Tucked into the heart of Forest Hill, 43rd Street Studios is the newest creative home for Richmond’s growing ceramics community and the vision of artist and educator Joanna Gragnani. A Richmond native with over 15 years of experience working in clay, Joanna creates under the name Objects Arsenal, crafting organic, hand-built forms that proudly carry the fingerprints of their making. Her work celebrates process, texture, and the intimate connection between artist and material.

We’re excited to introduce Emily Crawford, our Office Assistant and the friendly face who helps keep CultureWorks running smoothly every day. From supporting daily operations to assisting with events, communications, and community outreach, Emily plays a key role in ensuring our team and our partners have what they need to thrive. With strong organizational skills, a welcoming spirit, and a passion for the arts, Emily brings both reliability and heart to the CultureWorks office. In this spotlight, we’re thrilled to share more about the person who helps keep everything (and everyone!) moving forward.

We’re thrilled to introduce our new Development and Grants Specialist, Jeff Ashworth, whose career spans more than 15 years of innovation in print and digital publishing. With experience building high-impact content ecosystems, scaling creative teams, and shaping editorial identities for globally recognized brands, he brings a rare blend of strategic vision, storytelling expertise, and operational leadership to CultureWorks.

He’s bringing that same creativity, precision, and big-picture thinking to CultureWorks by helping us strengthen our funding efforts and support the arts and culture community across the region. In this spotlight, we’re excited to share more about the storyteller, strategist, and problem-solver joining our team.