Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Visual Arts Department will open its first gallery exhibition of the 2018-19 Fine Arts and Performance season with a catered reception on Friday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by the first installment in its Free Movie Friday series at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free and will be held in the V. Earl Dickinson Building on PVCC’s Main Campus in Charlottesville.

The gallery exhibition will feature a solo show by Los Angeles-based artist Lisa Beane and a group show with works in various media by regional artists in two separate exhibitions that will be on display through Nov. 7.

Beane’s “Karma: The Art of Racism” will feature a series of paintings that juxtapose benign visual references from popular culture with darker elements drawn from current and historical events to unflinchingly confront the viewer with issues of racism and injustice. Beane’s work traverses a variety of styles of contemporary painting in dynamic compositions with vibrant fields of color.

The imagery and language in Beane’s work is provocative, and may be seen as disturbing or offensive. The exhibition may not be appropriate for some viewers or for children.

“Home of the Brave” will show a collection of works in various media by a roster of notable Charlottesville-based artists. The exhibition will include sculptures by Edward Allen Miller, photography by Yolanda Jones, media art by Lydia Moyer, paintings by Mary Michaela Murray, and a mixed-media collaboration by Lyle Solla-Yates and James Yates.

“Karma: The Art of Racism” will show in the Maxwell Theatre Gallery, and “Home of the Brave” will show in the North and South Galleries. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, each day from 1 to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 1 to5 p.m.

The season’s inaugural Free Movie Friday will feature the 2018 American drama “Leave No Trace.” Directed by Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) and based on a true story, the film recounts the experiences of a father and daughter who live an idyllic but mysterious existence in a nature reserve near Portland, Oregon. The pair rarely makes contact with the outside world until a small mistake tips them off to authorities, sending them on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own. Rated PG for thematic material throughout.

The Free Movie Friday series takes place on the third Friday of the month and features popular and critically acclaimed films shown on the big screen in the Main Stage Theatre. For each screening, free tickets are handed out, one per person, as the doors to the theatre for open at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Beryl Solla at bsolla@pvcc.edu or 434.961.5362.

The V. Earl Dickinson Building is located at the south end of 501 College Drive. Ample, free parking is located in front of the building and the facility is wheelchair accessible. 

For more information about PVCC’s 2018-19 Fine Arts and Performance season, visit www.pvcc.edu/performingarts online, email boxoffice@pvcc.edu or call 434.961.5376.