This exhibition features the work of nine contemporary filmmakers and two artist collectives who explore the various ways specific geographic locations influence—and cause us to negotiate—how we make meaning and understand (or contest) ideas of identity and power. Interrogations into belonging, authenticity, how a place is defined and how it should function are essential to the impulse of this exhibition, which examines the idea of place beyond its physicality—determined as well by its social and political textures; through intersecting dynamics of community, (access to) power, and the collective imaginary.

Drawing on the mandate of the Frames of Reference annual program of artists’ film and video, Politics of Place features the work of filmmakers who resist conventions and ideologies of mainstream media; explore creative, innovative approaches to narrative and experiments in time-based media; and embrace unique viewpoints, perspectives, or frames of reference.

Politics of Place is organized by the University of Richmond Museums in collaboration with the Department of Art & Art History, University of Richmond as part of the annual Tucker Boatwright Festival. The exhibition is curated by Jeremy Drummond, Associate Professor of Art.