A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERIM CO-DIRECTORS

Dear Members and Friends,

We have much to be excited about at The Fralin this fall as we welcome Scott Nolley, a longtime collaborator and conservator at the Hirshhorn, back to Grounds! Scott will be conserving our Joan Mitchell painting, Untitled, which is featured in the dynamic exhibition Processing Abstraction. By carefully removing decades of settled dust and accumulation, Scott will reveal the true colors and forms of Mitchell’s seminal work. We welcome you to see the process in action as Scott interacts with visitors in The Fralin’s galleries in September and October, including in-gallery talks on Friday, September 22nd at noon and Saturday, September 30th at 2 pm. Check the website and follow our social media channels for additional dates and details!

On November 3rd, experimental composer Nathan Felix will be presenting an immersive opera within The Fralin’s galleries. Having previously worked with the Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa, the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, and most recently at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina, Felix is adept at creating one-of-a-kind melodic compositions specifically for art museums. Inspired by our exhibitions, Felix will activate The Fralin’s spaces via musical performance by working with UVA students, as well as local and national singers and musicians. This event will be free and open to the public; guests can RSVP starting in October.  

New this fall is our exhibition Figure and Fable: Aesop through the Ages, curated by Barringer-Lindner Curatorial Fellow, Emma Dove. A PhD candidate in the Art Department studying Medieval manuscripts, Emma has selected works from both our permanent collection and the Special Collections Library that feature images of different stories from Aesop’s Fables as they were retold and republished over several hundred years. Associate Curator, Hannah Cattarin, also curated a new selection of photography by artists Sharon Core and Bettina von Zwehl in the Focus On Gallery. Visit The Fralin in September to see these wonderful new exhibitions first-hand. 

After a long hiatus due to COVID, several of our key programs that had become fan favorites have been relaunched. First, we are happy to welcome audiences back for our Fralin Downtown Film Series, which kicked off with Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present on August 15th. This fantastic program is in collaboration with the Violet Crown theatre, located on the Charlottesville downtown mall. Keep checking our website for new films and showtimes! We were also happy to welcome back Gordon Avenue children’s librarian, Glynis Welte, who led our summer program Pictures & Pages for our 2-4 year old art lovers and their adults. Lastly, we are ever appreciative of longtime docent June Heinz as she restarted Looking Inward, our series of mindfulness art tours, in person this past spring. Looking Inward will continue into the fall.  

Whether through one of our wine-tasting events, or our teacher professional development workshops, we invite you to fill your cup at The Fralin this year. Community engagement events and activities like these remind us of all the special things that make The Fralin an important part of Charlottesville. We’re grateful for your participation and support as we approach what promises to be a transformational chapter this academic year. See you at the museum! 

Yours Sincerely,

M. Jordan Love
Carol R. Angle Academic Curator
Co-Interim Director

Hunter Hollins
Chief Operating Officer
Co-Interim Director