Saturday, February 7, 2026 • 4:00-6:00PM

The Wharf Reimaged

As flooding continues to challenge downtown Staunton, a new exhibition at the Staunton Augusta Art Center invites the community to look beyond immediate interventions and imagine a long-term, resilient future for one of the city’s most vulnerable sites.

Wharf Reimagined brings together design proposals by junior-level architectural design students from James Madison University who have spent the past two years rethinking the Wharf Parking Lot as a place of connection, resilience, and community gathering. The exhibition opens to the public with a reception on February 7 from 4–6 PM.

Featuring work from the Spring 2024 and Spring 2025 studios, the exhibition takes on added relevance in light of recent years’ flooding at the Wharf and temporary closures caused by collapsing underground tunnels beneath the site. These recent events underscore the complexity of the challenges facing the area and highlight the importance of sustained, collaborative thinking about its future.