Black Fine Arts Festival to be Held Saturday at Spotsylvania Mall
Event sponsored by the Museum of Visual Arts and Sciences will feature live performances of music, rap, and spoken word, and art exhibits.
By Chloe McAnn
INTERN
Local Black artists will take center stage at the first-ever Black Arts Festival at Spotsylvania Mall on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
Inside the mall, in front of JCPenney, a stage, along with seats for audience viewing, will be set up to showcase several Black artists ranging from age 19 and up, in honor of Black Fine Art Month.
Performances consisting of music, rap, and spoken word poetry will highlight some hidden artistic talents within the Fredericksburg area.
The event is being held by the Museum of Visual Arts and Sciences, located in the mall, and is sponsored by the museum’s founder, Dr. John McGuire.
“We really want more poetry, spoken word, photography, arts and music locally here in Fredericksburg,” said McGuire. “So that’s our goal, because if you want more of it, eventually someone’s gonna have to step up and make it happen.”
The festival consists of two parts. The first, taking place on the stage beside, consists of the live performances.
McGuire is particularly excited to showcase the spoken word poets, as he hopes the event will draw more attention to Fredericksburg’s small but growing poetry scene.
“We have a few poets from the area, but most are from the greater D.C. region, so we’re happy to feature some from Fredericksburg,” said McGuire. “We’re hoping to find even more because we don’t see a lot of spoken word locally.”
Fredericksburg local Knoelle Pipes, who’s performing two of her spoken word poems at the event, is most hopeful that the festival will lead to other poets being discovered.
“I hope more poets and artists, wherever they come from, come out of the shadows and feel comfortable knowing there’s a community out there for them and that we’re all waiting,” said Pipes.
Paul Benjamin, the other spoken word poet, said he hopes the event will create a sense of community in times of struggle.
“I hope people can get that there’s a place where we not only express our emotions, but connect with each other and find a space even in storms or rough patches,” said Benjamin. “I feel as though Black art has always been one of those spaces where we come together—not only to share our emotions, but to uplift each other in times of trouble.”
The second half of the event will move a couple of steps down the mall into the museum of Visual Arts and Science.
Inside of the museum, private chef and caterer Mitchelle’s Table will offer guests an assortment of foods to eat while they view the museum’s art exhibits, which feature several artists including photographer Fred Watkins and visual artist Dolores Williams Bumbrey.
Bumbrey’s artwork will be showcased at the museum for the next three months.
“We are particularly happy to feature Fred Watkins and Dolores Williams Bumbrey at the museum,” says McGuire.
Both artists serve as great mentors for the younger generation who are interested in getting into the arts.
“There are young people out there who would love to be in my position, and if you work hard and continue to try to pursue your career, you could do the same thing,” says Watkins.
Watkins and Bumbrey are both attending the event, giving people the chance to talk to them about their art and the local art scene.
Bumbrey said she is grateful to be able to share her art with the community. “I enjoy sharing my artwork because I use it as a way of uplifting people and bringing them together through my God-given gift of art and song,” she said.
McGuire thinks this event will allow people to experience the arts and become inspired to create their own.
“We’re hoping that people will start picking up their cameras, take photos, and become more in touch with their artsy side. It’s an outlet, especially now where there’s a lot of angst, sadness, and anxiety going on,” McGuire said. “We’re hoping this event will create a nice art scene, or just build upon what’s there.”
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to break the story of Stafford Board of Supervisors dismissing a citizen library board member for “misconduct,” without informing the citizen or explaining what the person allegedly did wrong.
First to explain falling water levels in the Rappahannock Canal.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Our media group also offers the most-extensive election coverage in the region and regular columnists like:
And our newsroom is led by the most-experienced and most-awarded journalists in the region — Adele Uphaus (Managing Editor and multiple VPA award-winner) and Martin Davis (Editor-in-Chief, 2022 Opinion Writer of the Year in Virginia and more than 25 years reporting from around the country and the world).
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”