Join us for Salon de Résistance on April 30 at Black Iris for an unfiltered conversation about the role of art and culture during times of political upheaval with three of Richmond’s leading artists. This is a free event open to the public. Event page here.
Art has never been neutral. Across generations, artists have either created in defiance of authority or been coopted by power to legitimize it. Today, that tension is tightening as American democracy backslides, redefining how we create, consume, and reflect art back into the world. Yet not long ago, art didn’t hesitate, standing at the vanguard of social resistance and cultural change.
That wasn’t accidental. There were incentives to challenge power. But in the past 18 months those incentives have changed. Political pressure shapes what gets funded. Controversy is avoided. Technology is changing how we create. And financial opportunities are contingent on dissent being avoided, power going unchallenged, and the status-quo maintained.
But what happens to art when nothing is at risk? Can culture survive when there’s no reflection to show us who we are or where we’re going? These questions feel especially urgent in Virginia, where our proximity to power shapes global conversations that bleed out into the entire world. Narrow that aperture even further, and Richmond is where that struggle takes creative form as the epicenter of cultural life in the Commonwealth.
In this salon, we’ll move beyond abstraction to examine how art challenges power in 2026, and how that dynamic shapes what gets made in the studio, painted on walls, displayed in galleries, written on the page, and confronted by artists in their own work.
We need to talk about it
Salon de Résistance is honored to welcome three of Richmond’s most accomplished artists to help us understand the role of art and culture in challenging power during politically fraught times like these.
Michael Millions
Michael Millions is a Grammy Award–winning hip-hop artist, engineer and the owner of the Purple Haus East Recordings and Purple Haus East Studio in Richmond, collaborating with nationally recognized artists while building a reputation as one of the most skilled and versatile studio craftsmen on the East Coast. Most known for his notable releases 2012’s Ghost of $20 Dollars Bills, 2015’s Beautiful and 2018’s Hard To Be King and the 2026 collaboration collection with DJ Harrison set for release this year coming after an extensive dive into the music, engineering more than 150 albums for other artist, films and commercials.
Deau Eyes
Deau Eyes is a storyteller at heart, finding deep connection through songwriting, music, and performance. She’s shared the stage with artists such as The Head and The Heart, Lucy Dacus, Illiterate Light, Palmyra, Angelica Garcia, Butcher Brown, and has collaborated extensively with Collin Pastore and Jacob Blizard (Lucy Dacus), DJ Harrison (Grammy nom., Butcher Brown), Scott Lane (Overcoast Sound + Music), McKinley Dixon, Nan Macmillan, and R4ND4ZZO BIG BAND (Butcher Brown).
A firm believer in discovery through collaboration, she surrounds herself with a rotating band of artists, always serving the song and elevating the moment. Her 2022 album Legacies resonated widely, earning the Newlin Music Prize and landing her on NPR’s Slingshot Artists to Watch list. Named RVA Mag’s Best Indie Artist, Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40 and Best Singer-Songwriter in both 2024 and 2025, she is deeply rooted in her creative community– constantly learning, working, and growing alongside fellow artists in her hometown of Richmond, VA and all around the globe.
Chris Visions
Chris Visions is a Richmond Creator working in the fields of Illustration, Comics, Entertainment, Education and Public Art for the past 20+ years. His work has lived in printed material and the silver screen, having worked with Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Scholastic, and The Criterion Collection to name a few.
He is a member of ALL CITY ART CLUB, who collectively won a grant from the National Academy of Design in 2024. Visions is also co-owner of Hi•Res Gallery alongside Silly Genius.
SPECIAL GUEST | Michael Bishop AKA The Berserker Blothar of GWAR
Michael Bishop, better known as The Berserker Blothar of GWAR, will be joining remotely for a special segment of our conversation: Art Against Power.
Before stepping into one of the most infamous roles in metal, Bishop earned a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and spent years teaching and writing about American music, performance, and culture.
Since 2014, he’s carried GWAR forward as frontman following the death of Dave Brockie.
YOUR HOST
Landon Shroder, is the co-publisher and editor-at-large of RVA Magazine; he is also a foreign policy professional, Democratic strategist, journalist, and filmmaker whose career has spanned more than twenty years across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe in the energy, defense, and security sectors. A former producer and journalist for VICE, he has also written extensively on conflict, culture, and politics for outlets including Fair Observer, War on the Rocks, World Policy Journal, Chatham House, and of course, RVA Magazine.
THE SALON
Salon de Résistance unfolds in three movements: a convergence to begin, a conversation to spark, and a reflection to carry the ideas forward.
6:00pm: Convergence | Drinks and shared conversation, set to vinyl flips.
7:00–8:30pm: Conversation | A live interview then opening into questions and exchange with the room.
8:30pm: Reflection | Space to connect with our guests, develop perspectives, and imagine what comes next.
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