PVCC Set for 17TH Annual Let There Be Light Exhibition
Charlottesville, Va. – November 28, 2023 – The Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) Visual Arts Department will hold its seventeenth annual “Let There Be Light” outdoor light-centered art exhibition, Friday, December 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. The exhibition will be held on the grounds surrounding the V. Earl Dickinson Building on the main campus in Charlottesville. This event is free, family friendly and welcomes the public with hot chocolate and warm apple cider served at no charge. In case of rain, Let There Be Light will be held Saturday, December 9, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Let There Be Light celebrates the approach of winter and the longest night of the year with illuminated artworks and performances created by local artists, students and community organizations. The 2023 exhibition will feature art installations in a wide variety of media including glowing sculptures, dance performances, floating artwork, an outdoor pottery kiln and interactive installations that invite the viewer to engage with the art.
Some highlights of this year’s Let There Be Light include:
• Artworks by three groups of young artists. Students at Peabody School, The Boys and Girls Club and Free Union Country Day School, will all contribute their artistic talent under the guidance of professional teacher/artists.
• “RAKU!!” - an outdoor kiln firing of clay vessels created by Nancy Ross, Tom Clarkson and the PVCC ceramics club.
• “Ebb Tide Begins at Nightfall,” which marks the return of Nettle Shirts Puppet Works with a series of silent sea creatures who appear throughout the evening.
• “Airing out the Dream Quilt” by Richmond-based artist Sam Christian. This is a lighted pavilion under which audience members are invited to write down their hopes and dreams to be added to the dream quilt.
• “Pipipí,” a sculpture created by Joseph Schepps that serves as a portal where a sound greeting summons the light.
• “Chaotic Intervention” – a sculptural collaboration between Stephen Haske and Paul Norton in which a mysterious figure emerges from a tangle of luminescent roots.
• “Candeo,” a performance by Emily Wright and Cumulus Dance, which explores ways to connect and synchronize with each other through movement and light.
• “Let There Be Lanterns!” – a collaborative project featuring glowing lanterns in a variety of media created by the PVCC community.
• “No Mud, No Lotus” – a glowing lotus that floats on the lake.
• “Efflorescence,” which consists of mysterious crystals of light bursting forth from the forest floor.
Although flashlights will be available to borrow, visitors to the exhibition are encouraged to bring their own to help guide them down lighted paths leading through the dark to the installations. Visitors are also invited to decorate themselves with light to add to the festivities. Food trucks will be onsite so hungry art viewers can purchase food. Free parking is available onsite.
For more information contact Fenella Belle, PVCC’s Chairperson of Visual and Performing Arts, at fbelle@pvcc.edu or 434-961-5362. Explore more of the PVCC Fine Arts and Performance season at www.pvcc.edu/performingarts.
About Piedmont Virginia Community College
Established in 1972, Piedmont Virginia Community College is a nonresidential two-year institution of higher education that serves Central Virginia – principally, residents of the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. PVCC is one of 23 community colleges in Virginia that comprise the Virginia Community College System. PVCC is committed to providing access to a college education for all who can benefit, an opportunity for each student to reach her/his potential and excellence in all programs and services. Visit pvcc.edu.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Susian Brooks
Director | Marketing and Media Relations
434.961.6574 | sbrooks@pvcc.edu