Arts & Entertainment
Richmond’s Institute for Contemporary Art celebrates third anniversary
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Contemporary Art recently celebrated its third anniversary after a year marked by a four-month pandemic closure and declining attendance.
By Anya Sczerzenie
The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond recently celebrated its third anniversary after a year marked by a four-month pandemic closure and declining attendance.
The institute hosted a “Lunch & Launch” event in late April to commemorate the milestone and to preview upcoming exhibits. Previously featured artists spoke at the event. Guests previewed the upcoming exhibit “It Will Always Come Back to You,” by Cairo-based artist Ibrahim Ahmed, who creates work based on textiles and other mediums. Ahmed’s exhibition will feature a large sculpture commissioned by the ICA.
The institute opened in April 2018 with the exhibition “Declaration,” which featured more than 30 artists and ran through September 2018. “Declaration” was the institute’s first and most well-attended exhibition, according to Dominic Willsdon, ICA executive director. “Declaration” featured the most artists in an ICA exhibition and was the only exhibit to take up the entire institute.
The New York Times previewed the ICA in 2018 and lauded the institute’s potential to grapple with “pressing social issues” from its “historic pivot point” on the corner of a Richmond intersection that “once marked the boundary between Black and white communities.” Almost two years after it opened, USA Today named the ICA a top 10 best new museum—the only art museum on the list.
Willsdon said over the past three years an increasingly large portion of the artwork on display is commissioned specifically for the institute.
“Almost every exhibition involves commissioning new work,” Willsdon said. “The ICA doesn’t just show art of the past but brings new art into the world.”
Attendance at the ICA decreased in the second year of operation. It went down from over 100,000 in its first year to just over 54,000 in the second year, according to the ICA. The attendance figures are from April to April of each year. Willsdon said this was anticipated.
“The second year after a museum opens, it’s going to go down a little bit,” Willsdon said. “It didn’t go down quite as much as it might have.”
The institute’s attendance decreased to just over 10,000 in its third year, mostly because of the four-month closure at the start of the pandemic and the fact that no in-person events were hosted, according to the ICA.
Willsdon considers “Great Force,” which ran in the ICA’s second year, the institution’s keynote exhibit. It featured 24 artists and explored the theme of white and Black racial forces in the United States. It was on display from October 2019 to January 2020.
“Great Force has a special significance for us, in terms of the themes that recur in other exhibitions,” Willsdon said. “I found myself calling it a keynote in terms of the way it embodies what we’re about.”
The ICA has also featured art by VCUarts faculty members, such as Guadalupe Maravilla’s “Disease Thrower.” Maravilla, an assistant professor in the VCU School of the Arts, created the sculptures and banners in the exhibit to discuss themes of illness and immigration.
The ICA has never shown work by VCU students, but Willsdon said it’s “not impossible” that they will do so in the future.
“About half of our visitors are affiliated with VCU,” Willsdon said. “We’re really happy about interest in the student community.”
The ICA also closed in March when other businesses throughout Virginia were shuttered due to COVID-19. It reopened in July 2020. The ICA currently hosts in-person exhibitions as well as online events.
The ICA recently entered into a partnership with Virginia Public Media to create a podcast recording studio and workspace within the institute, though COVID-19 halted construction plans. After several months of online-only programming, construction on the podcasting studio is slated to begin in June and end in August, according to VCU assistant professor Chioke I’Anson. He is the director of the community podcasting space, which will have a soft opening on Sept. 10.
I’Anson aims for the studio to be accessible to people who want to start a podcast but may not have resources such as recording and editing equipment. The studio launched virtually, which has gone well despite the lack of a physical location, I’Anson said.
“We’ve had what we call ‘skill share’ sessions where one person shares their own lessons and everybody talks about it,” I’Anson said. “We have producers’ institutes, where we bring a guest from a podcast network to give a workshop on a particular editing technique.”
I’Anson said the focus has been on Richmond creators, but the center is “open to really anyone with an internet connection.”
Willsdon said his goals for the ICA’s future are to bring in more international artists and experiment with more tactile and interactive exhibits.
“We’ve actually thought more and more about tactile material exhibition,” Willsdon said. “We’re always looking at screens. Museums can be where a different type of experience is offered.”
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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