Beginning Friday, November 30, VCU's Anderson Gallery presents Portrait As Community, a student exhibition documenting various communities in and around Richmond. Portrait As Community was a course offered by the Department of Photography and Film, VCU Libraries and the Anderson Gallery, in which students from the VCU Departments of Photography & Film and Art Education studied research methods, artistic strategies, and ethical concerns that relate to the representation of communities. Each student selected and worked with specific communities around Richmond in order to create their projects. The results will be on display at The Anderson Gallery (907 1/2 W. Franklin St) from Nov. 30-Dec. 9, with an opening reception taking place from 5-8 PM Friday, November 30.
Here are artist statements and images from some of the projects included in the exhibit.
JACLYN BROWN
The Dunlop House is a retirement community that specializes in assisted living and Alzheimer care for the elderly in Colonial Heights. This is where my great-grandmother lives.
LAUREN LYON
Richmond Burlesque is an ongoing series about the burlesque revival in Richmond, VA. It is a multimedia project that focuses on self-transformation and empowerment through contemporary feminist ideas applied to an antiquated form.
MARK STRANDQUIST
Some Other Places We’ve Missed is a collaborative project between myself and incarcerated individuals in and around Richmond, Va. During workshops in local jails participants were asked: If your cell had a window, what space from your past do you wish it would look out to? Their written responses served as a guide for the making of these photographs.
MIKE WEINHEIMER
Portraits of Learning: Reflections on Education: I worked with students, parents and teachers from the Carver Elementary School community to explore and document the way a child’s family and community supports their education and academic success.
