The Art Show began 34 years ago and was so successful that four years later the Heart of Virginia Festival grew around it. It has remained the mainstay of the Festival, drawing artists from up and down the east coast and providing high-quality art to Festival goers from throughout central Virginia.

Situated along High Street on the shaded lawns in front of the Longwood University Rotunda, the 34th Outdoor Arts Show begins at 9am. The works of many artists will be on exhibit for show and sale and will be professionally judged for over $2,600 in prize money. The award ceremony begins around 2 p.m on the Crute Stage.

Update:

As you know, the Outdoor Art Show of the Heart of Virginia Festival is a juried show with awards.  This year, in an effort to improve the awards process, we have revised the categories for which a prize may be won.  In the past, we have divided prizes into categories based on medium.  Because it is difficult to predict how many artists from each medium type will participate from year to year, our categories are often lopsided (i.e., some years there are only 2 artists in the photography category, while we may have 10 artists in the ceramics category).  This year, we will be using a new system for categorizing awards.  We hope that this system will give every participating artist a more fair chance to qualify for an award.  The new awards will be: