Since 2009, VMFA has displayed the work of Visual Arts Fellowship recipients on the museum’s campus, as well as at Richmond International Airport. In recognition of the 75th anniversary of the VMFA Fellowship program this year, VMFA is expanding the exposure of this artwork across the Commonwealth with the opening of an exhibition at The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Va. Part of VMFA’s Statewide program, VMFA Fellowship Program 75th Anniversary Exhibition at the Workhouse, which runs May 23 through July 26, will feature the work of three past VMFA Fellowship recipients who have made impressive contributions to the arts in Virginia. The exhibition is free.
“We are very excited that the Workhouse Art Center is participating in this celebration of the 75th anniversary of the VMFA Statewide Fellowship Program,” said Jeffrey Allison, VMFA Paul Mellon collection educator & manager of statewide programs and exhibitions. Since its inception, the program has been one of many ways the museum reaches out across the Commonwealth to ensure that all Virginians have access to the arts. Not only are we celebrating the Fellowship Program’s anniversary, but also over 1,250 artists who have won fellowships over the past 75 years. This inaugurates a broader Statewide Fellowship Exhibition Program and there will be upcoming exhibitions at the Workhouse and other partner site throughout the state in the coming months.”
About the Artists
Pam Anderson Sutherland, who works in drawing, painting and collage, won a VMFA Fellowship for Drawing in 2004. Sutherland is an art teacher in the Upper School of the Collegiate School in Richmond. Her work has been exhibited from Page Bond Gallery in Richmond to Kathryn Markel Gallery in New York City, is in several public collections including the University of Virginia and the Try Me Collection, and was published in the Open Studio Press’ Studio Visit in 2008. She was also the 2009 recipient of the Theresa Pollak Prize for Excellence in Fine Art awarded by Richmond Magazine.
Fiona Ross is a painter who won a VMFA fellowshop in 2005. She is also a University of Richmond adjunct professor. She exhibited her acrylic paintings on Yupo (a synthetic, recyclable paper made from polypropylene pellets) and ink drawings at galleries and universities – from Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute in Roanoke, Va., to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. At VCU’s Anderson Gallery and Old Dominion University, she painted site-specific drawings on the institutions’’ walls and exhibited additional paintings and drawings. She also has won seven fellowships from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and an international fellowship from the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, among other honors. A paper titled “The Jordan Curve is Non-Trivial” that she co-wrote with William T. Ross has been published by Princeton University Press (Best Writing on Mathematics, edited by Mircea Petici, 2014).
Kendra Wadsworth won a VMFA Fellowship in 2010 and has taught painting and drawing to children and adults at Virginia Commonwealth University, VMFA, and other art centers. Through a Partners in the Arts grant, Wadsworth was an artist in residence at Clover Hill High School, where she guided students in creating visual art inspired by stories from WWII veterans. She has also been a contributing artist and artist board member of 1708 Gallery in Richmond since 2009.
Brett John Johnson, director of visual arts at Workhouse Arts Center, said: “The Workhouse is thrilled to host and work with the VMFA Statewide program. This exhibition recognizes the work of VMFA, supporting Virginia artists for 75 years through its Fellowship program, and offers Northern Virginia an opportunity for engagement with three past Fellowship winners. The show represents some of the best artists in the Commonwealth.”
Also to commemorate the Fellowship program’s 75th anniversary, the work of three more past recipients will be on view at VMFA and Richmond International Airport later this summer.
Will May at Richmond International Airport, July 20, 2015 – Feb. 7, 2016
Sally Bowring at Amuse Restaurant, July 27, 2015 – Feb. 15, 2016
Kris Iden at the VMFA Pauley Center, August 8, 2015 to Feb. 21, 2016
About the Workhouse Arts Center
The Workhouse Arts Center, a project of the non-profit Workhouse Arts Foundation, Inc., is a multi-disciplinary arts center housed in the former Workhouse facility of the District of Columbia’s Correctional Complex in Lorton. The Arts Center supports more than 100 professional and emerging artists, providing them affordable studios and galleries in which to exhibit their work. In addition to visual arts, the Workhouse Arts Center is home to performing arts, including theater, film, musical, and dance performances.
About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA’s permanent collection encompasses more than 33,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of world history. Its collections of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, English silver, Fabergé, and the art of South Asia are among the finest in the nation. With acclaimed holdings in American, British Sporting, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist, and Modern and Contemporary art – and additional strengths in African, Ancient, East Asian, and European – VMFA ranks as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United States. Programs include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus lively after-hours events. VMFA’s Statewide Partnership program includes traveling exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the Commonwealth. VMFA, a certified Virginia Green attraction, is open 365 days a year and general admission is always free. For additional information, telephone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.museum.
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