A Conversation with Lalla Essaydi

Interview with artist Lalla Essaydi conducted in November 2017 discussing her practice, career and the work, La Grande Odalisque, featured in the permanent collection of VMFA.

A Conversation with Mel Edwards

Interview with artist Mel Edwards conducted in November 2018 discussing his practice, career and work featured in the permanent collection.

A Conversation with Glenn Ligon

Interview with artist Glenn Ligon conducted in February 2019 discussing his practice, career and the work A Small Band, recently acquired by VMFA for the permanent collection.

Storm In The Time of Shelter: A Conversation with Paul Rucker

Interview with Paul Rucker on the topic of his installation Storm In The Time of Shelter which was featured in the special exhibition The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse which opened May 2021.

Curator’s Opening Talk | A Conversation with Tsherin Sherpa

On Thursday, February 17, 2022 Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art participated in a conversation with artist Tsherin Sherpa. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Artist Talk | Sir Isaac Julien

On December 4th, Sir Isaac Julien shared insights on his film installation, Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass, which contemplates the life and times of Frederick Douglass.

Curator’s Talk: Decoding Lessons of the Hour

Join Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, for a discussion of Isaac Julien’s work Lesson of the Hour—Frederick Douglass. In “Decoding Lessons,” Cassel Oliver unravels the symbolism embedded in this 10-channel film installation.

3 in 30: New Rotations in the Ancient Art Galleries

Dr. Peter Schertz, the VMFA Jack and Mary Ann Frable Curator of Ancient Art, explores new acquisitions and rotations in the Ancient Art Galleries at VMFA.

3 in 30: Legendary

Join the exhibition educator, Izzie Fuqua, for this gallery talk that concludes in the special exhibition Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass, an art installation that combines film, spoken word, and photography to bridge history with the persistent concerns of our day.

3 in 30 PLUS: Train Like an Artist

Celeste Fetta, Director of Education is in conversation with artist and Studio School instructor Amy Smith. Through an exploration of works in the museum's collection and drawing activities, learn about the e process by which American expatriates learned their craft in Paris.

3 in 30: IDing Horse Idioms

On Thursday, April 7, 2022 Dr. Colleen Yarger, Assistant Curator for European Art and Mellon Collections delivered a virtual gallery program highlighting to the VMFA Sporting Art Collection.

3 in 30: John Covert and American Dada

On Thursday, March 3, 2022 Dr. Leo G. Mazow, Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art delivered a virtual gallery program on John Covert and American Art.

3 in 30: Wrathful Himalayan Deities

Explore the permanent collection of Himalayan art with Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, to discover some of Tibetan Buddhism's most intense and powerful deities. This program is inspired by the special exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits.

3 in 30: An Enlightening Journey into the Past: Rubens, Boilly, and Volaire

Discover how works by Peter Paul Rubens, Louis-Léopold Boilly, and Pierre-Jacques Volaire provide glimpses of the life and times of European society in the 17th and 18th centuries.

3 in 30: Composing our Thoughts

Join exhibition educator Sarah Rasich and Performing Arts Coordinator Robert Phanord for a casual conversation around three works of art in VMFA’s permanent collection. By considering the parallels between sonic and visual vocabulary, we’ll relate objects to the special exhibition Storied Strings.

3 in 30: The Architecture of History

Join Dr. Sarah Kennel, VMFA’s Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for an exploration of the photographs of Frances Benjamin Johnston and Keris Salmon, two artists working nearly a century apart, who captured enduring images of Southern architecture.

3 in 30: The Socio-Political Landscape in 21st-Century Art

Explore three works in the VMFA collection as examples of socio-political landscapes evident in 21st-century art. Alexis Assam, Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art, will guide you on a tour of works by three Black artists: Howardena Pindell, Julie Mehretu, & Ronald Lockett.

3 in 30: Elevation

Dr. Ndubuisi Ezeluomba, VMFA Curator of African Art, presents 3 works to examine the notion of “elevation.” An idea found in many African cultures, elevation pertains to human expectations for continuous progression in their societal status, beginning with birth and continuing throughout one's life.

3 in 30: Japonisme in French Art Nouveau Decorative Arts

Join Madeleine Dugan, VMFA Curatorial Assistant, to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Explore how Japanese artworks and aesthetics inspired forms and imagery of French decorative arts during the Art Nouveau period at the turn of the 19th century.

3 in 30: What does freedom look like?

In recognition of the upcoming Juneteenth Holiday, join VMFA Educator, Karen Getty, as she explores three works of art, all centered on the theme of "freedom," and how artists choose to represent it.

Virtual Conversation | Storied Strings and the Sense of Sight

On December 8, 2023, nationally acclaimed scholar Georgina Kleege, author of More than Meets the Eye: What Blindness Brings to Art, visited VMFA for a conversation related to the special exhibition Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art.

Conversation | Relocation, Reconnection & Community

On Friday, July 29, 2022, VMFA held a panel discussion of individuals who immigrated to the United States much like Tsherin Sherpa, the Nepalese-born Tibetan American artist featured in the special exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits.

Conversation | Man Ray: The Artist and His Shadows

On Friday, January 28, 2022 Dr. Michael Taylor, Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education was joined in conversation with Arthur Lubow, author of Man Ray: The Artist and his Shadows. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Sorrow Songs in an Exuberant City: How Manhattan Influenced the Guitar Imagery of Elizabeth Catlett

Examine the art and activism of Elizabeth Catlett with Dr. Dalila Scruggs, renowned for her scholarly research on the African American artist. In this featured lecture for Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art, Dr. Scruggs addresses Catlett’s formative years spent in New York City.

Curator’s Opening Talk: A Belle Époque? American Women Artists and France,1871–1914

On Thursday, April 14, 2022 Dr. Susie Rawles, Elizabeth Locke Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts, delivered the opening talk related to the especial exhibition, Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France.

String Stories: A Conversation with Walter Carter and Joe Glaser

Join VMFA's Dr. Leo Mazow, curator of Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art, in conversation with guitar dealer and historian Walter Carter and guitar technician and historian Joe Glazer. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Isaac Julien Speaker Series | The Power of Portraiture

Consider the ways portraiture has been used to advance notions of belonging, citizenship, and power. Dr. Rhea Combs, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s director of curatorial affairs, leads an examination of Frederick Douglass’s relationship with portraiture and its relevance today.

Lessons of the Hour: Frederick Douglass, Andrew Johnson, and the Work of Reconstruction

Join author Dr. Robert Levine, Distinguished University Professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park, for a lecture discussing the life of Frederick Douglass during the Reconstruction period when Douglass sought equal rights for African Americans.

Curator’s Opening Talk | A Conversation with Tsherin Sherpa

On Thursday, February 17, 2022 Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art participated in a conversation with artist Tsherin Sherpa. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

As We See Ourselves: Portraits of Racial Progress in Central Virginia, 1900 to 1925

This lecture by Dr. Jon Edwin Mason, Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia and Co-Director of the Holsinger Portrait Project, looks at the portraits that hundreds of African Americans from Central Virginia commissioned early twentieth century.

Artist Talk: Whitfield Lovell: Passages

Join artist Whitfield Lovell for a talk on the special exhibition, “Passages,” which brings together his major installations and new series, recently completed (2022).

Preserving Our Histories

A Panel Discussion with Omilade Janine Bell, Ana Edwards, Dr. Lauranett Lee, Brian Palmer and moderated by Todd Waldo. This panel focused on the work of local communi++ty activists and organizations striving for a more inclusive history of the city of Richmond.

Fiction and Truth: Picturing the Black Racial Imaginary

Visual Art and Literature in Picturing the Black Racial Imaginary: A Conversation with Dawoud Bey and Dr. LeRonn Brooks. Artist and Educator, Dawoud Bey, and Curator, Dr. LeRonn P. Brooks discussed the role of the visual arts and literature in presenting unwritten historical legacies.

Performance and Traditions: A Conversation

A Conversation with contemporary artist Rashida Bumbray and Valerie Cassel Oliver. During this session, Bumbray and Oliver explored the strategies in which traditions are preserved through contemporary performance.

Ordinary Notes

Dr. Sharpe reads from her latest publication, Ordinary Notes, which explores the past, present and future of Black existence.

Little Eyes Look: Woodpecker

Join a VMFA Early Childhood Educator for a children’s guided observation of Woodpecker by Fred Tomaselli.

Los Ojos Pequeños Miran: Pájaro carpintero, de Fred Tomaselli

Únase a una educadora de Primera Infancia del VMFA para una contemplación guiada para niños de Pájaro carpintero, de Fred Tomaselli.

Los Ojos Pequeños Miran: Chico junto a chorro de boca de incendios con gafas de buceo, de Louis Draper

Únase a una educadora de Primera Infancia del VMFA para una contemplación guiada para niños de Chico junto a chorro de boca de incendios con gafas de buceo, de Louis Draper.

Little Eyes Look: Boy in Fire Hydrant Stream Wearing Goggles

Los Ojos Pequeños Miran: Puesta de sol, de George Inness

Únase a una educadora de Primera Infancia del VMFA para una contemplación guiada para niños de Puesta de sol, de George Inness.

Little Eyes Look: Sunset by George Inness

Los Ojos Pequeños Miran: Rodando, de Adolph Gottlieb

Únase a una educadora de Primera Infancia del VMFA para una contemplación guiada para niños de Rodando, de Adolph Gottlieb.

Little Eyes Look: Rolling