Campus and Community

Community members dance during a free outdoor concert by Puerto Rican band Plena Libre at the Center for the Arts

Campus Partnerships

Partnerships with organizations and departments across Virginia Tech enrich our programming, expand our reach, and foster connections that support creativity, learning, and community engagement. Last year we worked with 60 Virginia Tech-based partner organizations — a 44% increase over the previous year.

APIDA + Center
Arabic Language Club at Virginia Tech
Ati: Wa:oki Indigenous Community Center
Aurora Living-Learning Community
Black Cultural Center
Center for Educational Networks and Impacts
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Embodied Brain Lab)
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (Humanities)
Comedy Conglomerate at Virginia Tech
Cranwell International Center
Creativity + Innovation District (CID) Living-Learning Community
CID Living-Learning Community (Rhizome)
CID Living-Learning Community (Studio 72)
Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management (Fashion Merchandising and Design)
Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management (Residential Environment and Design)
Department of English
Department of English (Creative Writing)
Department of English (Professional and Technical Writing)
Department of History

Department of History (Asian Studies)
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (Arabic)
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (Japanese)
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (Spanish)
Department of Political Science and International Studies
Department of Religion and Culture
Department of Religion and Culture (ASPECT – Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought)
Department of Sociology (American Indian Studies)
Department of Sociology (Women and Gender Studies)
El Centro – Hispanic and Latinx Cultural Center
Global Education Office
Hokie Wellness
Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT)
Iranian Society at Virginia Tech
Leadership & Social Change Residential College
Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech
Marching Virginians
Middle East North African Student Association

Mozaiko Living-Learning Community
North African Student Association
Office for Inclusion and Diversity / Office of Inclusive Strategy and Excellence
Office of Equity and Accessibility
Pride Center
The Roost Living Learning Community
School of Architecture
School of Communication
School of Design (Landscape Architecture)
School of Performing Arts (Cinema)
School of Performing Arts (Dance)
School of Performing Arts (Music)
School of Performing Arts (Theatre Arts)
School of Visual Arts (Art History)
School of Visual Arts (Creative Technologies)
School of Visual Arts (Material Culture and Public Humanities)
School of Visual Arts (Studio Art)
Student Services (Services for Students with Disabilities)
Ujima Living-Learning Community
University Libraries (Community Collections Archives)
Virginia Cooperative Extension Program
Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute
Virginia Tech Engagement Center for Creative Aging

"Wow! What a beautiful package you offered — not only the performance, but the classes presented by Christopher Campo-Bowen. He prepared us well for what we would hear, and now I am excited to process what we heard and saw with him and my fellow students. On that stage, I saw and heard music sensitively, beautifully played, and saw lovely interaction among the musicians."

— Participant in the Lifelong Learning Institute's Vivaldi's Four Seasons at 300 course, presented in conjunction with the performance by Les Arts Florissants on April 2, 2025

Community Collaboration

Partnering with community members and organizations is vital to our mission, helping us to deepen our programming, strengthen local connections, and ensure that the arts remain a vibrant, accessible part of life for everyone. There was a 17% increase in the number of community-based partner organizations for the 2024-2025 season.

Big Lick Latin Underground
Blacksburg Dance Theater
Blacksburg Refugee Partnership
Blacksburg Regional Art Association
Boys and Girls Clube, Vinton, Virginia
Carilion Clinic
Commonweath Senior Living
Community Foundation of the New River Valley
Community School, Roanoke, Virginia
The Crooked Road
JoELoe Productions

Newcomers Club
New River Community Action
North Cross School, Roanoke, Virginia
Radford Senior Center
Radford University Dance Department
Southwestern Virginia Middle Eastern Dance Association
Taubman Museum of Art
University of Richmond
Virginia Tech String Project
Warm Hearth Village

Members of Big Lick Latin Underground lead a dance workshop, followed by a Latin dance social, in the Cube at the Center for the Arts. — Closing out the season, the Cube was transformed into Club Cube(a) for a free afterparty in partnership with Big Lick Latin Underground.

Conversations with the Juror

Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the High Musuem in Atlanta, discusses the process of jurying the New River Art Juried Biennial at the Center for the Arts. — In summer 2025 we hosted the New River Art Juried Biennial in collaboration with the Blacksburg Regional Art Association. Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the High Museum in Atlanta, juried the show and discussed his approach to jurying. Photo by Pippi Miller

Live Interviews with Artists

Members of the Center for the Arts Advocacy Board (formerly the Moss Arts Partners) join center staff to help display submitted works for the community art project "Mapping My Story." — Volunteers assisted with the PK-12 student matinees and the installation of the Community Art Project. Volunteers included community members, retired educators, Center for the Arts Advocacy Board members, individuals from the Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech, and individuals from Volunteer Montgomery. Photo by Lev Birman

"We were honored to host the Dante Quartet at [Carilion New River Valley]. Their performance created a moment of reflection and calm within our hospital — a rare and powerful experience for both patients and staff. Events like this remind us of the deep connection between the arts and healing, and we are grateful for the opportunity to bring that experience into our community."

— Benjamin S. Blankenship, senior director, Facility Support Services, Carilion Clinic

The Dante Quartet performs at New River Valley Carilion ahead of its performance at the Center for the Arts. — The Dante Quartet performs at Carilion New River Valley ahead of its performance at the Center for the Arts.

Special Events

In September 2024 the center hosted another annual free outdoor community concert to kick off the season — this time with the high energy sound of Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre, who led a bomba dance workshop followed by a concert that had everyone dancing.

Plena Libre performs on the lawn at the Center for the Arts

Workshops and Engagement

The Center for the Arts hosted more than 200 free arts experiences on campus and in the community throughout the 2024-2025 season.

Cirque Kalabanté led a free African dance and drumming workshop in the Cube at the Center for the Arts, presented in conjunction with International Education Week.

Dance majors from Radford University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts explored A.I.M by Kyle Abraham’s signature steps and expressive phrases in a class led by a member of the company.

Itraab Music Ensemble 10th Anniversary

This season represented a milestone for the Itraab Music Ensemble (whose name translates as “enchantment through music”) as the group celebrated its 10th anniversary. Founded in 2014, the ensemble explores traditional and contemporary repertoire from the Southwest Asia, North and East Africa, and Gulf regions. The ensemble performs vocal and instrumental music representing art, folk, and popular musical styles, and occasionally original compositions by Itraab members. The ensemble is open to all Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff, and members of the community.

Itraab Music Ensemble performs in the Cube at the Center for the Arts.

Commissions

The center has an opportunity to give back to the arts community by supporting the development of new works. These commissions also help to elevate the profiles of both the center and Virginia Tech as those new works are performed and exhibited in venues around the world.

Kyle Abraham's 2x4

Dancers from A.I.M by Kyle Abraham perform "2x4" on stage — Co-commissioned by the center, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham’s "2x4" had its world premiere on March 22, 2025, during the company’s performance in Blacksburg. Photo by Alexander Diaz

Andrew Schneider's HERE

Performer, writer, and interactive electronics artist Andrew Schneider workshops his new work, "HERE," co-commissioned by the Center for the Arts and the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), in the Cube. — The center and the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) co-commissioned "HERE," a new work by Andrew Schneider exploring the idea of being present using dance and technology. Schneider is a Drama Desk-nominated performer, writer, and interactive-electronics artist who creates original works for theatre, dance, sound, video, and installation. He and two dancers workshopped the piece in the Cube during the summer of 2024. Their residency included multiple rehearsals where audiences could experience the work in progress, ask questions, and provide feedback. They also hosted a free dance workshop. "HERE" premiered at Jacob’s Pillow in the summer of 2025. Photo by Rodney Kimbangu

Brian Dettmer's Memories of the Mountains

Erika Ranee's The Wild Things

Erika Ranee's site-specific mural, "The Wild Things," on the exterior Turner Street wall of the Center for the Arts. — In conjunction with her summer 2024 exhibition in the center’s Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery and Sherwood Payne Quillen '71 Reception Gallery, artist Erika Ranee created a site-specific mural, "The Wild Things," for the exterior Turner Street wall using images of her work. The mural was on view through July 2025.

Guest Events

Numerous events are held in the center throughout the year by both campus and community organizations and individuals. These events bring thousands of people to the center, many stepping in the doors for the very first time. We hosted 132 non-Center for the Arts events in our facilities in 2024-2025, including community theatre and dance performances, faculty events, athletic events, lectures, receptions, and more.

Summer Musical Enterprise's Mary Poppins

Summer Musical Enterprises presented "Mary Poppins" at the Center for the Arts.

Blacksburg Ballet's The Nutcracker

Blacksburg Ballet presented "The Nutcracker" at the Center for the Arts. A dancer in a white tutu stands on stage and looks out into an empty house. — Blacksburg Ballet presented "The Nutcracker" at the Center for the Arts. Photo by Liz McNeil Photography

President Sands' annual State of the University

Virginia Tech President Tim Sands delivers his annual State of the University address in the Street and Davis Performance Hall’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre. — Virginia Tech President Tim Sands’ annual State of the University address was held in the Street and Davis Performance Hall’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre.