These records reflect the performances and activities of the Fine Arts Festivals held at Virginia Union University. In 1953, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Johnson, head of the Department of Humanities, proposed to the Administration the idea of a Fine Arts Festival. Although there were no funds available, the administration encouraged the idea and lent such support as was possible. It quickly became a tradition of the college and the community. For more than three decades, the Festivals showcased poetry, drama, painting, sculpture and music produced by the students and visiting artists.

The bulk of the collection is programs for the Festivals. The anthologies are collections of prose and poetry presented as part of the Festival. The miscellaneous file includes the April 1954 Virginia Union Bulletin that was dedicated to the Festival and a few press releases.