The Third Street Box Office Project

SUMMER 2024

As the nation approaches the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act passed on July 2, 1964, The Paramount Theater of Charlottesville will host area artists to activate a local remnant of the South’s segregation laws, The Paramount’s Third Street Box Office. Artists will present temporary exhibitions that address the history of segregation and civil rights.

Three (3) selected artists will receive an honorarium of $2,500 each to present an original work on the site of The Paramount Theater’s Third Street Box Office. Selected projects will be on display for three (3) weeks.

The Third Street Box Office at The Paramount Project is supported by a grant from The League of Historic American Theaters (LHAT) DEIB Initiative with the stated goals of sharing our historic, exterior space with community artists to extend our mission; igniting dialogue and fostering conversation; drawing attention to artists in our local community; and driving visitors to the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

New City Arts is providing consulting support for The Third Street Box Office at The Paramount Project.

ASCENDING LIGHT

Exhibition Statement

Ascending Light seeks to be a living testament to resilience and unity. 

It is a visual narrative that weaves together the struggles and triumphs within the history of segregation and the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Each “step” simultaneously represents hurdles and progress made, while the radiant glow in the evening hours symbolizes the hope and determination that continue to propel us forward. The re-imagined entrance, once segregated, now becomes a symbol of inclusivity and progress. It speaks to the transformative power of art, transcending barriers and fostering a sense of unity among all who pass beneath it. The interplay of light and shadows during the day serves as a metaphor for the complexities of our history, while acknowledging the darkness of the past while illuminating a path towards a brighter future.

NICK BRINEN, ARTIST

ABOUT

Kori Price is a multi-disciplinary artist and photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Originally from Culpeper, Kori has been proud to call Central Virginia home for most of her life and is passionate about telling the stories of her community. Kori holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and seeks to maintain a balance between her technical and creative interests with her work. She is a founding member of the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective and currently serves as its president. Kori has been a resident artist at New City Arts Initiative as well as a writer-in-residence at McGuffey Arts Center. Her work has been exhibited at New City Arts Initiative, The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, Studio IX, McGuffey Arts Center, and Second Street Gallery.

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Tobiah Mundt is a self-taught fiber artist who was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She studied Architecture at Howard University in Washington, DC, and eventually left the field of Architecture for sculpture. She uses needle felting, wet felting, and rug tufting techniques to create colorful forms and figurative pieces that illustrate and invoke emotion. She is the Co-Owner and Creative Director of The Hive, an arts and crafts bar in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she teaches fiber arts, blurring the line between art and craft. Tobiah has exhibited her work in Texas, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

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Nick Brinen is a licensed and registered architect in Virginia, Texas, and New York. He is a Founding Partner of Studio Figure, where he oversees all project typologies across various scales. He is LEED AP BD+C and NCARB certified and a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects. In addition to co-directing projects at Studio Figure, Nick has taught architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, University of Virginia, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design. Currently, he is an Architecture Professor at James Madison University where his research focuses on the tolerances between hyper-local material resources and participatory-practice models with community based projects.

Learn more about Nick

ABOUT

The Paramount Theater of Charlottesville acknowledges that this practice and the laws of segregation are a scar on its history and on the history of the United States. However painful, these memories cannot be erased, and today’s citizens must live with this shameful inheritance.