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
Mel Price, Principal, Work Program Architects
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of Work Program Architects.
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
Residents of Puerto Rico and Dr. Tania Lizarazo, a professor of Global Studies at University of Maryland
Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center
Urban League of Hampton Roads
Judeo-Christian Outreach Center
This partnership was made possible through the generous support of Duncan Family Charitable Fund
Dr. Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Norfolk State University
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.
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.