page_title: Culture in Norfolk, Virginia
section_title: Arts
hierarchical_section_title: Culture in Norfolk, Virginia / Arts
caption_attribution_description: English: Nauticus, downtown Norfolk.
context_page_description: Norfolk is the region's cultural heart and in addition to several outstanding museums, is the principal home for several major performing arts companies. Norfolk also plays host to numerous yearly festivals and parades, mostly at Town Point Park in downtown.
  Norfolk was historically part of the slave-holding South, and was later segregated along racial lines until the 1960s. This has led to racial tensions within the highly diversified city that have been slow to heal. Nevertheless, racial tensions have been slowly subsiding overtime as younger generations who have no first-hand recollection of segregation have reached adulthood and started families of their own.
context_section_description: The Chrysler Museum of Art, located in the Ghent District, is the region's foremost art museum and is considered by The New York Times to be the finest in the entire state. Of particular note is the extensive glass collection and American neoclassical marble sculptures. Nauticus, located on the downtown waterfront, is a maritime-themed museum featuring hands-on exhibits, high definition films, and educational programs designed to increase awareness of the importance of the world's waterways. It is also noted for being the home to the battleship USS Wisconsin, the last battleship to be completed in the United States, and which briefly served in World War II, and later in the Korean and Gulf wars. The Hermitage Foundation Museum, located in an early 20th-century Arts and Crafts Style home, on a 12-acre (49,000 m²) estate fronting the Lafayette River, features an eclectic collection of Asian and Western art including Chinese bronze and ceramics, Persian rugs, and ivory carvings. The General Douglas MacArthur Memorial, located in the former Norfolk city hall rotunda in downtown, contains the tombs of the late General and his wife, along with personal belongings (including his famous corncob pipe), and a short film that chronicles the life of the famous American army general.
  Norfolk has a variety of performing groups with regular performances. The Virginia Opera, the Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, was founded in 1974. Its current artistic director is Peter Mark. Though performances are statewide, the company's principal venue is the Harrison Opera House in the Ghent District. The Virginia Stage Company, founded in 1968, is one of the country's leading regional theaters and produces a full season of plays in the Wells Theatre downtown. The Company shares facilities with the Governor's School for the Arts. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1920, and directed by JoAnn Falletta, has been a regular staple on the regional fine arts scene. Most performances take place at Chrysler Hall in downtown. The orchestra also provides musicians for many other performing arts organizations in the area. Large scale concerts are held at either Norfolk Scope or the Ted Constant Convocation Center while The Norva provides a venue for smaller groups. Norfolk has a number of historic facilities including the Attucks Theatre, Naro Expanded Cinema, The Tidewater Community College's Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center (formerly Loew's State Theater), and the Riverview Theatre.
  Many clubs, representing a wide range of musical interests, line the lower Granby Street area. These include the Club Seven and the Granby Theater, which formerly hosted plays but now is a restaurant and club. Not far away, the Waterside Festival Marketplace has also continued to be successful as a nightclub and bar venue. There is also The Push Comedy Theater, which is located on Granby Street in the Norfolk Arts District, and specializes in Improv and Sketch comedy shows.
caption: Nauticus
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX L4", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "COOLPIX L4 V1.1", "Image DateTime": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Copyright 2006", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "33678", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5828", "EXIF ExposureTime": "2/917", "EXIF FNumber": "23/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4403/1000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "63/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2272", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1704", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "33542", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}