Virginia ArtStars | Dominion Energy

The Dominion Energy ArtStars program recognizes organizations in Virginia providing arts education to students of all ages.

Up to five Shining Star Awards ($10,000 each) may be awarded throughout Virginia to an organization with a qualifying arts education program and has an annual budget of less than $1 million.

Timeline

The Dominion Energy ArtStars program is not currently accepting applications.

Selection Criteria

Entries must address each of the following criteria be considered. Strong entries will include detailed, specific examples of how your organization meets these criteria and documented program evaluation and impact measures.

Arts Education Program — Contributions, Merit and Innovation
- Describe how your organization engages students in your community. Include program name(s), core elements, types of students involved, outcomes, etc.
- Describe your program(s) in terms of its artistic merit (the perceived quality or value of program content and its participating artists and educators).
- Describe any innovative approaches that your program incorporates into its programming.
Extraordinary Community Impact
- Describe how your program addresses the needs of your community.
- Provide specifics about the impact your organization has on the community (economic statistics, revitalization efforts) and how it lifts our spirits/enhances the community (e.g. cultural, economic improvements).

Recent Grant Recipients

Podium RVA (Richmond)

For its Step Write Up program, which gives Richmond, Henrico, Hopewell and Petersburg Public School students structured creative writing and speaking opportunities. The program helps young people build confidence in their writing and speaking to audiences through workshops and publishes their work in literary journals and zines.

Access Virginia (Newport News)

For its Youth Accessibility Project, which enables young people with vision or hearing loss to better experience the arts. Access Virginia provides captioning and audio descriptions at live theatrical performances. It hosts drama workshops and performances for these same students. And it provides audio description and touch tours at cultural events, museums and tourist attractions.

Sound Impact (Fairfax Station)

For its “Use Your Voice” residencies for youth impacted by the Northern VA juvenile-justice system. Sound Impact takes music outside of the concert hall and into schools, juvenile detention centers and international destinations to connect, engage and empower youth through the power of music.

Montgomery Museum of Art (Christiansburg)

For its programs and exhibits preserving and presenting the cultural heritage of Appalachian Virginia. The museum hosts a Heritage Day festival and Heritage Music Concert series, as well as an after-school music program and student art shows. It also has developed a cultural board game, “Trekking Montgomery County,” distributed to local schools.

The Clarksville Community Players (Clarksville)

For filling a gap in a region lacking school theatre programs. Clarksville Community Players offer youth summer workshops and a senior theatre program for participants 55+ known as the Double Nickel Players.

Choose Your State of Service