Second Street Gallery is pleased to present a selection of short films by University of Virginia Fifth-Year Aunspaugh Fellows Jolinna Li and Reese E. Robers, on view in the Main Gallery from October 2–November 20, 2026. Working closely with UVA professor of art and accomplished filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson, Li and Robers have developed unique voices in the new media landscape, producing both narrative and experimental films. Selections of moving-image works by each artist will be shown in a multi-channel installation, accompanied by supplementary and didactic materials related to production processes.
The exhibition will open to the public on October 2 with a special First Friday Opening Reception with the artist from 5:30–7:30PM, generously sponsored by William Taylor and Jacqueline Langholtz.
This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Spacek Fisk Family and in part by the Virginia Commission of the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly.
Meet the Exhibiting Artist
Jolinna Li | @jojolinna
Jolinna Li is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker who grew up between Charlottesville, Virginia; Taipei, Taiwan; and Shanghai, China. In her work, Li is interested in animism, collective myth-making, and embodied narratives. Her practice considers how images construct belief, and how memory, performance, and narrative become entangled through acts of filming and viewing.
Li is the recipient of the 2024 University of Virginia Arts Council Distinguished Artists Award and the 2025–26 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship. Her feature film Gui Zhou (2024) was selected at the Asian American International Film Festival (New York, NY). Li received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), where she is a fifth-year Aunspaugh Fellow.
Meet the Exhibiting Artist
Reese E. Robers | @reesekrispies
Reese E. Robers is a multidisciplinary artist from Roanoke, Virginia, who specializes in filmmaking. She draws from her love of comedy and performance in all her works. Invested in the power that comedic stories have in creating a collective opportunity for relief and respite, she takes frivolity seriously. Throughout her work, Robers enjoys exploring what happens when we hone the practice of laughing at ourselves; indulging in failure, imperfection, and nonconformity.
About the films
Jolinna Li
SWOOP, 2026
Digital video, color, sound
A dual-channel film pairing motorsports at Dinwiddie Motorsports Park with Evan Xu’s performance of the Wushu drunken sword form, exploring masculinity, speed, automobiles, and performance.
Jolinna Li
the heart is an engine, 2026
Digital video, color, sound
Duration: 8 min. 30 sec.
An observational film exploring the relationships between people and their vehicles, centered around the artist’s ongoing connection with the mechanic who maintains her family’s cars.
Reese E. Robers
itty bitty acrobatics, 2026
Stop motion on CRT TV
Duration: 40 sec.
A stop-motion loop featuring a clown doll and three porcelain clown heads performing circus acts on a darkened stage
Reese E. Robers
le mime minimaliste, 2026
Digital video, black and white, sound
Duration: 8 min. 30 sec.
A satirical performance-art film following an avant-garde mime as she pushes her craft to extremes, documented through her performance and the perspectives of onlookers and fans.
Reese E. Robers
CLOWN CAR, 2026
Digital video dual-channel installation, color, sound
Duration: 11 min. 30 sec.
A documented performance in which a troupe of clowns reflects on their dreams and ambitions, exploring the tension between fantasy and reality and what it means to “live the dream.”
Jolinna Li
car dreams, 2026
Digital video, color, sound
Duration: 12 min. 30 sec
A narrative film following Olivia as she leaves her chaotic life behind and drives homeward, only to experience a breakdown that leaves her stranded with unexpected company.