About

AEIVA’s mission is to provide a cultural gateway that enriches and supports accessible learning, research, and thinking for the UAB community, Birmingham, and beyond, through transformative and challenging exhibitions, engaging programming, and purposeful collecting.

Open to the public since January 2014, AEIVA shows work by contemporary artists of regional, national, and international significance, presenting exhibitions and programs rooted in the culture and history of the Southeast with an eye toward global concerns. Highlights include solo exhibitions by María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Willie Cole, Thornton Dial, Sonya Yong James, Titus Kaphar, Jiha Moon, and many others. We also support our university community by regularly presenting student and faculty work, including our annual graduating BFA exhibition each spring. 

AEIVA is named after lead donors Hal and Judy Abroms, and Ruth and the late Marvin Engel. Designed by renowned architect and Frank Gehry associate, Randall Stout, AEIVA’s 26,000 square foot building includes 5,000 square feet of exhibition space and a 95-seat lecture hall that serves as a multi-purpose space for public artist talks, panel discussions, screenings, and performances. In addition, AEIVA houses UAB Department of Art and Art History classrooms and faculty offices, facilitating a dynamic partnership that supports AEIVA’s role as an educational resource for the UAB community and beyond.

For updates about our exhibitionss, events, and programs, sign up for the AEIVA newsletter, and find us on Facebook and Instagram.