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Henrico County Public Schools’ annual spring arts festival will return for its fifth year with a weekend of fine art, a guest speaker, music and more. This year’s Henrico ARTS Festival – the acronym stands for Artists, Residents, Teachers and Students – will be held March 24-25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Douglas S. Freeman High School. The theme is “Art opens doors.”
Both days will feature displays of fine art from every school in the division and activities sponsored by local community partners and cultural centers. March 24 will feature a sidewalk drawing contest from 10 a.m. to noon and a 1 p.m. presentation by Richmond artist and writer Noah Scalin. Scalin’s “Skull-a-Day” project garnered international attention and launched a 2008 book. The project has been featured in such places as The New York Times, BoingBoing and theAtlantic.com. Find out more about Scalin and see his work at noahscalin.com.
March 25 will feature a noon-2 p.m. visit from Studio Two Three, which will bring its printmaking truck to the school’s bus loop. Visitors to the truck will have a chance to make prints of work by Studio Two Three, much of it relating to Richmond.
The festival aims to use Henrico Schools as a hub for building arts connections across the community.
“We’re excited to visit our fifth different community in five years,” said Mike Kalafatis, Henrico Schools art specialist. “The goal is to have the festival reach all of our high schools once by 2022. Every year we offer more interactive art experiences for students and families.”
All activities both days are free. The schedule is as follows:
March 24
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Performances, exhibits and activities
• 10 a.m. to noon: Sidewalk chalk contest
• 1 p.m.: Presentation by artist and writer Noah Scalin
March 25
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Performances, exhibits and activities
• Noon to 2 p.m.: Studio Two Three printmaking truck
Freeman High School is located at 8701 Three Chopt Road.
