Norfolk Arts Grant Recipients

Non-profit organizations support arts and culture in every Norfolk neighborhood to citizens of all ages, from youth orchestras and art classes to dance and choir. Norfolk Arts awarded grant funding to 30 organizations for fiscal year 2023.

Young performers in yellow shirts play their violins while standing

The Academy of Music

The Academy of Music is Hampton Roads’ only independent non-profit community music school that is accredited by the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. Since 1991, they have been bringing the joys of music study to students in Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. They bring the joy and benefits of learning music to the residents of Hampton Roads, regardless of their ability to pay.

4 young boys sit on a couch in black pants and white shirts inside a house

The Boys Choir of Hampton Roads

The Boys Choir of Hampton Roads (formerly Park Place Boys Choir) was organized in September 1997 as a resource for the boys in Park Place area of Norfolk, to expand their positive image through singing. The main purpose of the choir is to develop in each young singer a self-respect and respect for others based upon clearly stated and solidly proven values, while striving for excellence in academics and cultural personal pursuits. It has been proven that musical training provides a basis for discipline and focus that enhances self-esteem in our youth.

Generic Theater

The Generic Theater is Virginia’s Underground Theater. Since 1981, they’ve been the area’s “Off-Broadway” playhouse, producing plays and public programs that challenge and delight audiences, take risks, and are unlikely to be seen anywhere else.

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens

The Hermitage estate, conveniently located off Hampton Blvd. in Norfolk, Virginia between Old Dominion University and the Norfolk Naval Base is home to a nationally recognized art collection spanning 5,000 years. Enjoy changing exhibitions, take a class at the Visual Arts School or relax at one of their outdoor concerts, and stroll throughout the 12 acres of waterfront gardens and grounds.

Choir singing in the church in black dresses and suits. The men art wearing black ties and white shirts.

I. Sherman Green Chorale

The I. Sherman Greene Chorale, Inc., is renowned locally and nationally as one of the leading exponents of choral music, and continues to earn accolades for its performance of the music of the Masters, as well as its interpretation of traditional Negro Spirituals. The status of 501(c)(3) was granted to the I. Sherman Greene Chorale in 1982.

Approx. 10 adult men and women stand and smile at the camera in an excited manner. They are all wearing pants and different solid colored shirts.

PrimePlus Senior Center

Primeplus Norfolk Senior Center provides quality day programs to live life to the fullest. Mission: To be the pre-eminent focal point for services, activities, and information addressing the needs and interests of older adults in South Hampton Roads.

Mosaic Steel Orchestra

Our Mission: Providing no-fee out-of-school time Steelpan Ensembles. Our immediate benefits to the community are the provision of high quality arts instruction to over 200 unduplicated youths annually and the presentation of public performances by Mosaic Steel Orchestra, which expose thousands of Virginians each year to youth achievement through dynamic steelpan entertainment. Our long term benefits to the community will foster a greater respect and appreciation for the arts in communities where arts have been marginalized; thus encouraging diversity in arts.

Shark City Drum & Dance Corp.

What started off as a small organization working at local high schools has now become one of the most recognized performing arts companies in Hampton Roads. Since opening its doors in 2018, Shark City Drum and Dance Corps. has managed to captivate the hearts of audiences locally with a variety of quality performances and shows.

Tidewater Classical Guitar

Tidewater Classical Guitar is dedicated to enriching the community by cultivating the awareness and appreciation of classical guitar through performance and education. The Tidewater Classical Guitar Society is a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1984 to provide cultural and educational opportunities to those interested in the classical guitar. The Norfolk concert series began in March 1985, with a three concert schedule featuring local performers. The TCGS was incorporated in Virginia in January, 1985.

Four dancers kick their feet to the right and left on a bright blue background. They appear to be male dancers with skirts and wear masks.

Todd Rosenleib Dance

Todd Rosenlieb Dance performs an original modern dance repertoire as well as classical and contemporary ballet repertoire. The company blends classical and modern forms, the “downtown” spirit, hints of pop culture and a keen sense of musicality. TRDance Center at 325 Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk is home to: – professional dance companies – pre-professional ensembles – a dance school for all ages – Pilates @ TRDance (a full pilates studio) – The Benjack Studio Theatre

Access Virginia

Access Virginia was established to provide and promote accessibility at performing arts theaters as well as other venues for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Blind/Visually Impaired Communities, to create tangible positive changes in their lives.

Deep Blue

Deep Blue is an organization that is devoted to promoting the next generation of jazz musicians in the Hampton Roads community through performance, education, and communication. Deep Blue’s ensemble approach is aimed at bolstering the jazz audience in the region through community outreach, while offering a setlist and style that gives both performers and audiences a unique experience.

Little Theatre of Norfolk

Community theatre producing two musicals and three plays each season. Free educational workshops and an annual scholarship are also offered.

Approx. 10 members of Siren City march down the street in their kilts playing the bagpipes. There are people behind walking and cheering them on. Houses are lined up in this historic community on the right of this street with cars parked in front as they walk down the sidewalk.

Siren City Pipe Band

Siren City Pipe Band is the premier pipe band of Virginia, taking root in Norfolk and building ties between our local community and the international bagpipe scene.

TACA 757

The Tidewater African Cultural Alliance (TACA) was founded on November 1, 2017, on the belief that Africa and Africans are stronger together and united, than divided. They strive to unite the greater Tidewater community through community service and community outreach, as well as cultural arts, educational programs, and events. TACA moves to restore well-being and advance the status of Black people worldwide by addressing issues of equity and access in our global society. Africans have a long history of patriotism within their respective countries, and they celebrate that while bringing Africans together! Their end goal is to unite and build solidarity through the celebration of the African Diaspora worldwide.

Approx. 30 male and female young singers stand together wearing bright blue vests and white shirts. The directors surround them wearing black.

Virginia Children’s Chorus

Recognized as “Hampton Roads’ premiere children’s chorus,” the VCC is a choir school committed to training young voices in grades 1 to 12. Auditions are held in January, June & August.

WHRO Curate Series

The CURATE series explores the thriving art scene in our own backyard and across America. Each week, the program features a Hampton Roads artist, along with artists from across the country, who work in a variety of mediums from painting to sculpture and photography to the spoken word. Each episode is arranged around a central theme and offers a compelling look at artists and their creations.

Stockley Gardens Arts Festival

Since 1984 Hope House Foundation has hosted the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival, a two-day event featuring over 135 artists from across the U.S. and overseas to participate and showcase their art in a variety of mediums, including photography, pottery, sculpture, painting, mixed media and jewelry. Stockley Gardens Park offers the festival a distinctive atmosphere with its peaceful garden setting in the heart of the historic district in Ghent, Norfolk. The festival is free and open to the public and attracts thousands of people who enjoy the art, live music, an array of food and the community atmosphere of the event held in the spring and fall each year. 100% of the proceeds from the festivals support individuals with developmental disabilities supported by Hope House Foundation.

World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads

The World Affairs Council provides Hampton Roads with access to the most current global issues through a series of events that allow attendees to interact with foreign policy experts. Global affairs are of the utmost importance & we invite you to attend our upcoming events.

Tidewater Winds Concert Band

Tidewater Winds Concert Band is comprised of 65 talented woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians from across the Hampton Roads Virginia region representing various military branches, careers, academia, college bands and orchestras. Tidewater Winds is one of a handful of Concert Bands like it in the country, preserving the unique heritage of American Concert Bands in the Sousa tradition.

Arts for Learning, VA (Young Audiences)

Arts for Learning Virginia is the leading provider of quality arts-in-education programming in Virginia. They offer an array of arts performances and workshops grounded in the core curriculum, residencies for children of all ages, and professional development in arts-integration techniques that improve students’ literacy skills, motivation to read, and ability to learn. They are dedicated to bringing innovation and imagination to education through the arts and believe that creativity and critical thinking are essential aspects of the development of a child. They offer a full range of in-person and virtual learning programs to reach students with the life-changing power of the arts.

Bay Youth Orchestras

Over 280 student musicians from all over Hampton Roads in grades 3-12 create five performing ensembles that present concerts throughout the Tidewater area each year. The mission of Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia is to provide the highest level of symphonic ensemble training and performance opportunities to the young musicians of Hampton Roads. Under the direction and guidance of many supportive music educators over the past 50 years, Bay Youth Orchestras has developed into one of the largest youth orchestra programs in the country. BYOV gives students the opportunity to learn and perform the world’s greatest orchestral literature.

d’Art Center

d’ART Center is located in the NEON arts district. They support outreach to schools, communities, provide juried exhibitions, and host 26 resident and associate artists.

The Feldman Chamber Music Society

The Feldman Chamber Music Society exists to present “Music Worth Hearing!” Their mission is to present the world’s finest chamber musicians in a series of six concerts annually for the Enjoyment, Education, and Enrichment of the south Hampton Roads community!

The Hurrah Players

The Hurrah Players, Inc., Virginia’s Leading Family Theatre Company, is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization committed to unite and advance communities through accessible, quality, family-friendly performances and education.

Approx. 6 musicians dressed in black sit on stage playing a flute and chello and other instruments that can't be seen clearly. You can see the back of the conductors head.

The Norfolk Chamber Consort

The mission of the Norfolk Chamber Consort is to present to the public performances of chamber music drawn from repertories of the 17th up to the 21st centuries. The emphasis is on works with varied instrumentation and those utilizing the voice as an integral part of the chamber music texture. Emphasis is often placed on lesser known works and neglected masterpieces that are not often performed in Southeastern Virginia.

Children in red tshirts hold their violins up in the air

Heartstrings and Valves by the Salvation Army at the Kroc Center Hampton Roads

Heartstrings & Valves is a specialty after-school music instruction program for children in grades 1-5. Children receive hands-on music instruction provided by qualified instructors three days per week. All students begin on violin. Students in grades 3-5 may choose violin, trumpet or trombone. Instrument rental and method books are provided.

The Muse Writer’s Center

The Muse Writers Center is the inclusive heart of the creative writing community in Southeastern Virginia.

The Virginia Chorale

The Virginia Chorale is the premier professional vocal ensemble in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded thirty-eight years ago, the ensemble has grown from a community-based early music chorus to today’s dynamic group of professional singers, performing repertoire ranging from the Middle Ages to the music of today.

Tidewater Arts Outreach

The mission of TAO is to bring joy to older adults and those living in isolating circumstances and to enhance their well-being through creative engagement with the arts.

An Arts & Culture calendar can be found on the City of Norfolk’s website.

We encourage you to follow the links and connect with organizations on their direct pages at the links above.

Norfolk Arts seeks to create a rich, diverse, environment that reflects, celebrates and invites all to experience the arts. We seek to give voice to our community and strive to unite, energize, prompt dialogue, and inspire the unique character of Norfolk.

Learn more about Norfolk Arts

810 Union St.
1st Floor, Suite A-rt
Norfolk, VA 23510
757.664.6854