Visible Records

You're invited to join artists LaRissa Rogers and Luis Vasquez La Roche for a dinner and discussion to celebrate their new collaborative project, Operations of Care, on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 pm in the Commonfield community garden behind Visible Records (1740 Broadway Street; Charlottesville, VA 22902). We’ll have a representative from Swords Into Plowshares and lots of good food (including Trinidadian doubles!)

The Operations of Care installation consists of three structures made from tabby, a mixture of lime, sand, and water, that enslaved Africans and Black communities historically used as a substitute for concrete. These "alternative monuments" - bulletproof by nature - are meant to evoke the plinths of Confederate memorials. They frame the pre-existing Commonfield community garden at Visible Records. Thank you for the oyster shells!

See ya there!

Hello world! Happy Friday! Staff introduction post for the new followers and friends 😝

Morgan Ashcom (he/him) Morgan is an artist, as well as Founder and Director of Visible Records. Ashcom’s work has been exhibited and published nationally and internationally. Ashcom has been an artist in residence at Light Work and has taught at Western Connecticut State University, Ithaca College, University of Hartford, Cornell University and the University of Virginia. Ashcom leads the Exhibitions Committee for Visible Records.

Mahanoor Samee is a writer, farmer, and singer from Richmond, Virginia. She is passionate about food sovereignty, community building, and spirituality through nature. In college, Mahanoor studied Global Development. She now works as Assistant Director at Visible Records.

Emmy Thacker is a process-driven visual artist from Charlottesville, Virginia. She explores themes of relationship, place, and cognition, using a variety of materials and methods including painting, printmaking, and papermaking. She received a BFA in graphic design and studio art from James Madison University in 2020, is a part-time staff member at Visible Records, paints murals, and is currently an Incubator artist at McGuffey Art Center.

Thanks for the pics 📸 ❤️

One week from today!
Central Virginia Community Justice aims to "envision an equitable and safe Central Virginia where i members of our community find growth, healing, and accountability in restorative approaches to conflict and harm". Come learn more about restorative justice principles & process, and how CVCJ is working to enact them in our community.
Register for a free ticket on their website - www.CommunityJusticeVA.org

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting UVA’s Virginia Law in Prison Project for a screening of THE VISITING ROOM PROJECT — a powerful interview-based film that sheds light on the reality and injustice of life in prison without parole. A special thank you to Buff, Louis, and Mr. Singleton, who came to share their experiences as former “lifers” and now work as resentencing advocates and community organizers in Louisiana.

If you missed last night, there’s another showing this evening at the UVA Law School.

If you want to learn more about to the pending Charlottesville/Albemarle jail expansion and how to make your voice heard, come to our next prison letter writing night: Thursday April 13th 6-8pm

This Thursday and Sunday, Rachel Austin will be hosting two interactive sound art events. Come through to explore sound through listening and/or creating with Rachel!

Come through!!! This coming Wednesday at 6pm we’re hosting a painting night for our new plant pots! Help us give VR’s new life a cute home 🥰

Studio member performing as Sugar Lift

Big thanks to for organizing the show!

Let’s make this free fridge happen!! Link in bio 🫶🏽

Studio member ’s Meditation on Abolition, published by Haymarket Books, is now available located in VR’s common area. Come get em!

“They treat abolition like a blunt instrument, a hammer to wield when something is out of place. But it, abolition, cannot only be called upon in moments of intense harm, grief, violence. It, abolition, has to be the way to relate to one another. So, not a tool to implement, but a posture and way of life.”

Meet Alex Luciano, this weeks artist in residence!!

Alex is an illustrator, printmaker, riso enthusiast and sculptor. Through risograph printing, she explores texture, color and the endless quest for perfect registration. Alex’s print work often features 3d sculptures, rendered digitally and in papier mache, celebrating the lumpy and imperfect nature of handmade objects. She also teaches risograph print classes online and at Studio Two Three in Richmond, VA, where she resides with her hound dog, Cowboy.

Shout Out Loud’s first spoken word event is this Saturday!! This event will be hosted by two VR studio members, Matt Dhillon and Christopher D. Sims. Come through 💯

So excited to have a permanent home for in the parking lot!

These fridges and pantry space will make food, household essentials, and fresh produce from and available to the charlottesville community at no cost. The last thing we’re working on is getting these fridges hooked up with electricity. If you’re able to support this mutual aid project with ca$h m0ney, we’re accepting donations on the VR website.

Thanks to for helping move this beast to its new home!

Shoutout to .domingos and the Global Development department at UVA for hosting this incredible storytelling workshop. From stories about the ridiculous things we did as kids to our relationships with familial elders, I felt so much deep connection emerge out of this gathering.

The Lago Gatún opening was a huge success! Thank you for contributing such powerful work to our space.
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Kevin’s films will be playing at Visible Records until March 31st. Come through anytime Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm or Saturday 1pm-5pm to watch.

Join us this Friday from 6–8PM for the Opening Reception of Lago Gatún, an exhibition by Kevin Everson.

Lago Gatún (2021) consist of two continuous-exposure films traveling south to north through the Panama Canal. Viewing south is titled Pacific and viewing north is titled Atlantic. The Panama Canal’s engineering feats represented many different global, colonial, racial and economic conditions that still exist today.

Kevin Jerome Everson is a highly accomplished artist and filmmaker was born and raised in Mansfield Ohio. He has an MFA from Ohio University and a BFA from the University of Akron. He is currently a Professor of Art at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville Virginia. He has made over 200 films, and his work has been shown at international venues including Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Smithsonian Museum of African-American History in Washington D.C., The Tate Modern in London, and Centre Pompidou in Paris.

The exhibition will run from February 10th to March 31st, 2023.

Check out this week’s for Mahanoor’s takes on everything from the brilliance of arranged marriages to DJ Khaled! ;)

this past weekend put on such incredible programming i forgot to take pics until it was time to bereal LOL. thank you for sharing your spirit with us and . if you haven’t seen this show yet, definitely check out the Aesthetics of Undocumentedness at UVA.

collapse to expand, one of two videos by Patricia Nguyen as part of our current exhibition, Direct Sow! This video is beautiful. It has sound, so come see us, put some headphones on, and sit with it. 🙏🎧🔥 We’re open Tues-Fri 11-5, and Saturdays 1-5 ✌️

Detail shot of “En Aquellos Tiempos” by Federico Cuatlacuatl as part of our current group exhibition, Direct Sow. We are excited to partner with and on a residency and exhibition later this summer! Check out their upcoming symposium and exhibition “Aesthetics of Undocumentedness” at alongside many other brilliant artists. Programming for the symposium on Jan 27th takes place at Visible Records! Join us!

We are excited to introduce Peter Hoffmeister, our first artist in residence of 2023! This past week Peter has been scouting the area for clay and bricks for his ongoing project Quality Control. Quality Control is an ongoing project composed of hollow ceramic bricks, slip cast from naturally occurring clay that Hoffmeister harvests from the sites of former brickworks. The clay is cast into molds that he makes of bricks found at the various sites, which are then fired and used to build temporary, site-responsive structures hung with mason line. The resulting weightlessness of these hollow bricks transcends usual associations of strength and stability, questioning the veracity of historical narratives that speak of an authentic past.

This Sunday join us for a special holiday version of letter writing nights to prisoners. All supplies provided! We have a list of 20+ LGBTQ people who are incarcerated to write to, and you are welcome to write to other incarcerated folks as well! As usual, we’ll send updates and blessings to our penpals. See you Sunday! 😽

Direct Sow, our Second Annual Group Show, is stunning! Come check it out!😸Gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 11-5, and Saturday 1-5! We close for a holiday break December 23rd through January 2nd.

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Works seen here include: Jackie & Marissa (center) by Sophie Gibson;
Localized Gestures (left) by Calista Lyon;
collapse to expand (right) by Patricia Nguyen.

🔔Open Call Deadline Extended!🔔 The wonderful & are “honored to share our first-ever open call purposefully created for artists in the undoc+ spectrum. This is a two-part call for an exhibition and an artist residency designed to offer our community multiple opportunities at once. However, applicants may select to apply to either opportunity or both as needed.” Visit our linktree in bio to learn more and apply!

Thank you to for jurying this exhibition and everyone who supported us tonight. Lovely to see you!
Look out for more programming in 2023 with Erika Hirugami at VR

Where is the hypotenuse⁉️📐 🤔 Installation of our Second Annual Group Show is going well… attend this Fridays opening at your own risk 😬🔺6PM!!

Lots going on this Thursday! .patricia is hosting Damon Locks at 5PM, & music to follow! Come hang!!

Second Annual Group Show opens next Friday, December 9th! Join us for refreshments and hangs at 6PM. Recycling the theme ♻️ from last year because we feel it still applies 💚 but this year the amazing Erika Hirugami, juried! Read more below 😽

Last year, we named our first-ever Group Show, Direct Sow, as in the process of planting seeds directly in the ground, rather than transplanting starts. Direct sowing can feel a little riskier because you start with something that seems impossibly small and dormant (a tiny seed). It is also the most rewarding, however, when full plants eventually sprout out of the ground like magic. The title was a nod to our first year of exhibitions, programming, and more. We jumped in head first with little idea of how things would unfold, but big hopes that the space would nurture a lot of possibilities for local artists and community organizers. Although the content will change, we feel this theme continues to capture our intention. For now, our annual Group Show will be called Direct Sow, and this year, we’re honored to have it juried by curator Erika Hirugami.

Tonight studiomember is hosting her Album Release Party with us! Come for sneak peaks of Headaches & Heartbreaks, food, and good times!🖤💃💔

Three weeks left to see our current exhibition, ‘Any Person I Have Judged Was Robbed By Me’ by Sebastien Boncy! Sebastien’s photos are a beautiful and emotional display of life in Houston, Texas.

This week, the gallery will be open tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday from 11-5, but we will be closed the rest of the week. We will reopen next Tuesday, November 29th. Our normal hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm, and Saturday 1-5pm.

BIG NEWS! 😸 We are very excited to introduce you to Mahanoor Samee, our new Assistant Director! Over the next 8 weeks, Kendall will fully pass the baton and transition out of her role as Co-Director of Visible Records. We never could have anticipated how much we would grow in such a short time! Thanks to the incredible artists, organizers, curators, friends, activists, musicians, speakers, DJs, teachers, and more, the space is alive and thriving.

Want to Keep Up With Kendall™️? Check out & 😽☀️

And now 🥁, more about Mahanoor!

Hi guys! My name is Mahanoor Samee and I am super excited to be joining Visible Records as Assistant Director.

Among friends, I am known for my tree climbing, my (perfect) chai, and my weird obsession with turkey sandwiches. On my long drives home, I listen to podcasts on poetry and food sovereignty. My family in Richmond grounds me in Islamic values, creating the foundation from which my leftist politics arise. Although I’ve written the academic papers and organized the protests, communication and group facilitation is what I feel best at.

I spend my free days lost in the woods. I spend my summers farming with RealRoots Food Systems. I spend my sleepless nights writing songs. Actually, I’m always writing. Writing is what makes me feel most alive.

I see Visible Records as a catalyst from which radical and creative thought arises, specifically to strengthen community power and pursue justice. As assistant director, I hope to build upon the existing structure I inherit. I envision Visible Records’ future as a home for people who struggle to find social and artistic organizations in which they feel welcome. I want it to be a refuge for us all to feel safe and supported. But I also want it to be a place to turn up and have a good time.

As I work to create space for imaginative and honest dialogue with Visible Records’ artists and community members, I trust they will guide me toward what this space is meant to be. Ultimately, I dream of Visible Records emerging as a backdrop for the magic of community connection, creativity, and growth.

Join us this Thursday night! Pizza provided as well as writing supplies! All are welcome. Spread the word!✨thank you to for flier design and helping to hold down these important and fun nights!

Exciting update! We’ve raised $400 for our neighbors, whose home and many belongings burned in a fire last Saturday. Scroll to see some new donations to the fundraiser & message us to donate in exchange for works! Cash is preferred by Venmo is possible. All artwork can be picked up from Visible Records.

2. Hogwaller Print (3) by Jenny Mikulski $25
3. Roofers on Franklin St. (3) by Jenny Mikulski ~6x8”

4. Darkroom prints (7) by Olivia Reavy $30 8x10”

5. Risograph by Jackson Taylor $40 8x10”

6/7/8. Awesome Ceramic masks! $150 each, dimensions vary

9/10. Pictures by Mohammed Alsheikha, sliding scale because they can be printed in a variety of dimensions!, message us to arrange a print at your ideal size and price range.

Gallery is open with Houston-based artist Sebastien Boncy’s show “Any Person I Have Robbed Was Judged By Me” Tuesday through Friday 11-5PM, and Saturdays 1-5PM. This show is thoughtful and thorough, you don’t want to miss it! Come on by 🤠😽

This weekend a home right down the street from our studio caught on fire and completely burned. 😓 Thankfully no one was injured, but the family living there lost everything. We’re hoping to raise some funds to donate directly to these folks, who will approach the cold season and holidays with a lot of uncertainty. Scroll to see some works donated by studio members! Prices have some flexibility, but the goal is to raise as much money for our neighbors as possible. All work can be picked up from Visible Records and cash is preferred, but Venmo is possible! If you’d like to donate your work to the fundraiser, let us know and we’ll help coordinate. Thanks so much!

2. Sky Heiser, signed print, multiple available, $25

3. Terry Burton, Virginia Is For Lovers, 23”x31”, painting and collage, $800

4. KJ Sparrman, Title: Parcel_07500-00-00-03400, Digital C-Print, 8"x8"

5. Sophie Gibson, sculpture, 8”x6”x3”, $200, also slide 6

7. Kendall King, Neighbors!, Linocut print, 8”x6”, edition of 4, $30

will be here Thursday, October 27th (tomorrow) at 5PM to talk about Ledger Painting and representing who and where you come from. Please join us and bring friends! There will be food. 🍽 Dustina Gill is visiting from Nis'to, a Dakota nonprofit located on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate's reservation in so-called South Dakota.

Fundraiser for

This was moments after Uhuru called in the share his experience with us.

Happy Friday! Some exciting news 🎉 - we’re partnering with & to bring you the first ever UNDOC+Collective open call purposefully created for artists in the undoc+ spectrum. This is a two-part call for an exhibition and an artist residency designed to offer our community multiple opportunities at once. You can read more and apply at curatorlove.com/open-call! Applications due December 1 💫
From the curators:
Artist must be:
•Emergent (0-3y of practice)
•Current MFA students
•Recent BFA graduates
•Students in other fields are welcome to apply
•Creative practitioners and self-taught artists welcome

How we define UNDOC+ Spectrum:
•Currently undocumented
•Member of a protected status (like DACA or TPS, etc)
•Formerly undocumented (naturalized)
•Refugees or asylum seekers
“We, too, are members of the undocumented spectrum, and your safety is our top priority. Therefore, any and all information you provide will be kept confidential in perpetuity and NEVER shared with anyone.”

A big thank you to Sebastien Boncy, the current exhibiting artist in the gallery, and visiting artist in residence for the past week. Sebastien’s presence, warmth, and daily practice have been steadying and joyous! Check out his solo show, “Any Person I Have Robbed Was Judged By Me,” Tuesday thru Friday 11-5, and Saturdays 1-5 now until December 2nd.

Saturday night from 4:30 to 7PM! Help bring Uhuru Rowe home! Second photo is from our last letter writing night, which doubled as an Abolitionist Tea Party led by jackie sumell. Everyone is welcome and writing supplies are free!
Can’t make it but want to donate or write to Uhuru? Visit bit.ly/BringUhuruHome and write to:
Uhuru Rowe #1131545
Buckingham Correctional Center
PO Box 430 Dilwyn, VA 23936