From China to Appalachia

GRAMMY Award-winning American roots artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian in a show that combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin.

The group’s repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music from around the world. Unusual combinations explore new arrangements to old music, such as “Dark Eyes.” Ukulele, yangqin and guitar create a new pallet for this Russian folk song turned jazz manouche tune. Cathy and Marcy join Chao in singing a Chinese lullaby, “Nani Wan” and Chao easily adds her love of American old-time music to fiddle tunes and songs.

Watercolor artist Z.L. Feng will create a painting during the performance.

Reception at 6:30 pm. Concert at 7 pm.

Buy Tickets:

Exhibit Opening Reception

Betty Blessin, Imogene & Isadore Draper, Ben Gravely, Mallory & Richard Joyce, Debra Poirier & George Mehaffey, Jennifer Reis & Pete Mannen, Joan & Monty Montgomery, Madie & Jim Rountree, Gail Vogler, Brenda & Joe Williams

Join Piedmont Arts for an opening reception in honor of the museum's new exhibits. Gallery talk at 6:15 pm. Free and open to the public. Complimentary wine and light refreshments. Live music by Ann Gardner.

• The Gee's Bend Experience
• Antiquity Second Hand: Jonathan Lee
• Life's Journey: Works by Karen Despot

RSVP attendance by January 22.

Make Some Noise: After-hours Open Mic Series

Grab the mic and express yourself through music, poetry, comedy or spoken word. Performers should sign up for a five-minute (max) spot upon arrival. Free to performers and audience. Cash bar.

Open mic emcees:

African American Read-In + Family Day

Sponsored by Carter Bank & Trust

Take part in the museum’s annual celebration of African American artists, performers and writers. Enjoy story time, themed crafts, a public read-aloud and tours of the VMFA Artmobile.

About the Artmobile:

VMFA on the Road is the museum’s 21st-century Artmobile, coming to you from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. VMFA on the Road will showcase the exhibition Love, Laughter, Tears: An Artist’s Guide to Emotions. This compilation of works from the VMFA collection examines the relationship between art and emotion across various cultures and time periods to explore human emotion as a unifying and universal factor.

Piedmont Arts' African American Read-In + Family Day is held in conjunction with the National African American Read-In established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world.

Art Talk with Suellen Coelho

Suellen Coelho will discuss fashion and costume design. Coelho studied costume design in her home country of Brazil and holds an MFA in costume design from Louisiana State University, where she was also a teaching assistant. She joined the Hollins University theatre department in fall 2021 as an assistant professor teaching costume design and construction, stage makeup and props-related special topics courses in the theatre department.

Reception at 6:30 pm. Talk at 7 pm. Free with suggested donation of $20.

Dancing for the Arts

Piedmont Arts' fabulous fundraiser returns with a fresh slate of local celebrities dancing in support of the arts in Martinsville-Henry County. The contest features eight teams competing to win the most votes, the highest score from the judges and a set of gorgeous mirror ball trophies handcrafted by local artist Terry Mitchell.

How to Vote

Your votes ($1 = 1 vote) benefit your favorite teams and raise money to support Piedmont Arts programming in Martinsville-Henry County. Each team's final score is made up of a combination of your votes and the judges’ scores. The team with the highest final score wins the grand prize.

To double your votes ($1 = 2 votes) and make those dollars really count, you can apply your total donation toward a Piedmont Arts membership. A $40 minimum is required for this option.

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Foster Gallery Reception

Piedmont Arts and Charity League Charity League of Martinsville and Henry County will host a reception for students with work on display in the Foster Gallery. Students, their families and friends are invited to attend. Light snacks provided. 

Exhibit Schedule:

Exhibit Opening Reception

Join Piedmont Arts for an opening reception in honor of the museum's new exhibits. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education Michael R. Taylor, PhD will present a gallery talk at 6:15 pm. Free and open to the public. Complimentary wine and light refreshments. Live music.

• Salvador Dali: Le Chants de Maldoror on loan from Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• Citizens and Soldiers: The Mostly World War II Paintings of Ken Smith
• Works by Meritha Alderman

RSVP attendance here by March 25.

An Evening with Lucian Simmons

Lucian Simmons is vice chairman and worldwide head of Sotheby’s Restitution Department and senior specialist, Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Sotheby’s New York.

Simmons works extensively with art collectors and their advisors throughout North America and Europe and has been involved in the sale of some of the most significant artworks to come to auction in recent years including Onement VI by Barnett Newman (sold for $43.8m in May 2013) and Bildnis Gertha Felsöványi by Gustav Klimt (sold for £24.8m in June 2015). Simmons has worked on restitution and provenance issues since 1997 and has been involved in the resolution of claims to art works worth in excess of $850 million.

Simmons has spoken widely on art market issues and in particular on the displacement of art during WWII. He has been interviewed on the subject on television and radio and has appeared in a number of film documentaries. He gives regular seminars at universities and law schools across North America and has given evidence to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport of the House of Commons, London, to the European Parliament, Brussels, and to the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets.

Reception at 6:30 pm. Talk at 7 pm.

Earth Day Family Day

Sponsored by Carter Bank & Trust

Celebrate Earth Day at this fun Family Day for all ages. 

Preschool in the Galleries

Preschool in the Galleries is a series of programs for pre-K students designed to foster a love of the performing and visual arts at a young age. Performances are free of charge to students and schools and feature performers from various arts organizations and schools in Martinsville-Henry County.

Performances take place at 9:30 am and 10:30 am on each date. Contact Christiana Jarrett at cjarrett@piedmontarts.org to reserve a spot for your child or class.

Schedule:

Virginia Stage Company: Every Brilliant Thing

"[A] heart-wrenching, hilarious play…One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop." – THE GUARDIAN (2014 Edinburgh festival)

This powerful story is told from the perspective of a single performer. An immersive storytelling experience performed in the round that blends comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell the story of someone growing up in the shadow of their mother's struggle with suicidal depression while learning to grapple with their own journey. Every Brilliant Thing provides a life-affirming jolt of humanism, reminding us that hope comes from the miracles of life’s minutiae. Seating will be “in the round” so that every seat is a great seat.

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Expressions Artwork Entry

Entry is open to all artists living within a 100-mile radius of Martinsville, Virginia (check your location here). Artwork submitted for entry must have been completed within the last three years. Work previously exhibited in Expressions is not eligible. Up to two pieces of art may be submitted per artist. Unlike a juried exhibition, Expressions is open-entry, and all submitted works in compliance with the entry rules are accepted.

Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in seven categories, as well as purchase awards, the Lynwood Artists Award and Best In Show. 

Entry Date
Saturday, May 18, 2024
10 am – 1 pm
Piedmont Arts

Exhibit Opening Reception

Join Piedmont Arts for an opening reception in honor of the museum's new exhibits. Gallery talk at 6:15 pm. Free and open to the public. Complimentary wine and light refreshments. Live music.

• Expressions 2024

RSVP attendance here by May 28.