University of Richmond museum to open first U.S. exhibition by Shubigi Rao

The University of Richmond’s Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art will open what the university says is the first U.S. exhibition by Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao on Thursday, Sept. 24.

Shubigi Rao: All Our Elephants Are in Rooms surveys work from Rao’s ongoing project, Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, which examines attacks on libraries and books in conflict zones and the ways knowledge survives through resistance, solidarity and witnessing.

The exhibition also combines Rao’s studies of nonhuman knowledge with objects from the Lora Robins Gallery’s natural history collection, exploring how people interpret and misinterpret the natural world. It will remain on view through April 24, 2027.

An opening celebration featuring the artist is scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to the university’s museums is free. Visit the University of Richmond Museums website for exhibition and visitor information.