Amanda Robinson is a woman on a mission. She wants to change how you experience a gallery. She aims to expose you to new art and music in an environment where creative minds can gather, exchange ideas, and have fun at the same time. To begin her mission, she is opening the doors to The Virginia Fire & Police Museum / Gallery 5.
This enormous structure (formerly known as Steamer Company No. 5) has been in her family for close to a century, with both her grandfather and great-grandfather serving as firefighters here. The building is the oldest standing firehouse in Virginia. Built in 1849, it was one of the few structures to survive the Civil War in Richmond. It served as both a firehouse and a 19th-century police station and still contains original artifacts: a horse-drawn steam engine, man-drawn hose carts, police motorcycles, fire poles, jail cells, hanging gallows, uniforms, and thousands of various antiques.
The museum portion will be revived, but Amanda has decided to focus on the arts and reopen the building as “Gallery 5.” Because of the building’s 19th-century architecture, design, and traditional firehouse feel, it will be one of the most unique gallery settings in Richmond.
“I envision this building as an art center to showcase a different world of art—a place with an ever-changing soundtrack,” Amanda explains. “I want this gallery to encompass everything I feel so many Richmond artists are looking for. I want it to be different: the art, the music, the whole feel. There are so many unique and amazing artists in the Richmond area who don’t have the right environment to showcase their breed of work.”
Don’t expect to walk in and see generic Thomas Kinkade-style work or boring still-life pieces. “I want the underground art of Richmond—the risqué work people are intimidated by. I want the dirty, the witty, the ever-changing, the respected, the disrespected, the opinionated, the diverse, the unwilling, the unintentional, and the beautiful work of Richmond,” she says.
Being a visual artist herself and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Amanda has won several congressional, state, and national art competitions. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and exhibitions around the D.C. area. She also ran a successful independent clothing company called Vigilantics, where she and a partner designed and printed their own merchandise. However, before taking on the Gallery 5 project, Amanda decided to hand over the company and its royalties to her business partner so she could focus entirely on her new endeavor.
“I began to feel that the arts and my painting career held higher importance than anything else in my life. The company was successful, but it wasn’t my dream, and I needed more. I made up my mind, jumped on a plane, came home, and decided to give Richmond and its opportunities another chance. I knew one great opportunity that was impossible to fail: the resurrection of the firehouse.”
And it will be resurrected in a big way. Every First Friday, Gallery 5 will spotlight new art, musical acts, and various performing arts groups. The space will accommodate visual arts, multimedia and video art installations, puppet productions, and a lit showcase area for sculpture, jewelry, photography, and other small works of art. Gallery 5 will also feature an in-house coffee bar and lounge. Additionally, Amanda plans to host monthly guest speakers on Saturday afternoons, art classes, and tutoring sessions.
“I would like to see this become one of Richmond’s top art centers. There is so much potential in this one building, but we will need the support of the Richmond and artist communities to make its dreams a reality.”
