Artsline: Virtual Edition || April 25, 2022
"The almond-tree at the bottom of my garden, having the courage of its convictions, has spoken a pink word." ~Louis Golding
This week is about expression – in music, in words, in color! There’s new poetry and new art, there are new performances and new books, and the return of something old and dearly loved – Arts in the Park. As we slide through Spring and a new era in being together, check out all that RVA is saying in your community!
To list your events on Artsline, go to vpm.org/artsline.
1. ARTS IN THE PARK
Visual Art, Crafts
Saturday, April 30 – Sunday, May 1
The Carillon, 1300 Blanton Ave, Richmond, VA 2322
The award-winning art show, Arts in the Park, returns for 2022! One of Richmond’s largest outdoor events with free admission to the public, this nationally-rated juried will showcase more than 450 exhibitors from around the country including painting, pottery and ceramics, jewelry, furniture, photography, woodworking, glass, metal, sculpture, textiles, yard-art and more. Exhibitors will also offer their work for sale. No registration required.
2. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Visual Art
Thursday, April 28, 5pm - May 5
Chasen Galleries, 3101 Ellwood Avenue Richmond, 23221
Solo Show of Richmond artist Sandhi Schimmel Gold's multi-disciplinary fine art will be on exhibit at Chasen Galleries. Unfinished Business refers to a myriad of concepts and events in Schimmel Gold's life. Artists sometimes struggle to know with when a piece is "finished." The show features work in many catagories; abstracts made from dryer lint, sand and other materials, mixed media portraits, and a retrospective of numerous paper mosaics made from upcycled junk mail. No registration required.
3. AMANDA MOLE - CONCERT ORGANIST
Music
Friday, April 29, 7:30pm
Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, 3601 Seminary Avenue, Richmond 23227
Hailed as a rising star, international award-winner Amanda Mole is quickly earning a reputation as one of today’s leading young concert organists. The Richmond Chapter of the American Guild of Organists brings her to Richmond, playing selections from Mendelssohn, Schumann. Mozart, Bach and more. No registration required. Donations taken at the concert.
4. DIA DE LOS NIÑOS/DIA DE LOS LIBROS
Literary Arts
Saturday, April 30, Noon
Bellemeade Park, 1800 Lynhaven Avenue, Richmond, 23224
Dia de los Niños/Dia de los Libros is a national celebration of literacy and culture created by the American Library Association and presented by Richmond Region League of United Latin American Citizens, the Friends of Bellemeade Park, and Richmond Public Library. Come out to enjoy stories, activities, and to celebrate the successes of local youth! No registration required.
5. THE WRITING SHOW: BUYER BEWARE
Literary Arts
Tuesday, April 26, 6pm
Firehouse Theatre, 1609 West Broad St, Richmond, 23220
$12 Members | $17 Non-members | $5 Students
There are as many different services writers can pay for as there are ways of getting your writing in front of your audience. What’s worth the expenditure, and what are the red flags? Come talk nuts and bolts and nickels and dimes with the experts at James River Writers. Purchase tickets online.
6. DINING WITH SHAKESPEARE
History
Wednesday, April 27, 6pm
Agecroft Hall, 4305 Sulgrave Road, Richmond, 23221
$10
It’s William Shakespeare’s birthday! In commemoration, join Agecroft Hall for a look at culinary customs during Shakespeare’s lifetime. What was dining like in Elizabethan England? What are medlars and lamb’s wool used for? A brief talk is followed by a tour through seasonal displays in Agecroft Hall’s Great Hall, Dining Parlor and Tudor Kitchen. Purchase tickets online.
7. THE IMPRESARIO AND THE OLD MAID & THE THIEF
Music
Friday, April 28, 7pm
Sunday, May 1, 4pm
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Avenue, Richmond 23284
Livestream available
Award-winning VCU Opera, together with the VCU Symphony, present two famous one-act operas: Mozart’s The Impresario and Menotti’s The Old Maid & The Thief. Witness Mozart’s hilarious dueling divas as they attempt to convince the Impresario to hire them. As for the delightful Menotti one-act, who IS the real thief? This clever score and story will thoroughly entertain you. From the grandeur of Mozart’s 18th c. Vienna to America in the 1940’s, VCUarts takes you on a wonderful journey as you experience their students’ talents. No registration required. This event will also be livestreamed.
8. WORDS ON FIRE: HAPPY HOUR POETRY
Poetry, Literary Arts
Wednesday, April 27, 6pm
Firehouse Theatre, 1609 West Broad St, Richmond, 23220
$5 suggested donation
It’s National Poetry Month! Break out of the work week routine with a dose of hot verse at Firehouse Theatre. Featuring showcase poets and an open mic sign up for those with a verse or two to drop, and a cash bar with happy hour specials. It's a great way to make the most of a long day. Want to get heard yourself? Open mic signup is onsite starting at 5:45. Come catch the night on fire with us! Donation accepted at the door.
9. GELLMAN ROOM CONCERT: JOY OF MUSIC
Music
Saturday, April 30, 2pm
Main Branch, Richmond Public Library, 101 East Franklin Street, Richmond, 23219
The Richmond Public Library brings “Joy of Music,” featuring Elliot Norman, pianist, playing solo favorites from Bach/Marcello to Chopin and Brahms. He teams up on two pianos with Russell Wilson for Mozart; and together they join the Richmond String Ensemble to celebrate the sounds and mysteries of the Saint-Saens E-flat Septet. No registration required.
10. RECLAIMING TWO-SPIRITS: SEXUALITY, SPIRITUAL RENEWAL & SOVEREIGNTY IN NATIVE AMERICA
Literary Arts, History
Tuesday, April 26, Noon
Library of Virginia, 800 E Broad St Richmond, 23219
The Library of Virginia brings historian and author Gregory D. Smithers to discuss his new book, Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America. Before 1492, hundreds of Indigenous communities across North America included people who identified as neither male nor female, but both. After European colonizers invaded Indian Country, centuries of violence and systematic persecution followed, imperiling the existence of people who today call themselves Two-Spirits, an umbrella term denoting feminine and masculine qualities in one person. Reclaiming Two-Spirits spans the centuries from Spanish invasion to the present, tracing massacres and inquisitions and revealing how the authors of colonialism’s written archives used language to both denigrate and erase Two-Spirit people from history. Registration not required for this free event.
11. WHISTLER TO CASSATT: AMERICAN PAINTERS IN FRANCE
Visual Art
Through July 31
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, 23220
$16 Adults | $12 Seniors | $10 Students | VMFA Members and under 7 Free
Rediscover late 19th- and early 20th-century painters who left the United States as expatriates and returned to shape the course of American art. In Paris, they trained under the influence of the École des Beaux-Arts and studied the “old master” works at the Louvre but then went beyond traditional practices to experiment with new ideas and techniques. The VMFA’s new exhibition, Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France, examines the rich variety and complexity of American painting in the advent of modernism, as French avant-garde philosophies and styles melded with American individualism. Purchase tickets online.
12. MOZART AND MORE
Music
Friday, April 27, 7:30pm
Perkinson Center for the Arts & Education, 11810 Centre Street, Chester, 23831
$22.50
The Richmond Symphony brings The Bassoon Concerto of the 19-year-old Mozart, featuring the Symphony’s own Thomas Schneider. Nicholas Hersh conducts Anna Clyne’s Sound and Fury and the music that inspired it, Haydn’s bold and bracing Symphony No. 60 (Il Distratto). Alberto Ginastera’ popular, Variaciones Concertantes, rounds out the concert. Purchase tickets online.
If you are an arts or cultural organization with lectures, exhibitions, performances, or even book readings, submit your events to Artsline here.
If you are an artist or an arts or cultural organization in need of resources and tools, check out the list of local and national resources from Richmond CultureWorks.
The Library of Virginia, the Richmond Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the Richmond Symphony, and VCU School of the Arts are sponsors of VPM.
