UAB's Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, AEIVA

UAB's Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, AEIVA UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts is the newest addition to UAB Arts District. Stop by to enjoy world-class exhibitions and cultural events!

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts is the home UAB’s art galleries and Department of Art and Art History classrooms and faculty. Located right across the street from the Alys Stephens Center, AEIVA is free and open to the public. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram

Now open at AEIVA! 🍄𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈May 21–September 26𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘈𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘌𝘐𝘝𝘈’𝘴...
05/27/2026

Now open at AEIVA! 🍄

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈
May 21–September 26

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘈𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘌𝘐𝘝𝘈’𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
May 21–December 12

Thanks to everyone who came out last week to celebrate the opening of these two stellar exhibitions! Special thanks to for joining us from Santa Fe.

We’re offering drop-in tours on Saturdays all summer long. Tours are led by our student guides and typically last between 20-30 minutes. No registration required.

📸: Eric Gray

Opening alongside Erin Jane Nelson’s exhibition next Thursday, May 21!𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗘𝗜𝗩𝗔’𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗺...
05/13/2026

Opening alongside Erin Jane Nelson’s exhibition next Thursday, May 21!
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗘𝗜𝗩𝗔’𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Featuring work by 17 artists acquired over the past three years—many of which are on view at AEIVA for the first time—this exhibition reflects AEIVA’s focus on contemporary art that cultivates a regional perspective within a broader cultural dialogue.

The assembled works are particularly attuned to the poetics of the everyday. Looking to the interplay between memory and material, reality and imagination, they offer textured reflections on the warp and weft of contemporary life.

Artists:
Gema Álava, Kathryn Andrews, Pinky/MM Bass, Katherine Bernhardt, Jennifer Coates, Sue de Beer, Susan Fitzsimmons, Paul Kremer, Mokha Laget, Futoshi Miyagi, Celestia Morgan, Robert Rauschenberg, Manjari Sharma, Nancy Shaver, Susanna Starr, Jacqueline Surdell, and Ana Pérez Ventura

Join us on Thursday, May 21 from 5-7pm to celebrate the opening of these two exhibitions! 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 will be on view at AEIVA through December 12, 2026.

Image: Katherine Bernhardt, 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘴 + 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 + 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 2014. Acrylic and spray paint on canvas. Gift of Emily and Teddy Greenspan. Collection of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, UAB.

Opening May 21! 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 is a major new survey exhibition of work made between 2015 and 2025...
05/06/2026

Opening May 21! 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 is a major new survey exhibition of work made between 2015 and 2025, while the artist was based in a suburb of Atlanta. With a formally inventive approach to work spanning photography, textiles, and ceramics, Nelson’s practice comes out of a sustained dialogue with the ecologies and shifting landscapes of the southeastern US. Borrowing as much from vernacular craft traditions as from science fiction, Nelson’s work—reflecting a period of great social and environmental change—finds quiet persistence in the intimate labor of living and working on a changing planet.

Experience this work by a singular voice of her generation—brought together for the first time at AEIVA.

May 21-September 26, 2026
Opening: May 21, 5-7pm

AEIVA will be offering drop-in tours on Saturdays all summer long, starting on May 23. Tours are led by AEIVA’s student guides and typically last between 20-30 minutes. No registration required.

Image: Erin Jane Nelson, 𝘈 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳, 2023. Pigment prints, sequins, and bio-based resin on glazed stoneware. Courtesy of the artist; Chapter NY, New York; and Document, Chicago and Lisbon.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

This is the final week to visit the 2026 BFA Exhibition, presented with ! We hope you’ll join us for a closing celebrati...
04/28/2026

This is the final week to visit the 2026 BFA Exhibition, presented with ! We hope you’ll join us for a closing celebration this Friday, May 1 from 5–7pm.

Featuring work by nine graduating BFA students, this exhibition brings together diverse practices and perspectives.

Among them, Karah Gohn (), Jaymie Hornsby (), and Angelina Robinson (.jpeg) each employ a language of portals and thresholds in distinct ways.

🚪Gohn’s paintings and transfer prints explore liminality, and the way memory creates a rift in one’s experience of linear time. For Gohn, portals become metaphors for the mind’s shifting terrain.

⏰ Hornsby’s paintings and collages use recurring symbols—clocks, doors, windows, and night skies—in their exploration of productivity culture and the way labor shapes one’s experience of time.

✂️ Robinson’s installation recreates a hair salon, complete with styling tools and copies of a magazine she created. As a licensed natural hair artist, Robinson centers the salon as a space of community and care.

View these works and more at AEIVA through May 2!

📸: Beau Gustafson

Currently on view in AEIVA’s 2026 BFA Exhibition, works by Landon Krall (.artist), Gracie Hollington (), and Tauyhanni B...
04/22/2026

Currently on view in AEIVA’s 2026 BFA Exhibition, works by Landon Krall (.artist), Gracie Hollington (), and Tauyhanni Bell (.bunz01) share a spirit of play—incorporating toys and other found objects, personal imagery, and interactive elements.

🔫 Krall’s multi media work blends painting, sculpture, and assemblage. Drawing on the material memory of childhood objects—such as toy guns, figurines, and keychains—he traces the formation of an artistic identity. His clay figures, inspired by the Jewish Golem, serve as symbolic protectors of the artist’s truth and creativity.

🌀 Hollington creates an intimate, dreamlike environment in her installation of both hyperrealistic and abstract paintings within a bedroom-like setting. An open sketchbook invites visitors to participate, tapping into a childlike, imaginative space where thoughts drift between waking and dreaming.

🎀 Bell’s large-format prints reflect the artist’s interest in Black beauty and fashion, presenting figures whose style is a powerful expression of identity. Viewers are invited to engage directly with the work, with swappable clothing elements that emphasize the fluid, evolving nature of self-presentation.

See these works and more at AEIVA through May 2, with a closing reception on May 1 from 5-7pm!

📸: Beau Gustafson

𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is this Friday 4/17 at AEIVA! Come make art with students in the 2026 BFA Exhibition while enjoying fo...
04/15/2026

𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is this Friday 4/17 at AEIVA! Come make art with students in the 2026 BFA Exhibition while enjoying food available for purchase from a local food truck.

🗓️ Friday 4/17
⏱️ 11am-2pm
📍Outside AEIVA

See you there!

Now on view through May 2: the 2026 BFA Exhibition!This exhibition features work by nine graduating BFA artists working ...
04/10/2026

Now on view through May 2: the 2026 BFA Exhibition!

This exhibition features work by nine graduating BFA artists working across painting, photography, video, printmaking, and sculpture with a wide range of perspectives and practices.

Artists Martinee Hill (.tinix52), Nadia Johnson (), and Kana Luecke each take up ecological themes in distinct ways:

🪲 Hill’s installation, Patterns of Adaptation, brings together watercolor, etching, and embroidery to reflect on the intricate patterns found in insects and bird plumage.

🪞Johnson’s paintings and mixed media works are surreal, pastoral dreamscapes that explore the connection between identity and environment.

🕸️ Luecke’s video animation and kinetic books incorporate recurring insect motifs, including moths and black widow spiders, to weave a personal and symbolic narrative.

Visit us in person to experience these works and more! Free and open to the public Tuesday–Saturday, 12-5.

Opening on April 7! 🎯AEIVA and  present the 2026 BFA Exhibition, featuring work by graduating BFA students Tauyhanni Bel...
03/17/2026

Opening on April 7! 🎯

AEIVA and present the 2026 BFA Exhibition, featuring work by graduating BFA students Tauyhanni Bell, Karah Gohn, Martinee Hill, Gracie Hollington, Jaymie Hornsby, Landon Krall, Nadia Johnson, Kana Luecke, and Angelina Robinson.

The exhibition will open during Arts Week, an annual celebration of student and faculty creativity. A closing reception will take place on Friday, May 1 to coincide with graduation weekend. Hope to see you there!
bunz01
tinix52

artist
jpeg

Catalogs for the 2025 Alabama Triennial are here!Featuring work by 19 artists either living in or deeply connected to Al...
03/11/2026

Catalogs for the 2025 Alabama Triennial are here!

Featuring work by 19 artists either living in or deeply connected to Alabama, the second Alabama Triennial exhibition, 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 explored questions of place and identity through work that emphasizes movement, journey, mapping, exchange, and transference.

Alongside artwork reproductions and contributions from each artist, the 116-page, full-color catalog includes three original texts by exhibition curators elizabet elliott (), Sydney A. Foster (.a.foster), and Hannah Spears ( ).

Details:
– Paperback
– Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 11 in
– 116 pages with 89 illustrations

Creative Direction & Design: Samantha Richardson (SamRich.co)
Design: Andrew Laningham
Production Design: Katie Bates

Click the shop link in our bio to get your copy today!

🔭 Stargazing with UAB Astronomy Club is this Thursday, 3/5 from 5:30-7pm! ✨Join us for a cosmic evening inspired by Virg...
03/02/2026

🔭 Stargazing with UAB Astronomy Club is this Thursday, 3/5 from 5:30-7pm! ✨

Join us for a cosmic evening inspired by Virginia L. Montgomery’s exhibition, 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒏. Currently on view at AEIVA, Montgomery’s exhibition features time-lapse astrophotography taken while in residence at the McDonald Observatory in West Texas. It also includes a drawing made in collaboration with UAB Assistant Professor of Astronomy Education, Dr. Michelle Wooten illustrating concepts like black holes, orbits, and gravitational wells.

💫 Meet at AEIVA at 5:30pm to see the exhibition
🪐 Hear from Dr. Wooten about her work as Campus SHINE Lab Director and how light pollution impacts natural ecosystems
🌌 Then head to the Campus Green to view the night sky through telescopes

This event is free and open to the public. Pizza and beverages will be provided.

Image: Virginia L. Montgomery, 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳, 2025. Photograph. Courtesy of the artist.
l.montgomery

Address

1221 10th Avenue S
Birmingham, AL
35205

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 5pm
Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+12059756436

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