books with burned edges
Image: Shubigi Rao, Aftermath of the Fire at the Natural History Collection, Jagger Library, Cape Town, South Africa, 2022. Image courtesy Shubigi Rao and Rossi & Rossi.

University of Richmond Museums Hosts Singaporean Artist Shubigi Rao and Student-Curated Exhibition This Fall

September 1, 2026

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — This fall, the University of Richmond Museums’ Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art will feature three exhibitions, including a landmark exhibit from Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao.

Open Sept. 24 2026 through April 24, 2027, Shubigi Rao: All Our Elephants Are in Rooms marks the first exhibition in the United States by this acclaimed Singaporean artist. It also marks the newest chapter in her ongoing project Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book.

“On the surface, Rao’s work is about assaults on libraries and the banishing of books in conflict zones around the world, but it also examines the ways in which knowledge is preserved through acts of resistance, solidarity, and witnessing,” notes Orianna Cacchione, deputy director and curator of exhibitions.

This exhibition will include a survey of artworks Rao has made as part of Pulp in addition to earlier projects. In this exhibition, Rao combines her longterm studies and artworks of nonhuman knowledge with objects from the Lora Robins Gallery natural history collection, to examine how we simultaneously interpret and misconstrue the natural world.

“Rao’s work pushes us to think more broadly about how we classify our interactions with the natural world,” said Cacchione. “Through rocks, minerals, ceramics, and other specimens from the Lora Robins Gallery, she traces the foundation of libraries to the politics of natural history museums.”

Image: Justine Kurland, Door Sill Train Track, 2008. Archival pigment print on aluminum. Museum Purchase, Harnett Endowment, H2024.08.03A. © Justine Kurland.

How Do Worlds Feel? is a partnership with faculty in the Gender & Sexualities Studies Program, open from Sept. 4 to Dec. 5, 2026. Drawn from the University of Richmond Museums collections, the artworks on view reflect on the embodiment of human life. How Do Worlds Feel? is co-curated by Martha Wright, curator for academic initiatives and Dafne Luna, assistant director at the Hub for Student Inclusion and Community.

“This exhibition asks: how does it feel to be the world; how does it feel be in the world; how does it feel to be part of the world,” said Wright. “It invites visitors to engage in self-reflection and self-awareness.”

Image: Wendy Red Star, Huxshiwaammishe (Beaded Cuffs), from the series Biluka (Our Side), Set E, 2023. Archival pigment prints on satin photo rag. Museum purchase, Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2024.10.02 © Wendy Red Star

In/Between: Within/Outside is a student-curated exhibition bringing together artists grappling with identity and censorship. In/Between, Within/Outside is on view from Sept. 4, 2026 to April 24, 2027.  

Curated by recent graduates Karine Nguyen, Malena Lo Prete, and Paige Pryor as part of the art history course “Panic! at the Museum: Art and Censorship,” the exhibition investigates the ways that censorship can drive resistance. It features artists from the University Museums collection including Kara Walker, Wendy Red Star, Barbara Tisserat, Chris Dacre, Abigail DeVille, Stephanie Syjuco, Fred Wilson, Gordon Parks, Judy Chicago, Pavlo Makov, and Shahzia Sikander.

All three exhibitions reflect the University Museums’ ongoing dedication to student learning, and will be woven into courses of study across campus. “All students at UR can find hands-on, one-on-one learning opportunities at our museums, on any topic or theme that they are interested in,” said Martha Wright.  

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