Arts & Entertainment
Abstract art installation “Procession” adds colorful new touch to VMFA’s expansive atrium
Visitors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will notice a large, colorful painting along the elevation of the museum’s Atrium north wall. The expansive new mural, Procession, is the work of Nigerian-born American artist Odili Donald Odita.
Visitors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will notice a large, colorful painting along the elevation of the museum’s Atrium north wall. The expansive new mural, Procession, is the work of Nigerian-born American artist Odili Donald Odita. The work, completed on Sept. 20, 2020, can now be viewed in its entirety.
Procession was three years in the making. “The space called out to me when I came to VMFA in 2017,” said Valerie Cassel Oliver, VMFA’s Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “I remember walking through the Cochrane Atrium with Stephen Bonadies, VMFA’s Senior Deputy Director for Conservation and Collections, who as a means of introduction offered to walk the building and grounds with me. I immediately thought that the Atrium’s large white wall was ripe for a work of art. I imagined a site-specific work that would activate the Atrium’s light-filled architecture, echoing the Sol LeWitt wall drawing in our Marble Hall. And I immediately thought of Odita’s abstract paintings and installations.” Cassel Oliver previously worked with the artist, curating an exhibition of his work while at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
In October 2018, Odita visited VMFA to view the space and collection. That visit inspired the work’s design—a captivating composition of color and lines. Two months later, the artist presented a study for the mural and in spring 2019, the museum’s Board of Trustees approved its commission. Over the last six weeks from August and into September five artists from the Odita studio drew and then painted Procession, a dynamic expanse of colorful lines, complex patterns, and striations that bend and illuminate the architecture of the space. Odita’s mural heralds the traditions of the Gee’s Bend quilts and African textiles as well as mid-20th century paintings that highlight the deeply resonate practices that have persisted within the African and African Diasporic cultures. And while the work does not shy away from the sociopolitical landscape of the moment, it squarely sets its ideals upon the power of creative expression within an ever-evolving society.
“Odita’s Procession transforms the Atrium,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA’s Director and CEO. “This vibrant mural invites viewers to contemplate and have timely, crucial conversations about racial identity and equity, as well as the power of abstract art.”
Odita is slated to return to VMFA to discuss his work next spring. Details about this event as well as a time-lapse video of the six-week installation of Procession will be made available on VMFA’s website, www.VMFA.museum, in the coming weeks.
Odili Donald Odita was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1966. Fleeing the Biafran War, he came with his family to live in the United States the following year. After earning his BFA and MFA at Ohio State University and Bennington College, respectively, he worked as a critic, editor, and writer for art publications and Yale University. He taught at the University of South Florida and Florida State University before taking his current position as associate professor of painting at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.
Odita has created site-specific temporary and permanent installations for the United States Mission at the United Nations (NY), the George C. Young Federal Building Courthouse (Orlando, FL), the Birmingham Museum of Art (AL), and the city of Philadelphia (PA), among other locations across the country. His work is also found in the collections of several institutions including the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (NC), the Savannah College of Art and Design (GA), and the New Orleans Museum of Art (LA).
Arts & Entertainment
Richmond Flying Squirrels to host summer movie series in the Diamond outfield
The Richmond Flying Squirrels will host Summer Movie Series presented by Woodfin at The Diamond with three chances to watch movies at The Diamond, the team announced recently.
The Richmond Flying Squirrels will host Summer Movie Series presented by Woodfin at The Diamond with three chances to watch movies at The Diamond, the team announced recently.
Movies will be shown on the video board at The Diamond on Friday, June 30, Sunday, August 27 and Saturday, September 16. Admission is $10 per person (children ages three and younger are admitted free). Tickets are available now at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Movies.
The three-night movie series begins on Friday, June 30 with a showing of the classic Pixar film, “WALL-E.”The gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie will start at 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday, August 27, the Flying Squirrels will host a showing of “The Goonies” at 7 p.m. The gates will open at 6 p.m.
The movie series concludes on Saturday, September 16 with “Encanto.” The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Seating will be located on the field or in the first-base lower bowl. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets or pillows, but chairs are prohibited.
Concessions will be available for the Summer Movie Series at the first-base lower stand on the stadium’s concourse. No outside food and drinks are allowed. Only credit or debit cards will be accepted at the concession stands.
Parking for the Summer Movie Series will be available for free in the Blue Lot at The Diamond, located off Arthur Ashe Boulevard across from the bus station. All guests should enter the stadium through the right-field gate located near the Cross Timbers Roofing Party Pavilion.
Attendees are asked to apply any sunscreen and bug spray before entering the field.
Tickets and more information are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Movies, by phone at 804-359-3866 (FUNN) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
Arts & Entertainment
Richmond Triangle Players announces 2023-2024 season shows
Five plays, including a new production of one of RTP’s biggest holiday hits, will take the stage at Richmond Triangle Players for its 2023-24 season, as the company celebrates its 31st year.
Five plays, including a new production of one of RTP’s biggest holiday hits, will take the stage at Richmond Triangle Players for its 2023-24 season, as the company celebrates its 31st year.
“Last year’s 30th Anniversary Season included some of the largest and most ambitious productions we have ever attempted,” said RTP artistic director Lucian Restivo. “This new season, we will take an in-depth look into the LGBTQ+ experience with some intimate and edgier works, alongside a fantastical musical and the return of one of our favorite holiday hits.”
As always, the focus of every RTP is rooted in staying true to its mission, presenting unique — sometimes provocative, sometimes challenging, and sometimes simply hilarious –- works of theater.
For over three decades, Richmond Triangle Players has transformed the community’s conversations about diversity and inclusion through the production of LGBTQ+-themed works A nonprofit, professional theatre company founded in 1993, RTP takes pride in being the leading performing arts company in the region that produces high-quality transformational programming rooted in queer experiences and supports the development of queer artistry.
RTP is the only professional theatre company in the Richmond area – and the longest continually operating one in the entire Mid-Atlantic region — which expressly and regularly serves the LGBTQ+ community. While other local theatres occasionally produce plays with LGBTQ+ content, only Triangle Players has made an ongoing commitment to queer artists, issues, audiences, and community support.
The 2023-24 Season will Include:
A defiantly embracing call to action
One in two by Donja R. Love
September 20 – October 14, 2023
The raucous holiday treat returns in a brand-new production
Scrooge in Rouge, book and lyrics by Ricky Graham, additional material by Jeffery Roberson, other interesting bits by Yvette Hargis, original music composed by Jefferson Turner
November 15 – December 23, 2023
A new look at a ground-breaking comedy
Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein
February 14 – March 9, 2024
Forgotten women who are not easy to forget
Airswimming by Charlotte Jones
April 10 – May 4, 2024
The musical that will roll right into your heart!
Xanadu book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name
June 5 – July 13, 2024
Plus, on our Spotlight Cabaret Series (a separate subscription), we will feature:
Georgia Rogers Farmer: Re-Butter My Biscuit! October 19 – 21, 2023
Darienne Lake: Altered Boy, January 19 – 20, 2024.
Dan and Jim: A (Sorta) Love Song, March 15 – 16, 2024.
Nicholas Rodriguez: Sincerely, Sondheim, May 10 – 11, 2024.
Arts & Entertainment
Author Sadeqa Johnson discusses The House of Eve on June 8 as part of the Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series
Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
The Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series continues with a talk by best-selling author Sadeqa Johnson on The House of Eve, the historical fiction follow-up to her award-winning novel Yellow Wife. The free talk will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 at the Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond. A book signing will follow the talk.
The House of Eve continues Johnson’s tradition of confronting timeless questions that have no easy answers. In this moving work of historical fiction set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the stories of two women collide in unexpected ways as they both make decisions that shape the trajectories of their lives. The book explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal. The House of Eve was an instant New York Times best seller and was selected by Reese’s Book Club as the February 2023 pick.
Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia. Johnson is a Kimbilo Fellow, a former board member of the James River Writers and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She also teaches fiction writing for the MFA program at Drexel University.
The Carole Weinstein Author Series supports the literary arts by bringing both new and well-known authors to the Library of Virginia. Free and open to the public, the series focuses on Virginia authors and Virginia subjects across all genres and is made possible through support from the Carole Weinstein Endowment for Virginia Authors. This year marks the Library’s 200th anniversary, a special occasion for spotlighting the Library’s role in bringing attention to talented Virginia writers and fascinating Virginia subjects.
To see the series schedule and register for events, visit www.lva.virginia.gov/public/weinstein. For more information, contact Elizabeth Kaczynski at [email protected] or 804.692.3536.
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Author Sadeqa Johnson discusses The House of Eve on June 8 as part of the Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series
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