Featured Events

Dirty South Virtual Lecture & Performance – Bodies of Music, Songs of Magic

with Dr. Guthrie Ramsey, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Fri, Aug 20, 2021 | 6:30–7:30 pm

Online through Zoom

In this multimedia presentation, narration, photographs, visual art, and dynamic performances illustrate the central role Black music has played in American history. Covering the antebellum period to the present, the program demonstrates the power and importance of this musical tradition in shaping American identities and culture. Presented by

From Asterisks in Dockery, 2012, Rodney McMillian (American, born 1969), vinyl, thread, wood, paint, light bulb. Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles. Image: © Robert Wedemeyer

The Dirty South Virtual Speaker Series

VMFA is hosting a series of talks in conjunction with the special exhibition The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse. These bi-weekly virtual conversations between scholars, curators, and visual and musical artists explore poetry, visual and sonic culture, contemporary southern hip-hop, and legacies of traditional southern aesthetics. All events will be…

VMFA Gospel Sunday in the Garden

Sun, Aug 8, 2021 | 2–4 pm

VMFA’s Robins Sculpture Garden

In the event of inclement weather, the program will move into the Marble Hall. Featuring Aliyah the DJ and RVA Life Church’s Zóé Hosted by Unlocking RVA Enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the garden listening to the spirit-lifting sounds of gospel music in the Black southern tradition. Performances by Zóé at 2:30 pm and 3:30…

Dawn, Sir Frank Short (English, 1857–1945), Dawn, 1912, Aquatint printed in black ink on wove paper. Promised gift of Frank Raysor, FR.1169

3 in 30 PLUS: Short Stories

Tue, Aug 3, 2021 | 11 am–12 pm

Gallery Program (VIRTUAL)

In this edition of 3 in 30+, join VMFA Assistant Curator of European Art Dr. Colleen Yarger and VMFA Teacher Programs Educator Twyla Kitts as they delve into the various intersections between art and literature that can be found in the work of British printmaker Sir Frank Short, whose art is now on display at…

VMFA Family Day - Celebrate African and African American Art: Music & Tradition

VMFA Family Day – Celebrate African and African American Art: Music & Tradition

Sun, Aug 1, 2021 | 1-4 pm

Welcome to VMFA’s VIRTUAL FAMILY DAY EVENT Celebrate African and African American Art: Music & Tradition Launches on VMFA.museum on Sun, Aug 1, 2021 at 11 am Stays live through September 2021 Free. No tickets or reservations required. Exploring Our Virtual Event Welcome to “Celebrate African and African American Art: Music & Tradition” Family Day!…

Virtual Artist Talk and Performance – The AfroDixieRemixes: A VMFA Listening Session

with John Sims, multimedia artist and producer and Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, VMFA

Fri, Jul 30, 2021 | 6:30–7:30 pm

Online Performance

This program is inspired by VMFA’s special exhibition The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse, and the music featured in the program can be heard in the Confederate Memorial Chapel in VMFA’s E. Claiborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden. The Chapel is open daily from 10am–4pm. John Sims’s audio-visual-poetic presentation subversively…

Photo: David Stover © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Summer Breeze evening in the sculpture garden and dancing in the atrium at VMFA.

VMFA ARTrageous x After Hours: Down South Hustle

Sat, Jul 24, 2021 | General Admission: 8 pm | VIP Admission: 7 pm

Two events unite for a special evening inspired by the current exhibition The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse. Presented by With generous support provided by In the Garden DANCE Celebrate the return of music and dancing to VMFA. Hosted by Kelli Lemon | Featuring DJ Lonnie B Under the tent…

Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1860, David Johnson (American, 1827–1908), oil on canvas. Private Collection.

Community Conversation: The Natural Bridge and the Monacan Indian Nation

with Dr. Christopher Oliver, VMFA's Assistant Curator of American Art and exhibition curator of Virginia Arcadia: The Natural Bridge in American Art; Dr. Johanna Minich, VMFA's Assistant Curator of Native American Art; and Monacan tribe member Victoria Ferguson and Dean Ferguson

Sun, Jul 11, 2021 | 2:30–3:30 pm

Gallery Program (VIRTUAL)

The Natural Bridge is one of the most frequently depicted sites in 19th-century American landscape art, but this body of work largely obscures the historic and contemporary presence of indigenous Virginians. Monacan tribe member Victoria Ferguson and her husband, Dean Ferguson, worked at the Natural Bridge site for over two decades, presenting knowledge about the…