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Alex Grabiec, curator of exhibitions at the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA), was recently appointed to the Virginia Commission for the Arts by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Grabiec is responsible for curating and organizing a range of historic and contemporary exhibitions at the LCVA. Through his work he aims to curate exhibitions that fulfill the museum’s mission of inspiring people to lead more hopeful, compassionate and participatory lives in their communities. Grabiec also serves as a faculty member in Longwood’s Cormier Honors College for Citizen Scholars and integrates LCVA exhibitions into the classes he teaches. He is also an artist, and he has exhibited his work at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, the Katzen Art Center at American University and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

LCVA Executive Director Rachel Talent Ivers said it was a point of personal pride to have watched Grabiec’s professional growth over the past almost two decades. He started at the LCVA as a student worker while in college.

“Alex is an invaluable member of the LCVA team, and his addition to the Virginia Commission for the Arts will be a great asset for the commonwealth,” Ivers said. “He is a strong advocate for exploring all the ways the visual arts remain a necessary and profound way to communicate and express.”

Grabiec was appointed to a five-year term on the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), the state agency dedicated to investing in the arts in Virginia. Through allocations made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and the General Assembly, the VCA utilizes investments to empower arts leaders, arts educators and arts practitioners. The commission’s ultimate goal is to encourage the commonwealth’s citizens not just to participate in and appreciate the arts but also to serve as change agents.

Grabiec received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2007 from Longwood. In 2016, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in photographic and electronic media from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He resides in Farmville with his son and wife, Emily, who is director of education and outreach at the LCVA.