Piedmont Arts Hosts Art @ Happy Hour

Karen Getty, VMFA docent and tour services coordinator

Art @ Happy Hour Features Gallery Talk by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Educator Karen Getty

Karen Getty, docent and tour services coordinator at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will give a gallery talk during Piedmont Arts’ free Art @ Happy Hour on Friday, February 19.

Guests are invited to view the museum’s exhibits in a casual, fun setting while Getty discusses the African artwork on display in Fortune, Courage, Love: Arts of Africa’s Akan and Kuba Kingdoms from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

“As an educator, I am eager to engage the Piedmont Arts community in a dialogue about traditional African art,” said Getty. “The Fortune, Courage, Love exhibition is a stellar example of the artistic genius that comes from this richly diverse continent and I look forward to not only sharing my knowledge and passion for the art, but also hearing how it resonates with the public in Martinsville.”

Fortune, Courage, Love was developed as a curatorial partnership between William King Museum of Art curator, Leila Cartier, and VMFA’s curator of African art, Richard Woodward. The exhibition brings together art from the ancient empire of Mali, the Akan kingdoms of Ghana, and the Kuba kingdom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Visitors will have the opportunity to see African objects from the VMFA’s collection first-hand, including elements of royal regalia, dozens of gold weights, masks and other ceremonial objects, sculptures, and three spectacular Kente Cloths.

In addition to Fortune, Courage, Love, the exhibits, Kind Cuts featuring woodcuts by Richmond-based artist Dennis Winston, and Current Brushstrokes featuring paintings by Patrick County native Pepper Martin, are also on display. 

Art @ Happy Hour will take place from 5 – 7 pm at Piedmont Arts, located at 215 Starling Ave. Complimentary wine and refreshments will be available. Admission is free.