For the past five years, the team here at Whurk has been making the finest Virginia arts magazine around without missing a single beat. Month after month, in time for every first Friday, a new batch of papers would roll off the presses. When we started, I didn’t even know if we would make it to our second issue. Every success was hard won; there was no existing model for us to replicate. We had to learn how to Whurk our own way.

Now that we’ve reached our five year anniversary issue, I wanted to take a moment to recognize all the folks who have contributed along the way. The list below represents five years of writers, photographers, illustrators, poets, painters, chefs, and many other creative types too idiosyncratic to categorize. To all the people who shared our vision of celebrating the wonderful independent arts of Virginia, thanks from the bottom of my heart. In particular, Stephen Graham, co-founder and current Creative Director—your determination to grow this thing from nothing has been a continual source of inspiration to me. May we scheme ever onward.

I also want to give a shout out to Print Innovators of Fredericksburg. Every time we have come to them with a weird idea, they figure out a way to make it a reality. Without your partnership, Whurk would be but a dream.

Looking forward to the next five years, there is so much that we want to accomplish, everything from upgrading our handmade newsracks to completely revamping our online news coverage. We’ll be hosting some special events throughout 2018, so stay tuned to this column for more announcements as they go live. This month, be sure to check out Craig Graziano’s new Album Roundup Podcast, offering a quick taste of the featured bands.

In closing, biggest thanks to you, the reader, for picking up what we’re laying down. We started Whurk to scratch our own itch—we hope that you find the same satisfaction in reading it.

Cheers,
Seth Casana
Editor-In-Chief
seth@whurk.org

A. Logan Hill • Aaron Morris • Adam DeSio • Adam Martin Disbrow • Adrian Elliott • Alex Beck • Alexander Rudenshiold • Amanda Galvan Huynh • Amanda May • Andre Shank • Andrew Taylor-Troutman • Andrew White • Angela M. Carter • Annie Temmink • Ash Grace • Ashley Carpenter • Ashley Jackson • Ashley Travis • August Oster • Bill Harris • Bolanle Adeboye • BongKyun Noh • Brad Efford • Brandy Somers • Brian Parrish • Brittany Justice • C. Lyndon Mann • Carlos Rafael Gomez • Carly Magnolia Buckholz • Carren Clarke-McAdoo • Carter Corbin • Casey Clabough • Casey Shaw • Chris Green • Chris Skipper • Christine Skelly • Christine Stoddard • Christopher Stephens • Cireena Katto • Clay Jones • Corrinne James • Cory Kuklick • Craig Graziano • Craig Snodgrass • Davey Jones • David Hungate • David Weadon • David Wold • Deanna Marie Soares • Debra Shaw • Derik Badman • Dominic Desmond • Dominick Salemi • Dylan Tolley • Ed King • Edgard J. Gato • Elizabeth Mayer • Elliott Downs • Emily Humberson • Emily Martin • Emily Montgomery • Emily Nicholson • Emily Paquin • Eric Marth • Erin Keating • Etam Cru • F.C. Taylor • Ford Combs • Gabriela Igloria • Geoff Greene • George Booker • Gina Mallonee • Greg Steele • Heather Bryant • Helena Gray • Ilana Bean • J.Coleman • Jacin Buchanan • Jack Graves III • Jack Nicolay • Jackson Landers • James Hebert • James Moffitt • James Noll • Jeff Hewitt • Jefferson Nagel • Jeffrey Onwularu • Jenna Anderson • Jennifer D. Printz • Jennifer Wilson • Jeremy Gann • Jerome Spencer • Jess Young • Jesse Hooper • Jim Bartlett • Joe Carabeo • Joe Duplan • Joelle Gilbert • John Bellows • John N. Miller • Jon Pineda • Jonathan Chen • Jonathan Lee • José Alberto Martinez • Julia Gabrielov • Julia Travers • Julia Wilson • Julian Bast • Julie Dzikiewicz • Kadeana Langford • Karen Vieira-Verdi • Karla Espino • Katelyn Leboff • Kayla Ellsworth • Kaylah Rodriguez • Kelley Drake • Kelsie McNair • Ken Penn • Ken Poyner • Keaton Rodland • Kenneth Moore • Kenny Brown • Khalil Riddick • Kristin Mehaffey • Laura Lee Gulledge • Levi Shrader • Lincoln Dunn • Lindley Estes • Lisa Randall • Lisa Renard-Spicer • Logan Berns • Louis Gallo • Lualhati Marie • Lucas Czarnecki • Lucian Mattison • Lyall Harris • Lydia Whitesides • Lynda Bostrom • Ma’iitsoh Yazhi • Madison Earls • Marion Cline • Martha Woodruff • Mats Jerndal • Matt Harrison • Matt Licari • Matt Lively • Matt Prater • Matt Thomas • Matthew Harrison • Mattie Hinkley • Maura Wilson Schneider • Maureen Daulong • Meaty Boy • Meggie Roche • Melody Herbert • Michael Lewis • Michael Trocchia • Michelle Dodd • Michelle Goldchain • Mickael Broth • Mike & Erin Lesnick • Mike Tschirn • Mike Waite • Milenko Katic • Misti Nolen • Morgan Eliane Forrest • Morgan & Joey Hockensmith • Morgan White • Muhamad Khalid • Natalie Beyer • Nate Levine • N.D. Jones • Neva Bryan • Nicholas Shipman • Nicki Stein • Noah Renn • Noah Scalin • P.A. Knight • Pamela Anderson • Pat Jarrett • Paul Hostetler • Paul Somers • Prentice Carroll • Rachel Evelyn • Rahshia Sawyer • Rebekah Hertzberg • Reilly Cundiff • Rich Tarbell • Rick Horner • Robert Bucheron • Robert Kingsley • Robert Owens • Ronald Jackson • Ruthanne Baxter • Sam Phifer • Sam Relken • Sara Robertson • Sarah Anne Bachman • Sarah Corney • Sarah Lawson • Sarah McCall • Sean Ricks • Sean Woodard • Siobhan Young • Sishir Bommakanti • Skip Townsley • Sony Gao • Sophia Weideman • Stephen Graham • Stephen Kissel • Steve Collins • Stuart Gunter • Talia Sharpp • Tanner Russo • Tara Ott • Taylor Frost • Ted Schiffrin • Tess Osmer • Theodore Taylor III • Thomas Hendricks • Tim Barzditis • Tim Seibles • Tim Snyder • Tom Kelly • Tristan Williams • Tristan Wright • Virginia Cox • Wade Mickley • Wes McQuillen • Will Thorton