Talks

Join us for a conversation between artist Derrick Adams and VMFA's Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. They will explore Adams's studio practice and his determined effort to provide a creative haven for Black artists through The Last Resort Artist Retreat, his project in Baltimore, Maryland.

You can see Adams's work at VMFA in the exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys and in the museum's 21st Century Galleries.

About the Artist
Derrick Adams is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Adams's work celebrates and expands the dialogue around contemporary Black life and culture through scenes of normalcy and perseverance. He has mounted public installations, commissioned through Monument Lab, in Washington DC, Chicago, and New York City. In addition to being included in notable exhibitions such as Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, his art resides in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and VMFA among many others. Adams has been the subject of solo exhibitions at several museums, and in 2026, a mid-career survey will open at ICA Boston on April 14.

To watch from home, you can livestream this event.
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IMAGE Derrick Adams's Floater 74, pictured here in the Giants exhibition, is among his works on view at VMFA.

Literature and fine art come together at VMFA’s African American Read-In. See and hear notable figures from the greater Richmond community deliver prose and poetry readings throughout the galleries. This powerful display of storytelling pairs evocative and powerful works by African American artists and authors.

The National African American Read-In is sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English and endorsed by the International Literacy Association.

Join Dr. Sarah Kennel, the Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center, as she explores three portraits made by Alvin Lester, who photographed the people and businesses of Richmond’s historic Black neighborhoods between 1989 and 1991. Drawing on his own family’s history of small business entrepreneurship, Lester examines the enduring presence of “Black Wall Streets” as centers of commerce, culture, and community. Kennel will discuss this important history and explore how Lester collaborated with his subjects to create intimate portraits that honor the dignity and lasting impact of Richmond’s Black professionals and neighborhoods.

IMAGE: Robert Charles, Dry Cleaning Proprietor, 1989–1991, Alvin Lester (American, b. 1947), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, National Endowment for the Arts Fund, 2025.81 ©️ Alvin Lester

Join Dr. Sarah Kennel, the Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center, as she explores three portraits made by Alvin Lester, who photographed the people and businesses of Richmond’s historic Black neighborhoods between 1989 and 1991. Drawing on his own family’s history of small business entrepreneurship, Lester examines the enduring presence of “Black Wall Streets” as centers of commerce, culture, and community. Kennel will discuss this important history and explore how Lester collaborated with his subjects to create intimate portraits that honor the dignity and lasting impact of Richmond’s Black professionals and neighborhoods.

IMAGE: Robert Charles, Dry Cleaning Proprietor, 1989–1991, Alvin Lester (American, b. 1947), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, National Endowment for the Arts Fund, 2025.81 ©️ Alvin Lester

Join Dr. Lisa Brody, the Jack and Mary Frable Curator of Ancient Art, and Karen Daly, Senior Manager of Provenance Research, for a conversation about the provenance of ancient works of art, VMFA's provenance-related collection research, and the importance of due diligence in the preservation of cultural heritage. The discussion will cover recent repatriations made from VMFA to Türkiye and other Mediterranean countries. It will also address how VMFA prioritizes research on antiquities in its permanent collection, as well as potential acquisitions, and how international collaborations can lead to exciting new exchanges of ideas and objects. The Mary Ann Frable Lecture is presented annually by a distinguished scholar to foster the study and appreciation of ancient Mediterranean art and is supported by the Jack and Mary Ann Frable Fund for Ancient Art.

To watch from home, you can livestream this event.

IMAGE: Wall Plaque, ca. 550 BC, Unknown Artist (Phrygian), polychromed terracotta. Formerly Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund. 78.62.1 (repatriated to Türkiye 2026)

Yorùbá Art Objects in American Museums: Revisiting the Spiritual Presence and Absence Conundrum

Dr. Adéwálé Adénlé, Assistant Professor at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design at Georgia State University, will discuss the ethical tension surrounding the perceived spirituality in Yorùbá objects housed in American art museums. Does spirituality persist once an object is removed from Yorùbá lands? Or does this displacement leave objects valued primarily for their formal qualities within Western aesthetic frameworks? Using Egúngún regalia and masks as case studies, Adénlé proposes the Indigenous Context Engagement Paradigm (ICEP) to foreground Yorùbá knowledge systems in identifying and interpreting both the discernible and imperceptible dimensions of these objects.

The VMFA Circle Lecture Series is open to all members beginning at the Friends Circle level. This program will be offered in person and virtually, via Zoom. Click here to register for the livestream.

IMAGE: Egungun Mask, 20th century, Unknown Artist, cloth, wood, metal. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Hammer, 92.133