Talks + Lectures

Thu, Oct 19, 2023 | 6:30–7:30 pm
Cheek Theater

VMFA's Dr. Sarah Kennel, curator of Willie Anne Wright: Artist and Alchemist, will discuss the exciting new exhibition that opens to the public on October 21. Learn about this groundbreaking, internationally renowned photographer and painter whose remarkable Richmond-based career spans six decades. Presenting 63 photographs and 9 paintings by the Richmond native, born in 1924, this is the first major exhibition to explore the trajectory of her impressive career. ​A livestream of the in-person talk will be available for at-home viewing.

$8 (VMFA members $5)

Livestream Option: Can’t make it in-person? Livestream the event from the comfort of home. Simply tune in here at the scheduled event time. Free; no registration required.

ASL interpretation will be provided during this program through a grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

Wed, Nov 1, 2023 | 6:30–7:30 pm
Leslie Cheek Theater

Join us for this year's Paul Mellon Lecture, which focuses on Sir Alfred Munnings. The artist was recently the subject of the British Sporting Art Trust’s exhibition A Life of his Own at the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, and curator Katherine Field will share some of her favorite insights and discoveries from the exhibition.

Paul Mellon was a long-standing patron, friend, and collector of the work of Sir Alfred Munnings, one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century, and he believed “the enjoyment of British sporting art . . . has always been inseparable from the enjoyment of racing, chasing and hunting.”

Her Majesty Queen Camilla has said the following about Munnings: “I have been a lifelong admirer of this great artist, both for his outstanding talent and for his instinctive understanding of the relationship between horse and human.”

Established in memory of Paul Mellon—the museum’s longest serving trustee and one of its most generous benefactors—the Paul Mellon Lecture is presented annually by a distinguished scholar to foster the study and appreciation of the arts and is supported by the Paul Mellon Endowment.

Free; tickets required.

Livestream Option: Can’t make it in-person? Livestream the event from the comfort of home. Simply tune in here at the scheduled event time. Free; no registration required.

Katherine Field is a native of Canada and moved to England to complete a Masters in Fine and Decorative Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Since then she has worked at Tate Britain, the Foundling Museum, The British Art Journal, and The National Horse Racing Museum.

Sun, Nov 12, 2023 | 2–3 pm
Cheek Theater

Artist Dawoud Bey and VMFA's Valerie Cassel Oliver will discuss the special exhibition Dawoud Bey: Elegy. Mesmerizing and evocative, the immersive exhibition's photographs and film installations contemplate landscapes in Virginia, Louisiana, and Ohio as deeply profound repositories of memory and witnesses to American history. Hear directly from artist and curator in this fascinating conversation about Bey's works, which invite viewers to see landscapes through the eyes of enslaved people. Also learn about the exhibition's Richmond-focused series commissioned by VMFA.

$8 (VMFA members $5)

Livestream Option: Can’t make it in-person? Livestream the event from the comfort of home. Simply tune in here at the scheduled event time. Free; no registration required.

ASL interpretation will be provided during this program through a grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

SAVE THE DATES: Fri & Sat, Jan 26 & 27, 2024

Keynote | Fri, Jan 26
6:30–7:30 pm | Marble Hall
$20 (VMFA members $15)

Symposium | Sat, Jan 27
9 am–5 pm | Reynolds Lecture Hall
$8 (VMFA members $5)

Join leading scholars, writers, artists, and community activists for a fascinating conversation  inspired by Dawoud Bey: Elegy. The esteemed panel of participants will explore the intersection of history, art, and the contemporary realities of Black experiences. A livestream option will be available.

Tickets will be available soon. Check back here for program and ticketing details.