“True, the poisonous breath of the world destroys our illusions, but they resuscitate at once when a ray of love falls upon our benumbed hearts, as the warmth of the sun revives the poor flowers withered by the ices of winter.” ~J. De Finod
February begins and our minds turn to love – a love that warms the winter heart. This week you will find classic love songs, Galentine Day comedy, and performances perfect for a date. Plus, RVA offers conversations for Black History Month and a celebration of graffiti and other public art. Look below for details.
To list your events on Artsline, go to vpm.org/artsline.
1. STORM THE GATES
Visual Art
Friday, February 3, 5 PM
ART 180, 114 West Marshall Street, Richmond, 23220
ART 180 kicks off its 25th anniversary with an exhibition in collaboration with All City Art Club. Storm the Gates is a gallery takeover celebrating graffiti artists, illustrators, cartoonists, and people painting in the corner of their bedrooms and garages. They hope to bridge the divide between street art and gallery spaces with street signs, black book works, graffiti pieces, and creative public art activities. Visit ART 180's Atlas Gallery during the February First Friday Artwalk where they will unveil a mural collaboratively painted by All City Art Club and ART 180's program alumni and current participants. No registration required for this free event.
2. CHINAFEST: YEAR OF THE WATER RABBIT
Culture, Visual Art
Saturday, February 4
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, 23220
Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Explore Chinese art and culture through art-making activities, collaborative projects, films, artist demonstrations, and performances. Make a paper plate dragon, design a nature scroll, and watch the dynamic Lion Dance and performances by Yu Dance Arts, as well as presentations by Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu Academy. No registration required for this free event.
3. GALENTINES DAY - LADIES NIGHT COMEDY SHOW
Comedy
Friday, February 3, 8:30 PM
Perkinson Center for Art & Education, 11810 Centre Street, Chester, 23831
$25 adults | $20 seniors & military
18+
The Perkinson Center and Pearl St Comedy are proud to present Galentines Day - a Ladies Night comedy special! Join them for comedians Apple Brown Betty, Patrice DeVeaux, Kim Villamera, Leila Youmans and Liz Barlow! It will be a night full of feminine fun!
4. THE HERO FROM HOPEWELL: THE REV. CURTIS W. HARRIS AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
History
Thursday, February 2, 6 PM
Online
Just three months before Curtis Harris was born, the Virginia State Legislature passed the Racial Integrity Act, which banned interracial marriage down to “a single drop” of African blood. Harris was the sixth child of an impoverished sharecropper and his wife, living in a desolate outpost of the commonwealth while the sweeping regulation was passed by the most prominent men in the state. In time, however, Harris would lead the fight against this law and many others designed to maintain the control of the white majority over minorities in Virginia and in the rest of the South. His inspirational story, recorded in Virginia's Civil Rights Hero Curtis W. Harris by William Paul Lazarus, follows him from Dendron to Hopewell and then to the forefront of America’s civil rights battles, arm in arm with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The lecture will be recorded and streamed on the Virginia Museum of History and Culture’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
5. UNCLE VANYA
Theatre
Thursday – Sunday, through February 12th
Thursdays – Saturdays, 7:30 PM
Sundays at 2 PM
Gottwald Playhouse at Dominion Energy Center, 600 East Grace Street, Richmond, 23219
Richmond Shakes presents Anton Chekov’s drama, Uncle Vanya. After years of caring for their family’s crumbling estate, Vanya and his niece receive an unexpected visit from his brother-in-law and his alluring wife. When hidden passions and tumultuous frustrations come to a boil in the heat of the Russian summer, their lives threaten to come undone. Comic, cutting, and true to life, this translation of Uncle Vanya provides an up-close, contemporary encounter with a classic drama that every theatre lover must see. Purchase tickets online.
6. GELLMAN ROOM CONCERT: CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Music
Saturday, February 4, 2 PM
Richmond Public Library Main, 101 East Franklin Street, Richmond, 23219
The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia presents “The Cramer Quartet Plays Haydn.” The adventurous Cramer Quartet performs on period instruments in a full spectrum of musical styles as a celebration of the extraordinary quartets of Joseph Haydn. No registration required for this free event.
7. COMMONWEALTH CONCERT OPERA ON SHOCKOE SESSIONS LIVE!
Music
Tuesday, January 31, 7:30 PM
In Your Ear Studios, 1813 East Broad Street, Richmond, 23223
$15
Jealousy. Vengeance. Forbidden love. Il Trovatore, Verdi’s melodrama set in 16th century Spain, has it all for the “perfect” opera night out with one rousing aria and chorus after another. Commonwealth Concert Opera keeps things casual. Performances run one hour and fifteen minutes, and with a narrator to move the drama along. This is a show you will not want to miss! Presented by Shockoe Sessions Live. Purchase tickets online.
8. PLACEBO
Theatre
Thursday - Saturday, February 2-25
Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays & Fridays at 8 PM
Tuesday, February 7, 7:30 PM Industry Night
Sunday, February 19, 2 PM matinee
Contrast RVA, 1200 McDonough Street, Richmond, 23224
$39
Yes, And! Theatrical Company presents PLACEBO by Melissa James Gibson. A minty green pill—medication or sugar? Louise is working on a placebo-controlled study of a new female arousal drug. As her work in the lab navigates the blurry lines between perception and deception, the same questions pertain more and more to her life at home. With uncanny insight and unparalleled wit, this affectionate comedy examines slippery truths and the power of crossed fingers. Purchase tickets online.
9. FIRST FRIDAY: NADAH EL SHAZLY
Music, Sound Art
Friday, February 3, 7 PM
VCU Institute for Contemporary Art, 601 West Broad Street, Richmond, 23220
Join the Institute for Contemporary Art for a musical performance by Nadah el Shazly, a producer, vocalist and sound artist from Cairo, Egypt. Her debut album Ahwar radically reinvents the popular music of her homeland from the early 19th century and explores new sonic and harmonic frontiers. Using voice, field recordings and instruments, she creates haunting sound pieces and song forms that hijack the perception of time with their complex layers and dynamic structure. Register online for this free event.
10. CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD LOVE SONGS
Music
Saturday, February 4, 8 PM
Dominion Energy Center, 600 East Grace Street, Richmond, 23219
$15-$85
February is the month for romance. Bring that special someone to Richmond Symphony and hear four decades of classic cinematic love songs from West Side Story, Titanic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca and many more. More than a dozen heart-melting movie classics! 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.
VCUarts is a sponsor of VPM.
