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About The Prizery

The Prizery is an arts and cultural center located in a 38,000 square foot building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the South Boston Historic Tobacco Warehouse District, and is considered to be the most architecturally prominent and interesting of the 15 buildings in the 20 acre district. Renovation began in 2002, and the facility includes a performing arts theatre, art gallery, classrooms, and a large rental space for community functions.

Today the Prizery plays host to performers from throughout the world in the 250-seat Chastain Theatre, exhibits art in the Robert F. Cage Art Gallery, provides venues for events and rentals, and makes a wide range of classes available – from music to art.

The building was originally where tobacco was “prized,” or pressed layer by layer into hogshead barrels often weighing up to 1000 pounds. After the autumn harvest, the plants were first “stemmed,” or stripped of fibers and then packed. The barrels were then taken down to the river or the railroad for shipping.

The renovation was accomplished while keeping the look and openness of the building intact. As a centerpiece of the historic warehouse district in downtown South Boston. The Prizery is a magnet for tourism and its location next door to the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center makes its facilities a natural extension for the colleges

Mission

The mission of the Community Arts Center Foundation, also known as The Prizery, is to enrich lives through the arts. We believe that arts and cultural experiences should be available to everyone, wherever they live and whoever they are.

Goals

  • Educate, inspire and engage people through the arts and culture
  • Provide quality programs
  • Recognize and celebrate our diverse community
  • Achieve sustainable support for the arts and cultural experiences

Staff

MELANIE CORNELISON JANNOTTA
MELANIE CORNELISON JANNOTTA

Executive Director
ed@prizery.com

Emily Nichols Smith
Emily Nichols Smith

Box Office Manager
boxoffice@prizery.com

Ernelle Bellamy
Ernelle Bellamy

Technical Director
production@prizery.com

Christina Knapp
Christina Knapp

Web Design & Marketing
marketing@prizery.com

Keith Knapp
Keith Knapp

House Manager

Board

Denise Barksdale
Denise Barksdale

President

Denise Hudson
Denise Hudson

Past President

Ryland Clark
Ryland Clark

Vice President

Alisha Rice
Alisha Rice

Assistant Vice President

Ray Weiss
Ray Weiss

Secretary

Blair Jeffress
Blair Jeffress

Assistant Treasurer

Jamie Brown Jackson
Jamie Brown Jackson
Sharon Harris
Sharon Harris
Elizabeth Cunningham
Elizabeth Cunningham
Steve Mize
Steve Mize
David Duffer
David Duffer
Jamie Zwoyer
Jamie Zwoyer
Tamika Simmons
Tamika Simmons