Chromophore Artspace

05/28/2026

05/23/2026

Hey y’all — quick update. We’re moving WORD TO THE MOTHER to First Friday.

Between the weather, end of school year busyness, and the holiday weekend, we figured folks are already stretched thin.

The good news? It’ll now serve as a closing event for Umi Says, which honestly feels right. This show, and this gathering both deserve more time to breathe.

So save the date for First Friday. We’ll gather around art, spoken word, music, conversation, and community. Hope to see you there.

05/20/2026

CALL FOR ART: RICH BLUE HUES

Chromophore Artspace is accepting submissions for RICH BLUE HUES, a juried group exhibition exploring the symbolism, emotional resonance, and layered meanings of the color blue within the Black diasporic experience.

This exhibition is part of RICH BLUE HUES Fest—an evolving series of art, music, foodways, wellness, and storytelling experiences exploring blue as a symbol of Black identity across the Americas: longing, healing, water, sky, spirit, survival, melancholy, joy, and ancestry.

We’re seeking work that engages blue as language, memory, metaphor, or lived experience.

Open to artists 18+ in the continental U.S.
Submission Deadline: June 25, 2026
Artwork Due: July 22, 2026
Exhibition: August 5 – September 26, 2026

Artists may submit up to 3 works. Scan the QR code or visit the link in bio to apply.

ArtistOpportunity

05/13/2026

Gallery hours this week are limited due to Graduation Season! A couple of good friends will be gallery sitting Friday & Saturday afternoon between 2-6ish, so there’s still an opportunity to visit and view the Umi Says Exhibition. Sunday we’re closed for a private event. Back open next Wednesday 5/20 at 2pm.

05/13/2026

WORD TO THE MOTHER

As I approach my 55th birthday, I’ve been missing the days when folks would just… get together.

Move the furniture. Put on records. Play cards or games. Dance, laugh, talk for hours, eat a little something, sip a little something, and just be together.

No pressure. No overproduction. No everything-is-monetized energy.

So I’m inviting y’all to WORD TO THE MOTHER — a laid back afternoon of spoken word, music, art, games, conversation, and good vibes. Chromophore Artspace, Saturday, May 23 | 4–8 PM

No admission fee. Just pull up. BYO beverage, bring a friend, bring a poem, a song, your stories, your turntables or just bring yourself.

Turning 55, so donations in multiples of 5 are welcome — $5 to $55,000 and everything in between (Mama still gotta pay the rent!) Mostly though, I just want to see my people and have a good time!

05/05/2026

Umi Says: A group exhibition at Chromophore Artspace featuring Virginia-based women artists with work that speaks to themes of motherhood, generational bonds, ancestral wisdom, and memory.

Opening: May 7
Reception: Saturday, May 9 | 2–5 PM
(Flyer features the work of Ashley White )

This show feels timely in the wake of the recent uptick in violence against Black women and children. It seeks to hold space for witnessing, care, and protection, while centering the voices of those who are often overlooked or endangered.

The word Umi is Arabic for “my mother,” and shares the same root as ummah, meaning nation or community. This reminds us that care extends beyond the individual, and shapes the collective.

This show holds space for artists who are mothers and daughters—especially those whose creative practices have been paused or reshaped through the labor of caregiving. The work reflects the tension and tenderness of holding both: creation and responsibility, self and service.

It also honors the ways Black women have always created. Forms like weaving, textiles, quilting, and collage bridge the gap between function and expression. These practices have carried narratives of history, culture, and survival, even as they’ve been sidelined or undervalued in conversations around fine art.

Umi Says examines what is passed down, what is held in the body, what is stitched, painted, assembled, and remembered.

We invite you to come view the work and the stories they carry.

05/04/2026

The JuJu is strong with this one!

“JuJu Generator” by Khalid Thompson has garnered much interest from collectors. Having this work in the space has felt so aligned energetically, and we’re a little sad to see it go. Show comes down today, but there’s still opportunity for acquisition. Who will be the one to live with this piece permanently?

Inquiries: [email protected]

04/29/2026

Adjusted gallery hours this week as we take a little time for travel, family obligations, and the important work of refilling the well.

There’s so much happening around the city this First Friday, and it feels like one of those moments to step out and support our friends,
neighbors, and fellow creatives here in Richmond.

These are also the last few days to experience Infinite Abstraction by Khalid Thompson.

And stay tuned; our next exhibition, Umi Says, opens Thursday, May 7th. More details soon.

04/14/2026

Style, legacy & global fashion at Chromophore!

Join us for the Gad About Trunk Show
Friday 4/17 | 6–9PM
Saturday 4/18 | 1–6PM

Hosted by DC style icon Telesta Riggs, whose boutique Gad About Gifts shaped fashion in the region for decades. Mrs. Riggs will be bringing 40+ years of expertise to the space, alongside her daughters - designer/stylist Kristi Riggs and local fashionista, Sharonda Riggs-Lindsay.

Shop a curated selection of international designers featuring:
• standout silhouettes
• impeccable construction
• luxe, high-quality fabrics
• pieces designed to flatter every body

Statement fashion that you don’t see everywhere. Come out, try things on, and find pieces that feel like you.