Albemarle High Senior Katharina Ravichandran to Represent Virginia in National Poetry Out Loud Competition

Teen Advanced from 11 Student Competitors to Win Virginia State Final

Katharina Ravichandran, a senior at Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, will represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the national Poetry Out Loud competition, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation on May 1, 2022. Once again, this year’s competition will be held virtually, at arts.gov. She is working with renowned Virginia-based poet Regie Cabico to prepare for the event.
 
Miss Ravichandran advanced after becoming the 2022 Poetry Out Loud Virginia State Champion in a recorded event that took place Friday, March 11, 2022 at VPM, Virginia’s home for Public Media. There, Miss Ravichandran competed along with eleven other students from across the Commonwealth.

Student competitors included:

  • Damilola Awofisayo, Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria
  • Evalynn Bogusz, Heritage High School
  • Alyssa Malcolm, Deep Run High School. Richmond
  • Bailey Moncure, Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, Petersburg
  • Katherine Nguyen, Colonial Forge High School, Stafford
  • Ryan Poquis, Mills E. Godwin High School, Henrico
  • Kashvi Ramani, Rock Ridge High School, Ashburn
  • Isaiah Riddle, Grace Christian School, Staunton
  • Samantha Rinker, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke
  • Trinity Smith, Open High School, Richmond
  • Killian Winn, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond


To learn how you can participate in Virginia’s Poetry Out Loud program visit, http://www.arts.virginia.gov/programs_POL.html. 
Upcoming VCA Meetings

FY23 Advisory (Grants) Panels
Advisory Panels for the FY23 grant applications begin next month. All meetings are Public Meetings. Additional information (including specific times for each day's panel) can be found on our website, by emailing arts@vca.virginia.gov, or by calling the VCA offices at (804) 225-3132.

  • April 12 - GOS, Area I, Arts Depot, Abingdon
  • April 13 - GOS, Area III, The Jefferson Center, Roanoke
  • April 19 - GOS, Area IVB, ARTFactory, Manassas
  • April 20 - GOS, Area IVA, McLean Project for the Arts, McLean
  • April 22 - GOS, MAJORS, Visual Arts Center, Richmond
  • April 26 - GOS, Area V - SPARC, Richmond
  • April 28 - GOS, Area II, Bower Center for the Arts, Bedford
  • May 4 & 5 - Projects, Cultural Arts Center, Glen Allen
  • May 6 - GOS, Area VI, American Theatre, Hampton                    
  • May 11 & 12 - Arts in Education/Teaching Artist Roster, Dogtown Dance Theatre, Richmond

VCA Commission Board
June 15-16, 2022 - 9 - 5 PM (each day) - Richmond, Location TBC
Save the date - Mid-Atlantic Teaching Artists Retreat

Save the date for Tuesday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 10th for the biennial Mid-Atlantic Teaching Artists Retreat. This virtual retreat is free and open to all Teaching Artists. Mark your calendars now. More details including the agenda and registration are forthcoming. 
The New Unique Entity Identifier is Here

On April 4, 2022, the federal government stopped using the DUNS Number to uniquely identify entities. Now, entities doing business with the federal government use the Unique Entity ID created in SAM.gov. They no longer have to go to a third-party website to obtain their identifier. This transition allows the government to streamline the entity identification and validation process, making it easier and less burdensome for entities to do business with the federal government.

For VCA applicants (and more importantly, ultimately grantees) you MUST have a UEI to receive funding in FY23, as we may be applying federal dollars to your award. If you did not get your UEI by April 4, please review this information from GSA to learn what you need to do.

Stay tuned for more details from the VCA as we all transition to this new process.
Register Now for
the Final Session of
Art Works for Virginia 2022
on April 27, 2022
Thanks to everyone who has joined us for any of the Art Works for Virginia (virtual) sessions this year! We hope you can join us for our final session Wednesday, April 27, from 3:30 - 5 PM.

Final Session

April 27, 2022, 3:30 - 5:00 PM:
Tools for Expanding Creative Placemaking in Your Community

Hear from ARTSFAIRFAX about their new "Creative Spaces Toolkit", a roadmap to interim activation of vacant buildings and spaces, specifically designed to create a collaboration between the arts sector, property owners, and government officials. Then hear from Kate Pittman, Executive Director of ViBe Creative District, on the range of initiatives that have made Virginia Beach's Oceanfront District a national model for a destination/tourism experience. 

Previous Sessions

January 22, 2022 - Opening Session,
We all know that the arts has the power to transcend across all communities, including those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by ethnicity, economics, geography, or disability. 

February 23, 2022 - Community Support for Individual Artists, Webinar Recording Here
Justin "Demeanor" Harrington, one of January's co-presenters, returns to share more about how his organization has shifted its model since the pandemic started, to provide greater resources and supports for capacity-building of artists. 

March 23, 2022 - Expanding Access to Arts in Education, Webinar Recording Here
Learn about the exciting new "Arts Ed Data Project", a collaboration involving Virginia's Fine Arts Coalition, Department of Education, and Virginia Commission for the Arts that aims to gather and analyze the existing arts education systems across the state in order to identify gaps. Then hear from a national community and how they have applied findings to systemic change in order to create greater, more equitable access to the arts for students.
Virginia Commission for the Arts | www.arts.virginia.gov