Richmond, VA — The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) offers an exciting slate of special exhibitions, events, programs and delicious dining year-round, and summer 2025 is no exception.
“Whether you are meeting up with friends, hosting out-of-town guests, traveling to Richmond or vacationing in your own backyard, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the perfect destination for art, culture and fun this summer,” said Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “We are delighted to provide access to remarkable works of art from around the world and to introduce our museum to new audiences.”
On view through September 28, 2025, the blockbuster exhibition Frida: Beyond the Myth is attracting visitors from near and far. The Richmond-based museum is one of only two institutions in the United States to present this must-see exhibition. Frida Kahlo’s powerful paintings, embedded with vivid symbolism, along with insightful photographs of the artist by those who knew her best, convey the deeply personal contexts and events that inspired her art. The exhibition is accompanied by English and Spanish interpretive texts and audio guides.
Tickets for Frida: Beyond the Myth are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors 65+, and $10 for youth ages 7 to 17 and college students with ID. Tickets are free for museum members, children ages 6 and under, Commonwealth of Virginia employees, and pre-K through 12th grade schoolteachers. Museums for All participants can purchase tickets at the reduced price of $2 each, with a limit of four tickets per Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. As a participant of Blue Star Museums, VMFA also provides free tickets for all active duty, National Guard and Reserve military personnel and their immediate families.
No trip to see Frida: Beyond the Myth would be complete without enjoying artful Mexican-inspired cuisine at VMFA’s award-winning Amuse restaurant or critically acclaimed Floris tearoom. The VMFA Shop offers unique merchandise featuring Kahlo’s art and celebrating her cultural heritage.
In addition to the seeing Frida: Beyond the Myth, visitors to VMFA can also enjoy art installations and exhibitions of works from the museum’s permanent art collection, and participate in a variety of programs and events such as Family Day, Art After Hours, After 5 Fridays and special dinners at Amuse this summer.
VMFA is the only art museum in the U.S. open 365 days a year with free general admission.
To purchase tickets to Frida: Beyond the Myth and special events and to learn more about the upcoming programs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, visit www.VMFA.museum.
VMFA Summer Events
Every Wednesday | 6–8 p.m. | Free; no tickets required
This popular weekly series features live performances by some of the area’s best jazz musicians in partnership with the Richmond Jazz Society.
Every Friday Evening | Free; no tickets required
Meet up with friends to enjoy a beverage, visit the galleries for an art escape and take part in different activities at this weekly series of events, which includes First Fridays, Dance After Work, Taste of Art and Summer Breeze.
Family Day | Celebrate African and African American Art: Mali
Saturday, June 7, 2025 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Free; no tickets required
Elegba Folklore Society, Cheick Hamala Diabaté, DJ Mikemetic and other artists will delight audiences with their engaging performances. People of all ages can participate in art activities including creating crocodiles, making mini drums, designing wearable jewelry and contributing to a collaborative weaving project.
Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14, 2025 | 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Shoppers can save on a curated selection of merchandise, including books, exhibition-inspired products, jewelry, home décor and seasonal items.
Documentary Film and Talk | Frida
Friday, June 20, 2025 | 6:30–9 p.m. | $8 (VMFA members $5)
This 2024 documentary about Frida Kahlo is a raw and magical journey into the life of the iconic artist told through her own words from diaries, letters, essays and interviews. The film is vividly brought to life with lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork. Director Carla Gutiérrez will discuss her film, which won the J. Oppenheim Editing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Beer and Tequila Dinner at Amuse
Saturday, June 28, 2025 | 6–9 p.m. | $145 | Ages 21+
The evening will begin with a personal gallery tour led by Artistic Director and Chief Curator Dr. Michael Taylor, offering unique insights into Frida Kahlo’s art and life. Following the tour, guests will indulge in a creative and flavorful multi-course dinner at Amuse, complemented by beverage expertise from Ardent Craft Ale’s owner, Tom Sullivan; their brewmaster, Tasha Dixon; and Amuse’s in-house cicerone, Bryan Wells. Tickets include tax, service and the gallery tour.
Talk | Frida’s America: Painting the Political
Thursday, July 10, 2025 | 6:30 –7:30 p.m. | $8 (VMFA members $5)
Celia Stahr, Ph.D., will discuss Frida Kahlo’s pivotal three years living in the United States during the Depression era. It was a time when Kahlo found her artistic voice and created some of her most blatantly political paintings. Dr. Stahr is the author of Frida in America and a professor at the University of San Francisco.
Friday, July 11, 2025 | 5–7:30 p.m. | $65 | Ages 21+
Participants can raise a glass, indulge their senses and immerse themselves in art and culture. A curated selection of European wines, refreshing frozé and light fare designed to complement the wines will be served. Vendors and wine experts will guide the tastings. Guided tours of the permanent collection galleries will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets include two glasses of wine, unlimited tastings, light fare and gallery tours.
Saturday, July 12, 2025 | 7–11 p.m. | $60 (VMFA members $50) | Ages 21+
Guests will have exclusive access to the entire museum — including the special exhibition Frida: Beyond the Myth — at this artful celebration of artist Frida Kahlo. Hosted by Kelli Lemon, the event will feature a variety of music performers. DJ Lonnie B will spin music from today and back in the day. Members of the Sounds Funny band, featuring Micah “Bam-Bamm” White, will perform soulful party music. Guest vocalist Friday Love and live salsa dancers will add salsa and merengue to the mix.
Amuse Wine Dinner | Summer Supper Somm Series
Saturday, August 9, 2025 | 5–9 p.m. | $165 | Ages 21+
Summer Supper Somm is an annual experiential communal dinner series celebrating Virginia’s bounty. This year, ripe heirloom tomatoes from Village Garden RVA, named “the most delicious tomatoes in the country” by Food & Wine magazine, will be featured in artfully prepared dishes, deliciously paired with wines selected by a local winemaker and Amuse’s in-house sommelier. Tickets include tax and service.
Talk | A Ribbon Around a Bomb: Frida Kahlo’s Surrealist Encounter
Thursday, August 14, 2025 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | $8 (VMFA members $5)
Elliot King, Ph.D., reconsiders Frida Kahlo’s relationship with surrealism — suggesting that, even as she refused the label, her fearless exploration of identity, pain and revolution embodied the true spirit of surrealist revolt. Dr. King is co-editor of Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting and Associate Professor of Art History at Washington and Lee University.
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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 more than 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, 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 the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing I after a transformative expansion, previously the largest in its history. A new expansion, the McGlothlin Wing II, is planned to open in 2028. Comprising more than 170,000 square feet, it will be the largest expansion in the museum’s history and will make VMFA the fourth largest comprehensive art museum in the United States.
Recently named one of the 20 best art museums in the U.S. by The Washington Post, 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.
Media Contacts
Jan Hatchette | (804) 204-2721 | jan.hatchette@vmfa.museum
Amy Peck | (804) 773-1791 | amy.peck@vmfa.museum
Camryn Royal | (804) 204-2717 | camryn.royal@vmfa.museum
200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23220