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Curated Culture
First Fridays is the premiere program of the emerging non-profit organization, Curated Culture, Inc. Curated Culture coordinates all activities related to the event, including: marketing, fundraising and sponsorships, programming, as well as, serves as liaison to the community.
Its mission is to increase appreciation and awareness of arts and culture through the development of economic opportunities for artists and arts facilities. Curated Culture’s vision statement helps guide its mission: Curated Culture, inseparable from its artistic community, will use its partnerships with the Richmond community and its expertise to address issues in contemporary art, bringing understanding and awareness of these issues to the broader community and the Commonwealth.
Curated Culture was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2003 in order to best administer and manage the growth of First Fridays and to develop future arts programs. Originally founded in 2000, and lead by the “First Fridays On & Off Broad Steering Committee”, First Fridays soon experienced increased growth necessitating improved management and oversight. Curated Culture is directed by a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors with the assistance of a community based Advisory Council and is administered by one part-time staff.
The dust is still settling on the organization’s new office at 23 West Broad Street in the old “Furniture Row” of Historic Broad Street. Curated Culture is proud to be part of the creative incubator building developed by Cornerstone Architects, one of its founding sponsors.
History of First Fridays
Curated Culture’s First Fridays is patterned after Europe’s successful “art walks”, now a part of city life worldwide. Like Richmond’s, similar programs across the United States have helped promote local arts and culture while revitalizing bleak urban neighborhoods. Such success stories can be seen in Seattle, which boasts one of the nation’s oldest art walks; in San Antonio’s River Walk District, where on First Fridays the entire city comes alive with street vendors and performers and galleries and shops stay open all night; or Denver, where almost every neighborhood in the city has its own unique art walk, attracting urban development as well as art-lovers.
First Fridays is transforming Old Historic Broad Street into a cultural destination, spearheading the designation of the area as Richmond’s Downtown Arts District, and paving the way for such key developments as the proposed Virginia Performing Arts Center, which Curated Culture is proud to be a supporter of and a member of the Alliance for the Performing Arts (APA). STYLE Weekly called First Fridays“the most exciting thing to happen in the arts community.” (2003) Richmond Magazine’s readers voted First Fridays “Best of Richmond” in 2003. The program has received recognition locally in Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as national attention in AAA World Magazine, The New York Times, and Conde Nast Traveler. First Fridays is bringing more visitors to Downtown than any other ongoing program and proves that the arts can be a vital part of our City’s economic renewal.
In addition to bringing visitors and economic activity Downtown, Curated Culture’s First Fridays’ main goals is to promote appreciation of Richmond’s rich arts community. First Fridays, a multi-disciplinaryten-month-long free program, takes place between 7:00-10:00 p.m. on the first Friday of each month, September through June. The public attends various art exhibitions at participating galleries and alternative exhibition spaces within walking distance of the Historic Broad Street District. Because the program is FREE, First Fridays attracts a diverse population of all ages, inviting everyone to experience the arts directly and learn more about it in a safe and comfortable, yet stimulating setting. Our aim is to create awareness of the arts throughout the community and beyond.
Embarking on its 5th Anniversary Season, First Fridays is Richmond’s fastest growing arts event and has become a Richmond tradition. First Fridays continues to create greater awareness of Richmond’s diverse and thriving arts and cultural community to audiences near and far, and make a dramatic impact on the community and economic development of Downtown. “Our Vision Is Only Limited By Our Imagination”
Volunteer
First Fridays is organized and managed by the volunteer efforts of people in the community who love the arts and are excited about Richmond’s local arts scene. A true grassroots effort. Won’t you join us? We need volunteers to help with a variety of important tasks, including working behind the scenes in the Curated Culture office, serving on various committees, planning and helping with fundraisers and special events, setting up for the October kick off concert, to manning information tables.
Want to meet people? Volunteer at one of the galleries! Are you a starving actor? The streets are waiting for your one-man play! Have some free time during the day? Help out behind the scenes! Financially sound? Make a much-needed contribution today!
Contact: curatedculture@comcast.net or call (804) 344 · 1508 for more info. |
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