MORE THAN SHELTER¬
Erin Fostel, Room #3, May 12th, 2022, YWCA South Hampton Roads Emergency Shelter, 2022. Charcoal and graphite on muslin. Courtesy of the artist
OCTOBER 8, 2022–FEBRUARY 5, 2023
The essentials for human survival are food, water, and shelter. These needs take precedence over all the others. Virginia MOCA continues our investigations of basic human needs with the new exhibition More Than Shelter. Eleven artists received an invitation to participate in this exhibition. We asked each one to consider what the idea of shelter means to them and choose an avenue of investigation. The artists connected with partners who provided unique insight into their area of expertise. Shelter is both a verb and a noun. It can mean a home, a community, or the people and places that makes us feel safe and welcomed. It also means to listen, care, and to support one another, our community, our land, our minds, our society, and our futures.
More Than Shelter will debut new artworks by the invited artists. The exhibition and related educational programming will encourage members of our community to forge new connections with each other and gain a greater understanding of what it takes to weather the challenges of our ever-changing planet.
ARTISTS AND PARTNERS
Heather Beardsley (VA) &
Mel Price, Principal, Work Program Architects
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of Work Program Architects.
Erika Diamond (NC) &
StandUp for Kids
Erin Fostel (MD) &
YWCA South Hampton Roads
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of the Lynn and Rachel Schoenbaum Charitable Fund
Roberto Jamora (VA) & The Filipino Community of Hampton Roads
Pat Jarrett (VA) & DIY House Shows in Virginia
Rosa Leff (MD) &
Residents of Puerto Rico and Dr. Tania Lizarazo, a professor of Global Studies at University of Maryland
Mehveş Lelic (VA) &
Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center
Austin Miles (VA) &
Urban League of Hampton Roads
Will Smith (VA) &
Judeo-Christian Outreach Center
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of Duncan Family Charitable Fund
Sandy Williams IV (VA) &
Dr. Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Norfolk State University
Megan Wynne (VA) &
ForKids
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of the Sokol Family Foundation
Organized by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Alison Byrne, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Education and Heather Hakimzadeh, Senior Curator and Special Projects Manager. Virginia MOCA thanks the artists and experts for their collaboration in this exhibition.
EXHIBITION GALLERY
Heather Beardsley, Vacancy, 2022. Mixed media bee hotels (8 in series). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Echard Wheeler.
Left to right: Installation of view work by Rosa Leff; One True Love, View from the Top, Reflection, Stay Awhile, 2022. Hand cut Tyvek, bed sheet, tarp. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Echard Wheeler.
Roberto Jamora, Barangay, 2022. Acrylic on canvas over panel, wood frame, bookcase, books, found objects, cast plaster. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Echard Wheeler.
EVENTS
Instagram Live Chat: Roberto Jamora
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Join Heather Hakimzadeh, curator, for a conversation with past and current Virginia MOCA exhibiting artists. Guest artists will give us a look inside their studios, share current projects, and discuss process and inspiration. Find us on Instagram @virginiamoca. This month’s guest is Roberto Jamora, More Than Shelter artist.
Coffee + Conversation
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Join us for a casual conversation exploring current exhibitions, led by Virginia MOCA staff and guest lecturers.
This month we will be joined by Heather Beardsley, exhibiting artist and Mel Price, Work Program Architects who will discuss their collaboration and the culminating work of art featured in More Than Shelter.
Papercutting: Masterclass with Rosa Leff
Saturday, October 29, 2022
In this workshop, we’ll learn from Rosa Leff how to transform a photograph of an urban scene into a high-impact paper cut with detail and depth. From discovering when and how to reverse the positive and negative of a photograph to identifying light and dark for emphasis or removal, this beginner-friendly class will teach you to all the tools and tricks to create your own paper-cut cityscape!
Instagram Live Chat: Mehveş Lelic
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Join Heather Hakimzadeh, curator, for a conversation with past and current Virginia MOCA exhibiting artists. Guest artists will give us a look inside their studios, share current projects, and discuss process and inspiration. Find us on Instagram @virginiamoca. This month’s guest is Mehveş Lelic, More than Shelter artist.
Teaching with Art: More Than Shelter
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Join us for Teaching with Art, part of a free professional development series created for educators of all grade levels and subject areas. This program, focusing on More Than Shelter, is specially designed to equip teachers with helpful tools for using contemporary artwork in their curriculum and classrooms.
Coffee + Conversation
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Join us for a casual conversation exploring current exhibitions, led by Virginia MOCA staff and guest lecturers. This month we will be joined by Will Smith, exhibiting artist, and Todd Walker, executive director of Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, who will discuss their collaboration and the culminating work of art featured in More Than Shelter.
Instagram Live Chat: Pat Jarrett
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Join Heather Hakimzadeh, curator, for a conversation with past and current Virginia MOCA exhibiting artists. Guest artists will give us a look inside their studios, share current projects, and discuss process and inspiration. This month’s guest is Pat Jarrett, More than Shelter artist.
Community Conversation
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Join us for a panel discussion exploring affordable housing in Hampton Roads. Our panel will include artists, organizations, and community members who are working to create awareness on the issues of cost, quality, instability, overcrowding, and racial disparities in housing. We’ll discuss the efforts being made within our community to establish affordable housing for all despite the structural inequities that exist within our economic systems.
VIDEOS
Artist interview with Austin Miles on her partnership with the Urban League of Hampton Roads and the culminating work of art featured in the exhibition titled Passkey.
Charcoal artist Erin Fostel discusses her collaboration with the YWCA of South Hampton Roads.
Shelter can mean a home, a community, or the people and places that makes us feel safe and welcomed. For More Than Shelter, photographer Pat Jarrett documented and explored the little-known DIY house venue community in Virginia. In areas of the country where there are few options for emerging bands, some people have opened up their own homes to create DIY venues.
"These DIY spaces are, in fact, people’s homes. Their generosity in sharing their living spaces creates incubators for new and touring bands and provides a place for the punks, weirdos, and freaks to congregate. These communities are thriving in Virginia, even as threats like gentrification change the landscape of these impromptu creative spaces." —Pat Jarrett.
The essentials for human survival are food, water and shelter. This month, a new exhibition opened at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art that explores what shelter is, what it means to have it, and what it's like to live without it.
OUR SUPPORTERS
Special thanks to More Than Shelter presenting sponsor:
Sentara Healthcare
Additional support provided by the Sokol Family Foundation, Southern Bank, Atlantic Union Bank, Scott and Christina Duncan, the Lynn and Rachel Schoenbaum Charitable Fund, The Helen G. Gifford Foundation, Baldwin Advisory, Work Program Architects, Bishard Homes, OVM Financial, Tidewater Home Funding, the City of Virginia Beach Office of Cultural Affairs, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Arts Alliance, the City of Portsmouth, and the Tidewater Children’s Foundation.
Free admission made possible by the Goode Family Foundation.