CVPA Stories

Pictured from top to bottom: Dean Rick Davis at Arts Emerging; Dewberry School of Music students perform at Arts Emerging; The LIVE Center class

Top two photos by Sierra Guard; Bottom photo by Evan Cantwell

At Arts Emerging, In-Person

Arts Performances Return to Mason

A welcome return to live, in-person arts performances and exhibitions was celebrated on September 25, 2021, at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts. Arts Emerging: A Celebration of Renewal brought more than 300 people to the Fairfax Campus on a Saturday evening for a festive event that pulsed with artistic energy and the spirit of community. Combining outdoor and indoor performances by students, faculty, and alumni including art exhibits, film screenings, hands-on activities, and more, Arts Emerging launched the 2021–22 Center for the Arts season, while also marking the 20th anniversary of the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Arts Emerging raised more than $155,000 with proceeds supporting CVPA student scholarships, Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series, a new initiative from the Center for Live Interactive Virtual Education (the LIVE Center) within George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, connects some of the biggest names in the performance world to students around the country. The first event of the series featured Tony Award-winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer Justin Peck on April 25, 2022. The event was produced and streamed live using the LIVE Center’s Window Wall projection technology and Zoom from the National Dance Institute Center for Learning & the Arts (New York City, New York) to participating students at Mason’s School of Dance (Fairfax, Virginia) and the Baltimore School for the Arts (Baltimore, Maryland). The class was moderated by Mason Heritage Professor of Dance and founder of The LIVE Center Christopher d’Amboise. Funded in part by a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), this was the first of three events planned for this series in 2022.

The Guiding Light and Legacy of the Dewberry Family Shines On

Sid Dewberry, whose advocacy and generosity impacted countless students and helped transform the entire Mason community, died on July 16, 2022. He was 94. The commitments from Dewberry and Reva, his wife of 72 years who died June 14, 2022, created avenues for expanded student experiences and allowed the university to grow its impact and reputation on several fronts, particularly in the areas of engineering and music. Hallmarks of the Dewberry legacy can be seen throughout the university. Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center on the Fairfax Campus is named for the family, as is the Sid and Reva Dewberry Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering Department and the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music.

Their philanthropy has inspired a new transformative gift from son Barry Dewberry and his wife Arlene Evans’s, which will set the stage for an upcoming capital initiative to reimagine the Center for the Arts for generations to come. This lead gift ensures that the arts at Mason will continue to connect the campus and community with new voices, honored traditions, and lasting memories.

Full details about the Center for the Arts capital initiative to reimagine the venue, as well as Barry Dewberry and Arlene Evans’ leading gift, will be announced at a future date.

Director of Diversity Joins the College’s Leadership Team

Supporting Mason’s continued commitment to creating an environment that fosters, expands, and celebrates anti-racism and inclusive excellence, Director of Diversity Shá Norman (they/she) joined the college in February 2022, bringing with them more than ten years of experience in program administration in education non-profits and higher education institutions. While teaching students performing arts and creative writing across the Chicago metropolitan area, they became deeply aware of the inequities students with marginalized backgrounds faced in education systems. This led to their passion for not only the work of advocacy for equity in education but also administering the programs and support that insulate marginalized students and educational opportunities that support the professional development of administrators, faculty, staff, and program instructors.

Pictured from top to bottom: Reva and Sid Dewberry; Shá Norman, director of diversity, CVPA

Photos provided by subjects

Pictured from top to bottom: School of Dance students pose with company members from Camille A. Brown and Dancers after a masterclass; meditation garden construction; remodeled Harris Theatre

Top photo by Elissa Loch; Middle photo by Shelby Burgess; Bottom photo by Emily Schneider

The Artist-in-Residence Program Returns in Person

During the 2021–22 season, the Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center hosted six Mason Artists-in-Residence for a variety of research and engagement activities around the artists’ performances, both on and off all three of Mason’s Virginia campuses. Kaneza Schaal, Sphinx Virtuosi, Camille A. Brown and Dancers, SW!NG OUT, Ballet Hispánico, and Maria Schneider all took part in events welcoming and working with community members, Mason students and alumni, staff, faculty, and students from local elementary and high schools. Aligning with the university’s commitment to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion, many of these artists showcased diverse perspectives and performers, including Sphinx Virtuosi, the dynamic self-conducting chamber orchestra of top Black and Latinx musicians, and Ballet Hispánico, now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States.

Harris Theatre Resumes its Rightful Place at the Heart of Arts at Mason

After 18 months of renovations, Harris Theatre reopened for performances. The proscenium theater seats 460 and is one of the most used spaces on campus. The renovation features an expanded lobby, an updated ticket office, designated restrooms for patrons and for performers, a new entrance near the walking meditation garden, and a marquee to announce upcoming performances. “It is CVPA’s busiest venue for student performances, in addition to hosting visiting lectures, panel discussions, and screenings,” said Julie Thompson, executive director for Mason’s Center for the Arts. “The theater’s location on Wilkins Plaza and next to Horizon Hall is a newly prominent spot on campus.” The new garden and the labyrinth found between Horizon Hall and the renovated Harris Theatre, adjacent to the new mini amphitheater that sits on the former site of Robinson Hall, are visual artifacts signaling Mason’s commitment to the well-being of its community.