Sweet Briar College believes that the study of original works of art is an invaluable component of a liberal arts education. As such, the College has an impressive collection of art, which is housed in several art galleries and a museum on campus. The collection provides an ongoing opportunity for object-based learning with students and professors examining and researching significant paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and other works of art together. The galleries are also a cultural destination for passing visitors, within a remarkable network of rural arts venues in the area.
In 1984, Sweet Briar College renovated the former refectory (dining hall) to house the art collection and art library. The building, now called the Anne Gary Pannell Center, is the College’s principal art gallery and is home to the art history program and arts management certificate. In addition, it is a venue for lectures and classes, as well as other educational programs and public events.
Pannell Gallery neighbors two further galleries, one located in the mid-century foyer of Benedict Hall and one in the vaulted entrance to the Library. In addition to hosting exhibitions, each gallery also serve as spaces for talks and social events.
Art acquisitions and art collection-related programs and activities are supported in part by the College’s Friends of Art.
As many as 400 artists a year enjoy residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Fellows, as they are known, frequently visit SBC classes, and each month, the Center hosts an evening Salon Series, in which two or three Fellows are invited to campus to present their work to the community.
Please join us on October 4 as we welcome VCCA Fellows Lina Zylla and Chisom Ogoke to campus.
Lina Zylla‘s artistic practice focuses on the manipulation of reality and revolves around the question of how this is triggered and preserved. In her installations and performances, she reacts to the respective spaces in a painterly visual-acoustic way. The glass drawings offer the possibility of dissolving the immanent concept of painting and creating a walk-in picture through its threedimensionality. Her glass and sound installations are an approach of painting in space, with deformed and painted glass panels leaning against the walls. The sound in connection with the works in the room adds a narrative level and concentrates on musical memory. In doing so, Lina Zylla‘s superimposed voice and singing oscillates between the spiritual and ironic understanding of reality and gives no definition. (Lina Zylla photo by Enid Valu)
Chisom Ogoke is a Nigerian American writer who hails from Plano, Texas. She enjoys long walks, beautifully sunny days, adventure movies, and well-told stories. She recently graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing and—even more recently—returned from a ten-month independent study in Barbados through the U.S. Student Fulbright Program. During those ten months, she studied Bajan (BAY-JUN) and West African-influenced oral storytelling techniques.
The VCCA Salons are FREE and open to the public. Just check in at the guard gate and let them know you are here for this event. SBC also offers campuswide FREE parking.
In most of Latin America, if you’re by the sea, there is bound to be a place called Miramar very close by. It will typically have a postcard view of the sea – and if music is playing, chances are that it will be boleros: the romantic music genre that originated in Cuba at the turn of the 20th century.
When Puerto Rican singer Reinaldo Alvarez (Bio Ritmo) was looking to name a new project inspired by boleros he searched for something simple that would be familiar to Spanish speakers; a name that would reflect the humble poetry of everyday life. Miramar seemed perfect: a romantic snapshot of a place both close and far away from home.
Miramar, the group, aims to capture that poetry through their music with new interpretations of golden-era boleros and original songs that infuse the bolero with a variety of musical influences. They are associated with theNuevo Romanticomovement and carry the torch ofBalada rockmánticaorBolero-Beat, a popular genre of the late 60’s defined for itsblend ofboleros with psychedelicfunkand rock music. The band is fronted by the incomparable singing duo Laura Ann Singh with Rei Alvarez and led by arranger Marlysse Simmons-Argandona, who alternates between piano and vintage retro organs. They perform as a trio up to sextet and often with the addition of a string quartet. This has led to regular collaborations while on tour with local string musicians. Miramar was also a featured artist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra for the 20-21 season. They are currently booking future dates with other orchestras around the globe.
Miramar has performed across the United States, Europe and most recently completed a two-week embassy sponsored tour of Russia and Siberia. They are recipients of the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation USArtist International grant and have released albums on two of Brooklyn’s most famed indie-labels, Barbès and Daptone Records. They have performed at NYC’s globalFest and Lincoln Center ‘Out of Doors’ and have been featured on a variety of NPR programs such as Tiny Desk and All Songs Considered.
The Janet Lowrey Gager Community Concert Series is made possible by the support of the late Forrest Gager, in memory of his wife, Janet, who served as Sweet Briar’s director of public relations. The series features classical music from around the world performed by Sweet Briar College faculty and students, as well as guest artists.
As many as 400 artists a year enjoy residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Fellows, as they are known, frequently visit SBC classes, and each month, the Center hosts an evening Salon Series, in which two or three Fellows are invited to campus to present their work to the community.
Fellows visiting campus on November 8 will be announced soon.
The VCCA Salons are FREE and open to the public. Just check in at the guard gate and let them know you are here for this event. SBC also offers campuswide FREE parking.
