Anderson Gallery Hosts Series of Free 'Happy Hour' Events this Summer

The VCU School of the Arts Anderson Gallery is hosting “Happy Hour,” a series of free events and programs on Wednesdays in June and July, featuring gallery talks, live music and workshops, among other fun activities.

“Happy Hour” will be held each Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors can sip drinks from the cash bar and nibble on snacks while enjoying the gallery’s courtyard and first-floor lounge, before checking out the gallery’s summer exhibition, “Knock, Knock! From the Collection of Paul and Sara Monroe,” which is on view through July 31.

“The lively array of contemporary works in our summer show inspired us to launch Happy Hour,” said Ashley Kistler, director of the Anderson Gallery. “Offering extended evening hours for the first time, the Anderson Gallery will host a fun and entertaining series of events designed to complement the exhibition, highlight local talent and celebrate summer.”

The first two Happy Hour events of the season included a gallery talk with Paul Monroe about the Monroes’ collection and their approach to collecting art and a live, specially curated audio tour of music inspired by the works in “Knock, Knock!” by Michael Miracle, host of The Lotus Land Show on WRIR 97.3 FM.

Future events in the Happy Hour series include:

• June 22, “Now Playing: The Bird and Her Consort”

In the gallery’s summer lounge, enjoy a salon concert by Antonia and Jonathan Vassar, who use accordion, guitar and classical voice to perform art songs, parlor music and new arrangements of diverse ethnic folk traditions.

• June 29, “Get Fresh: Slow Food RVA with Style Weekly restaurant critic John Haddad”

Celebrate the taste of summer, connect with area growers and learn about sustainability, biodiversity and Richmond’s food community – all while sampling locally produced, seasonal foods.

• July 6, “In Conversation: Performance Artist Tracy Leipold with Stephen Vitiello”

Get the insider’s scoop from Tracy Leipold as she revisits her creative collaborations with Tony Oursler and other artists. Her videotaped voice and face animate Oursler’s “Flower Baby,” which is part of the “Knock, Knock!” exhibition.

• July 13, “Now Showing: Jonathan Vassar & the Speckled Bird with filmmaker Jacob Dodd”

Come for an evening of film and music and experience the flurry of winter pastimes, a leisurely trip to the American West and the ballet-like flitting of Richmond’s chimney swifts. A live soundtrack by Jonathan Vassar & the Speckled Bird with Paul Watson accompanies Jacob Dodd’s films.

• July 20, “WRIR Replay: Hot Fun in the Summertime”

Relax, sip on a cool beverage, feel the good vibe and dance or sing along as DJs from WRIR fill the gallery with the greatest sun-drenched anthems to the summer season.

• July 27, “Hands On: Felt-making for Nomads with artist Hope Ginsburg”

Create your own design in this wool felt-making workshop led by Hope Ginsburg, whose project, Sponge, is headquartered at the gallery, and acquire new skills for crafting bowls, socks or a weatherproof house for life on the steppes.

“Knock, Knock!” features work from 34 contemporary artists selected from the collection of Richmonders Paul and Sara Monroe. The show includes pieces by sun influential artists as Robert Gober, Tony Oursler, Elizabeth Murray and Jack Pierson, as well as emerging talents such as Theaster Gates, Evan Holloway and Jeni Spota.

Among the works on view, visitors will encounter an important early sculpture by Kiki Smith, which poignantly embodies the artist’s own personal loss; a frenetic four-channel video installation by German artist John Bock, based on his performance in the studio; a new ceramic sculpture by Jessica Hutchins, addressing themes of failure and redemption through an image of a fallen athlete; and a found-object assemblage by Ry Rocklen, described by Paul Monroe as “a strange, beautiful object that is also edgy and unsettling.”

The Anderson Gallery, located at 907½ W. Franklin St., is the exhibition facility for the VCU School of the Arts. Summer gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m., and on Wednesdays from noon to 7 p.m.

Media sponsorship for Happy Hour at the Anderson Gallery is provided by WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio.