Richmond, Virginia — The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is excited to announce that the second drop of exclusive clothing and accessories, designed by Chilalay and featuring works by artist Tsherin Sherpa, is slated for Friday, September 23, 2022. The VMFA x Chilalay Pop Up will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. outdoors in the E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden, during VMFA’s free Summer Breeze event.
“We are thrilled to have such a unique opportunity to partner with a popular and influential local company for the Spirits exhibition,” said Jan Hatchette, VMFA’s Deputy Director for Communications and Marketing. “Creative collaborations like this offer opportunities for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to work with great artists, talented designers and innovative local entrepreneurs and enable the museum to reach new audiences.”
This second VMFA x Chilalay collection features different designs than those in the first collection, printed on an assortment of more than a dozen stylish, limited-edition products including premium tees, sublimated shirts, work jackets, pants, skateboard decks, shorts and totes. The merchandise, which ranges in price from $35 to $150, will premier at the September 23 event, and any remaining items will be sold exclusively in the VMFA Shop, in store and online.
A Black-owned, Richmond-based streetwear company that celebrates fashion and culture, Chilalay represents the embodiment of “fixing the problems we can and not letting the stress of what we can’t fix consume us.” The company has a strong following in Virginia, as evidenced by the number of original items that sold out during the first VMFA x Chilalay Pop Up, held in July.
“It has been an honor to collaborate with VMFA and Tsherin Sherpa on this amazing project,” said Chilalay’s co-founder Nikko Dennis. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share our brand with VMFA’s visitors, and we are excited to continue to share the Chilalay vibe with Richmond and the world.”
VMFA x Chilalay capsule collections fuse fashion with the mesmerizing paintings and sculptures by Nepalese-born Tibetan American artist, Tsherin Sherpa. In the global artist’s first solo museum exhibition, Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits, now on view at VMFA through October 16, 2022, the artist draws on both Tibetan Buddhist iconography and the imagery of popular culture to convey his own cross-cultural experiences. The VMFA x Chilalay collections extend Sherpa’s relatable messages about empowerment and the emergence of individual and collective identity.
“Collaborating with Chilalay and VMFA has been an incredible creative experience,” said Sherpa. “My hope is that visitors who see the Spirits exhibition will interact with these works of art and merge them with their own stories, just like Chilalay did in this extraordinary collaboration.”
Along with the Chilalay Pop Up, Summer Breeze will feature music mixed by Shanel the DJ and Markus Gold, 360 and selfie photo booths, and drink specials. Attendees can also enjoy free admission to VMFA’s exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits during the event. Summer Breeze is a part of VMFA’s After 5 Fridays event series and is presented by Chase.
For more information about exhibitions, events and programs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, visit www.VMFA.museum.
About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA, which opened in 1936, is a state agency and privately endowed educational institution. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art, and to encourage the study of the arts. Through the Office of Statewide Partnerships program, the museum offers curated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences and workshops by visual and performing artists. In addition to presenting a wide array of special exhibitions, the museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a global collection of art that spans more than 6,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass nearly 50,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver and French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British sporting and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its history.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has begun its more than $190 million expansion and renovation project led by the international architecture firm SmithGroup. Tentatively scheduled for completion in 2027, the project consists of adding a new wing of nearly 170,000 square feet and renovating 45,000 square feet of existing spaces, while maintaining four acres of green space in the Sculpture Garden. Visitors will experience a seamless journey through the collections in the new wing, which will house contemporary art, African art, American art, a new suite of galleries for rotating special exhibitions and a special-events space. The expansion and renovation will enable the museum to display more art, welcome more visitors and provide more enjoyment.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States open 365 days a year with free general admission. For additional information, telephone 804.340.1400 or visit www.VMFA.museum.
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Media Contacts
Jan Hatchette | 804.204.2721 | jan.hatchette@VMFA.museum
Amy Peck | 804.773.1791 | amy.peck@VMFA.museum
Kyla Coleman | 804.204.2702 | kyla.coleman@VMFA.museum
200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23220