The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Photo by Richard Nowitz courtesy Richmond Region Tourism)
Home to VCUarts, consistently ranked as one of the top art and design schools in the country, Richmond has long enjoyed a vibrant visual arts scene. Many graduates stick around to create and display their work in the city’s art galleries, making monthly First Friday gallery openings one of the hottest tickets in town. From a comprehensive art museum to a new temple devoted to contemporary art, not to mention murals around every corner, there’s plenty to please visiting — and native — art lovers. Big-city visitors will be impressed with Richmond’s art offerings, and you’ll be sure to discover something new, too, on a visual journey of the River City.
Old School
Get your timed tickets in advance for “Edward Hopper and the American Hotel,” on display through Feb. 23 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It will be crowded, especially on weekends, so after your walk-through, retreat to the museum’s quiet third floor to take in its world-class art deco and art nouveau collections. End your visit by sipping coffee from Best Café in the sculpture garden under the gaze of Jaume Plensa’s mesmerizing “Chloe” sculpture. Take your selfie here.
Guests at the ICA’s opening of “Great Force” view Paul Stephen Benjamin’s “Let Freedom Ring,” 2017. (Photo by Meghan Marchetti)
New School
Next up is the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU. You’ve probably driven by Steven Holl’s iconic and futuristic building, but have you been inside yet? The ICA features “Great Force” through Jan. 5, an exhibition that examines the persistence of racial division and oppression in the United States on the 400th anniversary of the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans on our shores. Check out the ICA’s small but mighty corner gift shop before you leave.
Arts District
From the ICA, walk downtown through Richmond’s Arts District, where you’ll find a collection of hip independent stores and a variety of art galleries. Don’t miss 1708 Gallery, one of the oldest nonprofit artist-run galleries in the country, with a mission of understanding, developing and appreciating new art. From 1708, it’s a short stroll to the art-centric Quirk Hotel, which boasts an art gallery, a great gift shop, and Maple & Pine restaurant, your lunch destination.
Photo courtesy Richmond Region Tourism
Mural Hunt
Walk off your buttermilk fried chicken sandwich by crossing Broad Street and venturing into Jackson Ward, a vibrant community that was known as the “Harlem of the South” in its heyday. Here you’ll find a collection of colorful murals, some celebrating the neighborhood’s past. After all that walking, you’ll be thirsty. End your day at GWARbar, an homage to the RVA heavy metal band and art collective known as much — or more — for its costumes as its music.
Insider Tip: Take home original art from the Art-o-Mat at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. It’s a renovated cigarette machine that dispenses small works of art for $5. Exchange money for a token at the front desk.
Photo by Katja Timm
FIRST-TIME VISITOR
A Sobering Experience at The Virginia Holocaust Museum
When the words “Holocaust museum” are mentioned, you might immediately think of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., but Richmond has its own comprehensive museum devoted to the subject. The Virginia Holocaust Museum in historic Shockoe Bottom was originally at Temple Beth-El, but as it grew, the Virginia General Assembly offered the former American Tobacco Co. warehouse as a larger setting.
The old warehouse, with its atmospheric lighting and creaky floors, evokes a simultaneously harrowing and solemn mood that fits its subject. The museum has 30 rooms with sound effects and 300 artifacts detailing the timeline of the Holocaust. Visitors travel a loop of dark hallways lined with brick, barbed wire, broken glass, and photos of Holocaust victims and events. There are even two cattle cars that visitors can walk through for an interactive experience. It ends with a “Tower of Remembrance” to honor Virginia survivors.
There is a short video featuring the testimonials of Holocaust survivors who are part of Richmond’s Jewish community. Pictures and exhibits of survivors who relocated to Richmond are displayed throughout the museum, and I was surprised to see that so many decided to start new lives here. —Katja Timm
