Explore These Vibrant Arts Districts Around the Commonwealth

Arts Districts are a way to diversify growing economies and shape creative vibes for other local industries. These communities are using the arts to change the face of their town and develop more creative experiences for travelers.

NORFOLK

In Norfolk, the NEON District uses art as a way to revitalize and differentiate its community. It has encouraged a younger and more contemporary audience for the arts. At the heart of this district is the Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art. The Glass Studio offers free daily demonstrations, interactive events, and workshops, giving visitors an experience in the artistic process.

Norfolk's incredible art scene led to the opening of Glass Light Hotel & Gallery, an art-centric hotel that celebrates the glass art culture and features over 65 glass works from world-renowned artists like Dale Chihuly, Stephen Rolfe Powell, and Nancy Callan. The gallery is open for the public to explore and guests will also spot glass art throughout the hotel, including six-foot glass bunnies crafted by famed Dutch artist Peter Bremers.

Explore more of Norfolk with our complete visitor guide. 

VIRGINIA BEACH

Virginia Beach's ViBe Creative District is located just a few blocks from the oceanfront and has more than 60 murals created by local artists as well as talents from around the world. Stroll through the colorful district to take in the creative artwork, then stop into a few of the boutiques, coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants to get a taste of this historic neighborhood. 

Getting hungry? Grab a cup of coffee and a snack from Three Ships Coffee or Fathom Coffee. For a meal, sit down at Commune or Esoteric for farm-to-table fare and easygoing vibes. 

There's more oceanfront fun to explore with our guide to visiting Virginia Beach. 

MARION

The Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts, named for the world-renowned guitar instrumentalist and luthier, is leading the charge in bringing arts to Marion. The Henderson School sits on the highest point in Historic Downtown Marion in a three-story brick structure known as the 1908 Schoolhouse. The school offers classes in song writing, yoga, letterpress, music, crafts, and public paint nights. Anyone is welcome to sign up for classes. The school also offers programs and residencies.

RICHMOND

Richmond's Arts District is an established neighborhood, where theaters, galleries, and shops line Broad Street. But there's a number of other neighborhoods also devoted to the arts, including Manchester in Southside and the Museum District.  

Take a tour of Art Works, the art center in Old Manchester. Visit the five galleries and 75 artist’s studios where you'll see artwork of all types: paintings, sculpture, modern abstract, traditional, jewelry, pottery, photography, and prints. Old Manchester is becoming a hot spot for artists and travelers to experience art, from murals to galleries.  

Don’t miss Richmond’s art staple in the Museum District, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, featuring more than 35,000 works of art that span 5,000 years of world history. Its collections of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, English silver, Fabergé, and the art of South Asia are among the finest in the world.

Keep adding to your itinerary with our complete Richmond guide. 

STAUNTON

Explore the Red Brick District to discover world class theatre, great live music, cool art galleries, and museums that bring the past to life. As you walk the streets of Staunton’s cultural heart, you’ll find works of art all around you, quirky cafes, galleries and eateries where painters, photographers, sculptors, and craft artisans display their works.

The Blackfriars Playhouse summons the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare with performances year round in the world’s only recreation of Shakespeare’s own indoor theatre. The Heifetz International Music Institute, a summer program for 80 of the most talented young violin, viola, and cello musicians in the world, holds five concerts per week during the summer and most of them are free to the public.

There's more where that came from in our complete Staunton guide. 

HARRISONBURG

Harrisonburg is host to a premiere artist cooperative which is part of the city’s Arts & Cultural District. At OASIS Fine Art & Craft, experience creativity in gloriously diverse forms. You always buy local at the gallery, as the works are nearly all by Shenandoah Valley region artists and artisans. Learn from friendly artists or volunteers who staff the gallery as you shop fine hand-crafted Shenandoah Valley pottery, jewelry, fiber art, wood, metal, glass, wearable art, paintings, and photography. The gallery offers exciting events like  solo shows, theme shows, free live concerts, and classes. While there, check out the Smith House Galleries that display monthly exhibitions focused on local artists.

Fill your agenda with more fun things to do in Harrisonburg. 

ROANOKE

The Taubman Museum of Art is part of the lively metro mountain mix of arts, culture, and outdoor fun in the heart of downtown Roanoke. The museum offers eleven galleries and hosts 15-20 exhibitions per year. Featured artists have ranged from Kehinde Wiley and John James Audubon to Yoko Ono and Norman Rockwell. It's also home to a renowned permanent collection featuring the work of artists such as Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Purvis Young, Petah Coyne, and John Cage, to name just a few.

A few blocks from the Taubman Museum of Art is Center in the Square, a seven-story cultural center featuring cultural and educational organizations and a spectacular 6,000 gallon living coral reef aquarium — the largest aquarium of its type in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Our Roanoke guide has more things to do in the Star City. 

CLIFTON FORGE

Dating to 1905, when it was originally an opera house and Masonic Lodge in the downtown historic district of Clifton Forge, the Historic Masonic Theatre is Virginia's oldest continuously operating Theatre and a staple for the area. Get your arts and crafts fix at the Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center. The center has rotating exhibits and sales of juried regional fine arts and crafts. The gallery and shop facility encourages creative experience and appreciation of the visual arts. Gallery Exhibits change every 4-6 weeks and feature work in a wide variety of media by Highlands and other artists.

ALEXANDRIA

Founded in 1974 in an old munitions plant, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to the largest number of publicly accessible working artist studios in the U.S., with 82 studios and six galleries. Art-in-progress is what you'll find at this world-renowned art center located just outside Washington D.C.

Use our complete guide to visiting Alexandria to keep planning your trip. 

The Chincoteague Island Arts Organization works to create a cultural arts center on Chincoteague Island to share film, performing arts, education programs, and other entertainment with our community and visitors. On your way to visit the wild ponies at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, check out the Museum of Chincoteague, where exhibits display life on this island from before man to the present. The shipwrecks and treasures exhibit features items found in the waters around the Island. The Gilded Age exhibit depicts life in the late 19th century, when wealthy merchants owned large Victorian homes on the Island. Early sailing history comes to life in a models exhibit of vessels used on our bays, creeks, and channels.

PORTSMOUTH

Built in 1846, a Greek-Revival building originally served as the Norfolk County Courthouse until 1960. Now it is home to the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, and with two spacious galleries of ever-changing exhibits, the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center is more than just an art museum. It's a relaxing gathering place where you can learn the art of growing Bonsai trees one week and see a demonstration of glass blowing the next. Every First Friday, the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center typically offers free musical entertainment. Art classes, lectures, poetry readings, and book signings round out the vast array of offerings.

HAMPTON

The Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center attracts art lovers of all kinds. Built in 1925, the building served as Hampton's public library for over 60 years. After careful renovation and restoration, the building now presents changing exhibitions of the best of local, regional, and national artists, as well as classes for children and adults. In efforts to bring more arts and travelers to the area, Hampton has also dedicated two nearby areas of town now known as the Hampton Arts & Cultural District.

Explore more arts and culture experiences in Virginia.