• Education & Community

    Education is at the heart of Virginia Arts Festival’s mission. Thousands of area students participate in Festival education programs every school year, seeing performances, interacting with artists, and experiencing worlds beyond the classroom and their own neighborhoods. Our education programs offer students electrifying experiences that directly connect to the Virginia Standards of Learning and provide new and exciting ways of understanding curriculum. The arts make learning leap to life, inspiring students and teachers alike.  

Contact Information

Christine Foust

Director of Education & Community Engagement
PH: 757-282-2817
cfoust@vafest.org

Chela Aufderheide

Education Coordinator
PH: 757-605-3077
caufderheide@vafest.org

Support From

D. Baker Ames Charitable Foundation, Leah S. Wohl Musical Arts Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, ODU Hixon Community Engagement Fund, Sentara Optima Health Virginia Premier

AT&T, Clark Nexsen, Dominion Energy, East Beach Institute, Enterprise Holdings Foundation

Supported in part by the Jim & Karen Sparks Dance Residency Fund of the Virginia Arts Festival Endowment

The following cities and/or their Arts and Humanities Commissions: Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.