On this important day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and the inauguration of Barack Obama, VMFA offers some important programs to add to your calendar:
Radiance from Ancient Heights: Ethiopia’s Sacred Art in Context with Richard Woodward on Jan. 24.
Ethiopian Processional Cross, 14-15th c
A vibrant outpouring of art and architecture has supported the continuity of the Ethiopian church, one of world’s earliest churches and the first in sub-Saharan Africa. VMFA African Art Curator Richard Woodward examines the distinctive types and styles of ecclesiastical artworks in VMFA’s new Ethiopian collection, with further illumination provided by a short film by filmmaker Tim Reid. More details and tickets.
Do you enjoy a good haiku or couplet? Longing for a little alliteration? On Friday, Feb 1, Cynthia Grier Lotze, Tarafia Faizullah, Laura Minning, and Anna Claire Hodge, all well-known poets in the area, will present 25-minute readings from their own works. Not only are these masters of verse published but they also contribute their work to social media. More details on this free event.
Explore the rich heritage of jazz through the VMFA collection and music, including ragtime rhythms, big band swing, and West African drumming on Saturday, Feb. 2. Let your creative spirit jive with the music of Duke Ellington and the art of Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence. You’ll even have an opportunity to practice swing dancing with professional dancers. Bring the whole family for an afternoon of fun! More details on this free event.
In Plain Sight is a conversation with Dr. Lauranett Lee, Paige Newman and Dr. Elizabeth O’Leary on Feb 15. This program will examine the world of Virginia’s enslaved peoples through a range of visual and verbal documents in this collaborative program with the Virginia Historical Society . The database, Unknown No Longer, compiled by the society, will be featured along with objects in VMFA’s American Art collection. More details on this free event.
Discover why Nigerian-born author Chinua Achebe chose to write in English his novel, Things Fall Apart, first 
published in 1958. Join VMFA African Art Gallery Educator Karen Getty on Feb 22 in exploring connections between VMFA’s African collection and Achebe’s famous novel. More details and tickets.
Regarded as one of the finest in the United States, VMFA’s African Art collection is on permanent view in the museum’s Dominion Resources Gallery. Approximately 400 works span 2,000 years of history and represent the artistic heritage of more than 100 cultures from the African continent. VMFA’s major holdings in African and African American art have been enriched by newly acquired objects from Ethiopia as wells as works by leading artists Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Aaron Douglas, and Gordon Parks.
-Suzanne Hall, Chief Communications Officer