Artsline || August 22, 2022
To see the Summer Sky Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie – True Poems flee – ~Emily Dickinson
Have you noticed? The days are getting a wee bit shorter. But the nights are still warm and welcoming and filled with cicadas. Get out into evening or into the day with music and tours and punk-rock Poe. Enjoy the summer nights while they last – a hint of fall is in the air.
To list your events on Artsline, go to vpm.org/artsline.
1. SUMMER BREEZE: DJ MARC J
Music
Friday, August 26, 5:30pm
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, 23220
It’s Summertime! Join the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the Robins Sculpture Garden for an evening of music. DJ Marc J on the spin will be coming at you live from the Pauley Patio. Grab a drink and enjoy. Dancing is encouraged. No registration required.
2. UNHAPPY HOUR - POE GOES PUNK
Literary Arts, History
Thursday, August 25, 6pm
The Poe Museum, 1914 East Main Street, Richmond, 23223
$10 Adults | $6 Youth
There is nothing more punk than Poe! Join The Poe Museum for an especially Unhappy Hour with live music from Shawnis & the Shimmers, libations galore, and the special chance to enjoy our exhibits after-hours. Quoth the Raven “Punk’s not dead!” Purchase tickets online.
3. THE VALENTINE RVA WALKING TOURS
History
Figures of Freedom (Shockoe Bottom): Thursday, August 25, 6pm
Highlights of Hollywood Cemetery: Saturday, August 27, 10am
History of Church Hill: Sunday, August 29, 2pm
In-person, meeting place varies, check link for directions
$20 Adults | $10 Members | Free for children 18 & under
Step into the past in Shockoe Bottom, one of Richmond’s oldest historic districts, to explore the struggles for freedom that helped shape America; OR wander through Hollywood Cemetery, situated on a spectacular bluff overlooking the James River and the final resting place of some of Virginia’s most prominent citizens since 1847; OR discover past stories and new life in Church Hill where American Revolutionary Patrick Henry once shouted the legendary words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” The Valentine’s experienced tour guides tell the stories of the people who made and continue to make RVA into the city it is today. Purchase tickets online.
4. TEST PATTERN 04: JAAMIL OLAWALE KOSOKO
Visual Art
Friday, August 26, 7pm
Institute for Contemporary Art, 601 W Broad St, Richmond, 23220
The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU’s Test Pattern performance series returns for the fall, starting with a presentation of artist and author jaamil olawale kosoko‘s Black Body Amnesia, a live theatrical event that examines the shapeshifting, illegible, and fugitive realities of Black diasporan people negotiating the psychic lifeworlds of living inside the American context. Register online for this free event.
5. AUTHOR TALK WITH MICHELE HARPER - THE BEAUTY IN BREAKING
Literary Art
Monday, August 22, 9pm
Online
This author talk with Michele Harper will cover many of the lessons she’s learned on her inspiring personal journey and the success of her New York Times bestselling memoir, The Beauty in Breaking. A Philadelphia ER physician and Harvard graduate, Harper brings insight and empathy to her patient encounters. She writes that each of us is broken—physically and emotionally. How we recognize those breaks, how we try to mend them, and where we go from there are all crucial parts of the healing process. Presented by Chesterfield County Public Library. Register online for this free event.
6. MUSIC UNDER THE STARS: THE JON SPEAR BAND
Music
Friday, August 26, 6pm
The Montpelier Center for Arts & Education, 17205 Mountain Road, Montpelier, 23192
$5
Montpelier Center for Arts & Education’s outdoor concerts feature local and up & coming bands in their beautiful Village Green, along with several food trucks that rotate out each concert! In August, The Jon Spear Band brings some of the most quality blues grooves around! Purchase tickets online.
7. 4TH FRIDAY ART SHOWS AND OPENING RECEPTION
Visual Art
Friday, August 26, 6pm – reception
Exhibits run through September 17
Art Works, 320 Hull Street, Richmond, 23224
To wind up summer, Art Works has chosen the James River as a theme and The Friends of the James River Park for a fundraiser. Art Works will display renderings of the James River that depict the essence of Richmond’s greatest natural resource—in photographs, paintings, and sculpture all by Virginia artists. In addition, the All Media Show will include a variety of subject matter and mediums. Three solo shows open by Keenan Cross, Elizabeth Caffery, and Cathy Cazares. Meet the artists at the reception featuring music and refreshments. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.
8. BLUE BEE BURLESQUE BINGO
Dance
Friday, August 26, 7pm
Blue Bee Cider, 1320 Summit Avenue, Richmond, 23230
$15 advanced | $20 day of
Ellie Quinn Presents brings Burlesque Bingo to Blue Bee Cider! This is a bingo game not of numbers and letters, but where the details of the burlesque performances themselves make up the bingo card tiles. There are prizes for each winner! Participation in the bingo game is completely optional; feel free to just enjoy the show. Purchase tickets online.
Theatre
Thursdays – Sundays through September 17, times vary
Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Avenue, Richmond, 23230
Richmond Triangle Players brings The Inheritance, winner of the 2020 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2020 Drama Desk Award for Best Play, and the 2019 Olivier Award for Best Play. Decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic, The Inheritance tells the story of three generations of gay men in New York City attempting to forge a future for themselves amid a turbulent and changing America. Eric Glass is a political activist engaged to his writer boyfriend, Toby Darling. When two strangers enter their lives—an older man and a younger one—their futures suddenly become uncertain as they begin to chart divergent paths. Inspired by E.M. Forster’s masterpiece Howards End, The Inheritance is an epic examination of survival, healing, class divide, and what it means to call a place home. Note: The Inheritance is performed in two parts, each which must be purchased separately. Purchase tickets online.
10. BETH MACY | RAISING LAZARUS
Literary Art, History
Tuesday, August 23, 6:30pm
Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, 23219
Please join the Library of Virginia for a talk by award-winning journalist and best-selling author Beth Macy on her latest work, Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis. Macy brings a complex story of public health, big pharma, dark money, politics, race, and class that is by turns harrowing and heartening, infuriating and inspiring. A book signing follows the talk. This in-person event will also be live-streamed on the Library’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Register online for this free event.
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 Institute of Contemporary Art at VCU, The Library of Virginia, Richmond Triangle Players, The Valentine and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are sponsors of VPM.
