VMFA to offer teachers, students free admission to upcoming exhibition “Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits”

The Virginia Museum of Arts (VMFA) announced that Commonwealth of Virginia employees and preschool and K–12 teachers (public and private) can receive free admission to the exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits on view at the museum from February 19, 2022 to October 16, 2022. Active-duty military and their immediate families can also receive free admission through VMFA’s year-round extension of the Blue Star Museums program.

“The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts welcomes all state employees and school teachers to see this captivating exhibition of paintings and sculptures by the globally acclaimed artist Tsherin Sherpa,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA Director and CEO. “Visitors to the exhibition will be moved and inspired by these works of art which explore the quest for individual and collective identity in a rapidly changing world.”

Artist Tsherin Sherpa was born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1968, and immigrated to the United States 30 years later. From a young age, he studied Tibetan thangka painting under his father and eventually moved away from this form of traditional painting to create his own works that combine Tibetan Buddhist iconography, half-human, half-Tibetan-deities and the imagery of pop culture. Sherpa’s works often explore the connections between the sacred and the secular, giving visitors a glimpse into the artist’s own cross-cultural experiences.

Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition, tells a story of loss, struggle and re-empowerment. “Not only are Sherpa’s works in the exhibition visually mesmerizing, but each is layered with meaning. Part autobiography, part social commentary, they contain the artist’s contemplation of struggles faced by Tibetans and other displaced peoples while inviting viewers to examine their own experiences with loss and re-empowerment,” said exhibition organizer Dr. John Henry Rice, VMFA’s E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art.

Teachers can register now to participate in the upcoming interactive workshop, Tsherin Sherpa: Contemporary Art + Buddhist Paintings + Spiderman? to be held on February 24, 2022, where they can explore the intersection of identity, artistic vision and global cultures. For more information about Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits and exhibition-related programs, including gallery talks, meditation workshops, art history and studio classes, lectures and films planned throughout the run of the exhibition, visit www.VMFA.museum.

Ticket Information
Tickets for the exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors 65+, youth 7–17 and college students with ID. The exhibition is free for VMFA members, children ages 6 and under, as well as Commonwealth of Virginia employees and preschool and K–12 teachers (public and private). The exhibition is also free to active-duty military personnel and their immediate families.

Commonwealth employees and educators should call 804.340.1405 to make their reservations and show their employee IDs or badges at the Visitor Services Desk in the museum, when picking up their tickets. One free ticket is available per badge. Reservations for first-available tickets to the exhibition can also be made in person at the Visitor Service Desk. Tickets are scheduled to help limit gallery capacity during the pandemic. For current information about the museum’s COVID-19 protocols, visit www.VMFA.museum.