Harnett Museum of Art at the University of Richmond Opens Spring Season With Immersive Exhibitions and Films
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — This spring, the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum is showcasing three new exhibitions, organized in collaboration with UR’s Department of Art & Art History as part of the 2025–26 Tucker–Boatwright Festival of Literature and the Arts. This year’s festival expands on the theme of “Reconstruction.”
“This spring we are thrilled to present three projects about lineage, place, and blackness,” said Issa Lampe, executive director of University Museums. “Our team at the Harnett Museum is especially proud to feature an original, commissioned work by artist Abigail DeVille. While in residence at UR, DeVille built a full-gallery environment assembled from objects sourced in Virginia. It reflects many months of research to reconstruct an ancestral story that she believed had been lost.”
Abigail DeVille: A Mourning showcases a newly commissioned installation by internationally renowned sculptor, Abigail DeVille. The exhibition, curated by Orianna Cacchione, deputy director and curator of exhibitions, draws on DeVille’s family history to examine the development of Black mental health care. Abigail DeVille: A Mourning is on view through April 25.
Black Work: Absence/Absorption features a number of artists engaging with the question: what is black? “Black is absorption, a gathering, all colors held at once, refusing to reflect,” writes guest curator and visiting art history professor Kymberly S. Newberry. “While some works reference histories of Black liberation, the focus is on material, spatial, and perceptual practices rather than race or identity alone.” This exhibit is on view through April 25.
Politics of Place, guest-curated by art professor and filmmaker Jeremy Drummond, explores how geographic locations influence ideas of identity and power. The exhibition will include a screening of Drummond’s award-winning film Monument, as well as screenings by eight other filmmakers and artist collectives, including Tiffany Sia and Adam Piron. Screenings will be held through May 9.