MUSEUM & GALLERY NEWS




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Review | BLKS is a Mixed Bag at Richmond Triangle Players

I often come off like a chihuahua on sugar pills when reviewing plays for this magazine. I am excitable, yes, but never in the service of idle flattery. I also take no joy in being critical of people’s hard work. I’ve said this whole thing before several times, but I...

Review | Dog Mom is Theatre at Its Best, Here or Anywhere Else

There are days of doing this when I just get to gush. Today is one of those days.  I have had the pleasure this past year of witnessing some of the best theatre of my life. VA Rep’s Primary Trust floored me. Richmond Shakespeare continued their epic run of hits...

Studio Two Three Is Beefing With Bots. Among Other Things

Studio Two Three has been around long enough to forget how likely it was to fail. Sixteen years ago, a small group of friends wanted to keep making art in Richmond. They pooled money from working in local restaurants to pay rent, borrowed equipment and built an...

Richmond Got a Little Filthier. John Waters Was Here.

Monday night I got taken to a church of filth. The Pope of Trash, the Prince of Puke, the Sultan of Sleaze, John Waters, graced the Byrd Theatre for a sold-out one-man show. The actor, writer and director became famous for cult classics like Pink Flamingos, Hairspray...

It’s Still Our City Ep. 24 | Ed Harrington

RVA Mag and NODDERLY presents It’s Still Our City, a podcast hosted by Harrison Christy and with Clair Morgan as co-host and producer through NODDERLY. "Ed Harrington moved to Richmond in 1993 to study art at VCU. At VCU, he was a Communication Arts major with a...

Review | Virginia Rep Gets Everything Wrong, and It’s Hilarious

Okay, I wasn’t prepared for the complete gut-busting insanity of The Play That Goes Wrong at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s November Theatre. Before heading to the Iron Blossom Festival this past Sunday, I caught a matinee. I didn’t know much about this play other than...

IllumiNATION Tells America’s Story on a Monumental Scale

Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is partnering with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on coverage related to America’s 250th anniversary, including Richmond SailFest and IllumiNation. It's hard to impress people with just a building. Yet standing in front of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture last week during a test run for...

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Before Richmond Was an Arts City, There Was Best Products

Imagine pulling into a suburban shopping center to buy a toaster and finding a department store that appeared to be falling apart with corners breaking away, walls peeling open like a giant cardboard box, or facades seemingly collapsing under their own weight. For thousands of shoppers in the 1970s and 1980s, it was simply a trip to Best...

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Virginia MOCA Launches New Era

Before the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU was even around, and before the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts really began to embrace contemporary work, especially anything connected to street art or artists working in the present, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art was already doing that work. It was one of the few...

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Alezendria Decking | Illumination of Rectangles with a Reflective Glow

This past Monday, amidst a bit of precarious, brisk wind, I sat down with artist Alezendria Decking on a suncast lawn at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to chat a little bit more with her about her life, her experiences, and her art. We talked about the hidden imagination in everyday “looking,” how “real” art is all about seeing and observing....

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The Branch Museum of Design Opens New Chapter With “Undeniable”

The Branch Museum of Design is marking a period of transition with Undeniable, a new exhibition pairing fashion designer Christian Siriano and contemporary artist Ashley Longshore. The exhibition this week arrives as the museum undergoes a formal rebrand and leadership change. Formerly known as The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, the...

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William “Bill” Martin, Director of The Valentine, Has Passed Away

Update 9:34am: Richmond Police confirmed that Martin, 71, was hit by a driver while in a crosswalk at the intersection of East Broad and North 10th streets on Saturday afternoon. He succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. Read more HERE. -------------------------------- William “Bill” Martin, longtime director of The Valentine, has passed away....

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The Richmond Gun Hole Goes to The Valentine

What started as a Twitter joke has officially entered the city’s canon. The Valentine announced this week that the now-famous “Richmond Gun Hole”, a gun-shaped indentation in the sidewalk on South Addison Street, will be part of the museum’s “This Is Richmond, Virginia” exhibition when it reopens with new additions later this month. According to...

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