Perspective Gallery, located on the second floor of the Squires Student Center at Virginia Tech, reopened Tuesday, Aug. 25, at noon with Lauren Cooper’s “Medicine Show.”
Cooper’s exhibit was originally slated to open on March 20 before the coronavirus shut the gallery down. The exhibit will run through Sept. 27. The hours of operation this fall will be Tuesday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m., Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Cooper is known for her work locally at her business, Greenstar Farm and Apothecary.
Her art is one of the region’s best-kept secrets, and her show explores the connection between plants, medicine and spirit.
After “Medicine Show,” the gallery will host an exhibit of wood sculptures by artist Bob Rotche. His work explores man’s interaction with nature and the title “Nature Compartmentalized, Nature Disrupted” gives a hint of what visitors will see. The exhibit will run Oct. 6 through Nov. 20.
The gallery will have new protocols in place to make sure all in-person visits are as safe as possible. These changes include separate entrance and exit doors, required mask-wearing, counterclockwise viewing direction, six viewing zones to allow patrons to move freely and safely within a 100-square-foot area of the gallery to view work and viewing with family groups or single persons considered in the maximum number of visitors in the gallery at a single time. The gallery will have swipe capability installed for contact tracing should the need occur.
The gallery’s fall programming will include both in-person and virtual options with Art Reach Deep Dive virtual learn to draw and paint sessions (live on Zoom), Pop-Up events, an Ask the Artist lecture series and the gallery’s Art Reach Easy Art Lessons.
The gallery is also working with Virginia Tech’s faculty to provide programming for classes they are teaching this fall. These collaborative events will connect students to the arts at Virginia Tech in both theory and practice. To arrange such an event, contact Robin Scully, the art program director of Student Engagement and Campus Life, at scully@vt.ed, or call to make an appointment at (540)231-4053.
The student staff gallery assistants and interns will be available to answer questions when patrons visit this fall.
