Two Artists. Two Exhibitions. One Ticket.

This summer, one ticket grants you admission to two special exhibitions that you’ll experience back to back during the same visit. Explore their compelling stories about art and community and their fascinating connections to RVA. Begin with the first retrospective of Benjamin Wigfall—Church Hill native, artist, educator, and champion of arts equity. Then proceed to contemporary artist Whitfield Lovell’s most comprehensive exhibition to date, which includes an immersive, multisensory homage to Jackson Ward.

The Exhibitions

Click to learn more about Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village

Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village

Explore the life and legacy of Richmond native Benjamin Wigfall (1930–2017)—artist, educator, and champion of arts equity—in this first retrospective of his pioneering career. Through nearly 50 works of art by Wigfall, numerous video recordings, and a printmaking display, visitors will experience an intimate portrait of his artwork, impact, and legacy.

Click to learn more about Whitfield Lovell: Passages

Whitfield Lovell: Passages

Be transported by Whitfield Lovell’s evocative multisensory installations, conté drawings, and assemblages. Whitfield Lovell: Passages is the most comprehensive exhibition to date of this renowned contemporary artist’s works, which contemplate the ordinary lives and extraordinary journeys of the African American experience while raising universal questions about identity, memory, and America’s collective heritage.

Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village is organized by the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz, in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Drew Thompson, Associate Professor of Visual Studies and Black Culture, Bard Graduate Center, and Dr. Sarah L. Eckhardt, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, VMFA.

Whitfield Lovell: Passages is organized by the American Federation of Arts in collaboration with Whitfield Lovell. Major support for the national tour and exhibition catalogue are provided by National Endowment for the Arts and the Terra Foundation for American Art. The exhibition is organized for VMFA by Alexis Assam, Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art.

Chimneys, 1951, Benjamin Wigfall, American (1930–2017), oil on canvas, 36 1/4 × 28 in., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, General Endowment Fund, 51.7.5

Kin II (Oh Damballa) (detail), 2008, Whitfield Lovell (American, born Bronx, NY), conté on paper, paper flags, 30 x 22 1/2 in. Mott-Warsh Collection

Untitled (Christmas card design) (detail), 1958, Benjamin Wigfall (American, 1930–2017), opaque watercolor on wove paper, 5 1/8 × 7 3/16 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of the artist, 2007.27

The Red I (detail), 2021, Whitfield Lovell (American, born Bronx, NY), conté crayon on paper with attached found object, 45 3/4 x 34 x 5 7/8 in. Courtesy of the artist and DC Moore Gallery, New York