  • May 2, 7 p.m., Middle East Ensemble, Music Arts Center, Comey Recital Hall
  • May 3, 7 p.m., Appalachian Music Ensemble, Music Arts Center, Concert Hall
  • May 4, 7:30 p.m., Symphony Orchestra, Spring Concert, Music Arts Center, Concert Hall

Poetry

Reading by Dave Gunton

Feb. 22
6:30 p.m.
Tucker Hall Theater

Dave Gunton ’99 will read from his new book, “Notable Moons.” He and wife Anne ’00 sponsor the Concord Scholarship for Creative Writers at W&M.

Reading by Time Seibles

April 4
7 p.m.
Tucker Hall Theater

National Book Award-finalist Tim Seibles will read from his new collection “Voodoo Libretto: New and Selected Poems.”

Reading and Panel Discussion with Azad Sharma

April 23
5-7 p.m.
Music Arts Building, Comey Recital Hall

Azad Sharma is a writer, publisher and director of the 87Press. The event is being held in partnership with Creative Writing, Modern Languages & Literatures, the Reves Center and the Wellness Center.

Theatre

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Feb. 29–March 3
7:30 pm. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall
Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 students/children

Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Lynn Nottage draws upon the screwball films of the 1930s to take an irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. It’s a 70-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.

A Year with Frog and Toad

April 25-28, 7:30pm; April 27-28, 2 p.m.
Glenn Close Theatre in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall
Tickets are available online.

Waking from hibernation in the spring, Frog and Toad plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding and learn life lessons along the way. The two best friends celebrate and rejoice in the differences that make them unique and special. Part vaudeville, part make believe … all charm. Music by Robert Reale and book & lyrics by Willie Reale. Based on the books by Arnold Lobel.