SUPPORTING THE ARTS
Charlottesville Players Guild
Season tickets available for 2024-25
JSAAHC’s Charlottesville Players Guild is on a mission to make sure every Black artist knows what it is like to create within a completely Black space.
Located in the Jefferson School City Center, The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s mission is to honor and preserve the rich heritage and legacy of the African-American community of Charlottesville-Albemarle, Virginia and to promote a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, the contributions of African Americans and peoples of the Diaspora locally, nationally and globally.
The Center features a permanent historical exhibit, a rotating contemporary art gallery, and a robust calendar of events, all of which combine to highlight Charlottesville’s African American history and culture of the African diaspora.
Swords Into Plowshares is entering into its second community engagement phase. In this phase we are asking Charlottesville to help determine where a work of public art could be located in our community. We hope that you will participate by completing a short survey about your park usage. It only takes 3 minutes to complete.
Our goal in the next year is to focus on our area’s parks as cultural landscapes. Through research, guided tours, and community conversations we will continue to educate ourselves about the role public art can play in shifting centers and changing minds.
Swords Into Plowshares is a project of our Center For Local Knowledge which hopes to use research to further social justice.
We are hiring! We are looking for a researcher to get us to our next milestone. Click here for job description. All applications should be sent to localhistory@jeffschoolheritagecenter.org
It’s Wednesday 6:30 pm EST — Sorry, we’re closed. Visit us when we’re open!
Nic(o) Brierre Aziz: Haiti Across the Water
Beyond Boundaries: The Sculpture of Alice Wesley Ivory
Curated by Katherine Slaughter
In the 1960s when Alice Ivory(1931-1999) began to make sculpture, she was arguably an anomaly. While Black women had been part of the sculptural canon since the early 20th century, when Edmonia Lewis received international acclaim for her work in marble, none would create diminutive anthropomorphic work such as Ivory’s. A native of Albemarle County, Ivory attended the Albemarle Training School before receiving a degree from Virginia State University. She began welding objects in 1957 while studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received a degree in art education. A prolific artist, her body of work includes almost 100 objects mostly rendered in copper and brass and are of subjects that were familiar to the artist–”birds, fish, insects, etc.” Beyond Boundaries consists of nine works by Ivory and a portrait by Francis Brand of Ivory posing with two works–an eagle mounted on a pedestal and a dog that stands at the artist’s feet.
Beyond Boundaries: The Sculpture of Alice Wesley Ivory is a collaboration between the JSAAHC and the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. It is made possible through the generous support of the Joseph and Robert Cornell Foundation and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center Annual Fund.
As a JSAAHC Member you’ll receive:
Season tickets available for 2024-25
JSAAHC’s Charlottesville Players Guild is on a mission to make sure every Black artist knows what it is like to create within a completely Black space.
New class begins Saturday, September 16, 2023 and continues each Saturday until October 28!
Public history is fun! We invite you to help us make Charlottesville our open air classroom. Learn local history and African American art history on Saturdays from 9am to 12pm. Apply to become a community guide today.
By appointment Tuesday through Saturday & every third Saturday 10am–12pm
The Center for Local Knowledge promotes the study of Charlottesville and Albemarle County local histories and fosters a deeper understanding of our community’s lived environment.
Gallery available Tuesday through Friday 1pm–6pm and Saturdays 10am–1pm
Guided tours of our permanent and contemporary exhibitions are available for groups of 10–30 adults. Book your tour or view tour dates and time availability on our calendar.
Covid Policy: Due to limited space in exhibition galleries and our desire to keep us all safe, visitors must now obtain a general admission ticket to visit. Groups are limited to no more than eight people. Groups must obtain a timed group ticket.
233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Heritage Center
Tuesday – Friday 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Saturday 10 am – 1 pm
Closed Monday & Sunday