VMFA’s latest Interactive Gallery exhibition goes beyond the surface of six works of art from VMFA’s collection to investigate how art can be an expression of place or personal and cultural identity; how different cultures throughout time represent history and identity through art; and what histories are publicly told and which are hidden.

A magnifying glass is available so visitors can look closely at reproductions of the artworks to uncover hidden icons. These magnified details can then be opened to reveal more information about the work or artist. Discussion prompts are included to start conversations around personal stories that may relate to the art.

Uncovering the untold is also a task for VMFA as a museum. Two touch screens in the exhibition feature digital interactives that provide a virtual look at the VMFA grounds over the past 200 years through the lens of the Black experience. This immersive experience, available on any internet-enabled device, was developed by the storytelling team at Hidden In Plain Site

Visit A Closer Look and you might discover more than meets the eye. For an online resource of this exhibition please visit A Closer Look on Learn.


A Closer Look is generously supported by the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, the Jeanette S. Lipman Endowment for Children’s Education, and Maggie Georgiadis.


The Former and the Ladder or Ascension and a Cinchin’, 2012, Trenton Doyle Hancock (American, born 1974), acrylic and mixed media on canvas. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Sydney and Frances Lewis Endowment Fund and Pamela K. and William A. Royall Jr. Fund for 21st-Century Art with funds contributed by Mary and Don Shockey Jr. and Marion Boulton Stroud, 2013.3 © Trenton Doyle Hancock