COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
The Eggleston Family Legacy and Green Book
Sun, Jan 26 | 2–3:30 pm
Free, tickets required
Leslie Cheek Theater
Learn the history of The Negro Motorist Green Book through a screening of the Smithsonian Channel film The Green Book: A Guide to Freedom (51 min). The post-screening conversation features Melody Short, Director of Operations and Marketing, Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns; Dr. Michael Hall, Assistant Professor of English, VCU; and Neverett Eggleston Jr., whose family owned the historic Eggleston Hotel and Motel from the 1930s to the ’90s.
TALK
Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop
Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, VMFA, in conversation with Nell Draper-Winston
Thu, Jan 30 | 6:30–
7:30 pm
$8 (VMFA members $5)
Leslie Cheek Theater
VMFA’s Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, curator of Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop, will provide an overview of the exhibition, which features photography by members of the Kamoinge Workshop, an artist collective founded in New York City in 1963. Nell Draper-Winston, sister of photographer Louis Draper, will join Dr. Eckhardt in conversation to discuss her brother’s photographs and his roots in Richmond.
Image Credit: Boy and H, 1961, Louis Draper (American, 1935-2002), Gelatin silver print, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, National Endowment for the Arts Fund for American Art.
OPEN STUDIO PLUS PERFORMANCE
Grandma’s Hands
Sun, Feb 2 | 1–4 pm
Free, no tickets required
Art Education Center
Performances in the Atrium 2 pm & 3 pm
Join us as we encounter generational lessons from two sisters with remarkable stories to share from the perspective of the African American South. Through song, stories, and signed poetry, we will learn how women have made an impact on culture through practices passed down from family matriarchs.
RVA Community Makers Art Activity
Sun, Feb 2 | 1–4 pm
Free, no tickets required
Art Education Center
During Open Studio Plus Performance, celebrate family with Richmond artist Hamilton Glass and local African American photographers.
Take your digital family portraits onsite at VMFA to become part of a mixed-media public art collaboration. Glass will guide attendees in hands-on participation. You can also capture fun memories in the Family Portrait Photo Booth.
Extending the meaning of family to community, the project also brings together six local photographers—Regina Boone, Courtney Jones, Brian Palmer, Sandra Sellars, Ayasha Sledge, and James Wallace— who will create portraits of six selected community leaders.
FIRST FRIDAY
Spirituals
Fri, Feb 7 | 6–8 pm
Free, no tickets required
Atrium
Join us as we welcome sopranos Lisa Edwards Burrs and Olletta Cheatham to our First Friday series with an evening of Spirituals. Lisa and Olletta will sing many powerful songs of the genre and explore their resonating impact on history.
DANCE PARTY
VMFA After Hours: VMFA Is for Lovers
Sat, Feb 15 | 7–11:30 pm
$45/person ($35 VMFA members)
Museum wide
Join host Kelli Lemon for a night of art, music, dancing, and love after dark. Catch DJ Lonnie B on the spin in the Marble Hall. Enjoy Legacy Band performing live music in the Atrium. Experience the exhibitions Edward Hopper and the American Hotel and Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop.
All galleries will be open during this event to give you access to our diverse collections of art from around the world.
GALLERY PROGRAM
3 in 30: African American Art and the Power of the Written Word
With Dr. Christopher Oliver, Assistant Curator of American Art
Tue Feb 11, 11–11:30 am
Thu, Feb 13, 6:30–7 pm
Free, no tickets required
Meet at Visitor Services
Join Dr. Christopher C. Oliver for an exploration of three objects on view at in VMFA’s American Art galleries and discover their connection with the power of poetry and prose.
LIVE JAZZ
Dominion Energy Jazz Café: Jazz Around the Museum
Thu, Feb 13 | 6–9 pm
Free, no tickets required
Marble Hall
Back by popular demand! Who says a Jazz band can’t party, get down, and get funky? Led by saxophonist Robert “Bo” Bohannon, Klaxton Brown combines the old with the new, and will rock you steady all night long. Prepare to get Klaxtonized!
ARTIST TALK: Paul Rucker
Fri, Feb 21 | 6:30–7:30 pm
$8 ($5 VMFA members)
Leslie Cheek Theater
Join artist Paul Rucker for a discussion of his multidisciplinary practice as a visual artist, composer, and musician. His art explores issues related to mass incarceration, racially motivated violence, and the continued impact of policies that sustain inequity.
DANCING
Dance After Work: Hip-Hop Line Dancing
Fri, Feb 21 | 6–8 pm
Free, no tickets required
Atrium
RVA Community Makers Unveiling
Thu, Feb 27 | 5:30 pm
Free, no tickets required
Atrium
Come see RVA Community Makers—a mixed-media public art mural in VMFA’s Atrium. The completed project will feature portraits of six local leaders who have been selected for their impact on the RVA community. The mixed-media mural of acrylic paint and photography will reflect the creative visions of Richmond artist Hamilton Glass and local photographers Regina Boone, Courtney Jones, Brian Palmer, Sandra Sellars, Ayasha Sledge, and James Wallace.
GALLERY PROGRAM
African American Read-In
Thu, Feb 27 | 5:30–7:30 pm
Free, no tickets required
Meet at Visitor Services
Literature and fine art come together with African American Read-In at VMFA. See and hear notable figures from the greater Richmond community as they lend their voices in prose and poetry readings throughout the galleries. In this powerful display of storytelling, experience evocative and poignant pairings of works by African American artists and authors.
Community Event: Celebrate Wiley!
Sat, Feb 29 | 10–11 am
Free, no tickets required
Atrium
Join VMFA for a community celebration of Kehinde Wiley’s Rumors of War! This special event will offer families a chance to view this new work of art and welcome it to its permanent home through art-making, gallery activities, and readings of children’s literature.
GALLERY PROGRAM
Family African American Read-In
Sat, Feb 29 | 11 am–noon
Free, no tickets required
Meet at Visitor Services
Bring your family to VMFA to enjoy this unique event and experience African and African American children’s literature read by members of the community in front of engaging works of art. Children will also enjoy music, movement, and enrichment activities. (Intended audience: children ages 2–8 years with their guardian; everyone is welcome.)