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Looking to get out of the house without getting sick? Skip the bars and head to the museums for a safer change of scenery.

Museums around Richmond are starting to reopen with new, advanced safety protocols. As cultural landmarks, these spaces provide opportunities for education, community engagement, and enrichment. There are a number of new and ongoing exhibitions, each offering a safe way for the whole family to have fun while experiencing something out of the ordinary. Museums add to the vibrancy of the city, and their reopening brings hope in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The museums in the area have implemented face mask requirements, capacity reductions to allow for social distancing, hand sanitizer stations, alterations to hands-on exhibits, and expanded cleaning requirements. Before your visit, be sure to check the individual museum’s website for reopening policies, up-to-date operating hours, and other admission information. 

Photo: Arizona Science Center, via Science Museum of Virginia

Science Museum of Virginia
2500 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
www.smv.org

The Science Museum of Virginia reopened its doors to the public on September 5. Now through November 1, visitors of all ages can explore the Giant Insects exhibition, which includes six robotic insects ranging from 11 to 22 feet tall — 40 to 120 times larger than their actual size. Insects from around the world are on display in large-scale, robotic form so that viewers can get an up-close view of how the real insects — the Atlas beetle, jungle nymph stick insect, caterpillar, desert locust, and praying mantis — behave in the wild. 

Access to the Giant Insects exhibition is included in the cost of museum admission. 

Photo: Alicia Díaz

Institute for Contemporary Art 
Virginia Commonwealth University
601 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Open Friday—Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
icavcu.org

On September 12, the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University will reopen its galleries and present Commonwealth, a new indoor/outdoor exhibition. Commonwealth “explores how our common resources are used to influence the wealth and well-being of our communities,” according to the ICA.

This exhibition is the result of a years-long collaboration between the ICA and two other organizations, Philadelphia Contemporary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Beta-Local in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Exploring the concept of “commonwealth” in these three locations through writing, image-making, performance, gardening, and other forms of cultural expression, the exhibition “offers paths to understanding both the unequal structures that shape our lived realities and ways that people might come together to make the world more equitable,” according to the ICA. It features the work of artists Firelei Báez, Carolina Caycedo, Duron Chavis, Alicia Díaz, Sharon Hayes, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Nelson Rivera, Monica Rodriguez, and The Conciliation Project (TCP). 

Timed tickets are free and should be reserved in advance. 

Photo by Jonah Schuhart

The Valentine
1015 East Clay Street 
Richmond, VA 23219
Open Tuesday—Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
thevalentine.org

Explore Richmond’s complicated and nuanced history through one of the current exhibitions at the Valentine. Its most recent exhibition, Ain’t Misbehavin’: 1920s Richmond, displays costumes, textiles, art, and artifacts from the Nathalie L. Klaus and Reynolds Family Galleries. Come for the 1920s fashion, stay for the look at the many ways in which Richmonders experienced that pivotal decade. 

Voices from Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic features oral histories of HIV/AIDS crisis survivors, caregivers, activists, and healthcare workers, collected by Laura Browder and Patricia Herrera. Compelling photographic portraits by Michael Simon accompany the stories. 

On view through November 8, #BallotBattle: Richmond’s Social Struggle for Suffrage imagines how Richmonders advocating for and against suffrage might have used social media to further their positions if Twitter and Facebook had been around 100 years ago. As this year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, this exhibition provides a timely and accessible lens for viewing the struggle of suffrage. 

Free timed tickets must be reserved in advance. While the Wickham House and the Edward V. Valentine Sculpture Studio remain closed until further notice, the Valentine Garden, an historic greenspace, is open for visits before or after a self-guided gallery tour. 

In addition to seeing Richmond’s history on display at the Valentine, you can also have a participatory role. The Valentine has partnered with the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond for the 16th Richmond History Markers and Community Update. Now through October 28, you can nominate trailblazing individuals and organizations who are doing one of the following: creating quality educational opportunities, demonstrating innovative economic solutions, improving regional transportation, championing social justice, promoting community health, and advancing our quality of life. 

Virginia Museum of History and Culture
428 North Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  
www.virginiahistory.org

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture is currently open for in-person visits, but it continues to offer experiences outside of its walls as well. Agents of Change: Female Activism in Virginia from Women’s Suffrage to Today is one current exhibition offering opportunities to enrich understanding in different formats. Like #BallotBattle at the Valentine, this exhibition honors the 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19thAmendment. The in-person exhibition features artifacts of social and political activism, “highlighting the efforts and impact of a selection of female change-makers,” according to the VMHC. An online version of this exhibition is also available through September 27.

In addition, visitors can take a self-guided driving tour of locations around Richmond that were significant to the suffrage movement in Virginia, thanks to the League of Women Voters – Richmond Metro Area tour map. Furthermore, These Things Can Be Done is a documentary available on YouTube about suffrage in Virginia, featuring archival footage, photographs, oral histories, radio broadcasts, and interviews with historians, descendants of suffragists, and modern activists. 

The VMHC also has an outdoor exhibition at its front entrance. All In Together is a collaborative mural project with Virginia artists Hamilton Glass and Matt Lively. While physical distance remains important for the health and safety of the community, this exhibition allowed for Richmonders to connect from afar. Participants submitted completed coloring pages, and Glass and Lively assembled them to create murals at the VMHC and around the city. 

Timed tickets for indoor exhibitions must be purchased in advance. Admission includes access to all museum exhibitions. 

Photo via Children’s Museum of Richmond/Facebook

Children’s Museum of Richmond
2626 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
6629 Lake Harbour Drive
Midlothian, VA 23112
Open Thursday—Sunday; check website for hours. 
www.childrensmuseumofrichmond.org

The Children’s Museum of Richmond will reopen to the public on September 17 at both its Downtown and Chesterfield locations. For children through age 8, the Children’s Museum provides a wonderful opportunity to learn and play while getting a change of scenery. Families with video conferencing fatigue can get a break from screen time with all sorts of active and creative play options.

Kids can sharpen their observation skills with a new outdoor iSpy activity at the Downtown location or scale a new 18-foot tire climber at the Chesterfield location. They can also revisit old favorite activities at both locations, like making art in the Art Studio; practicing with coins, bills, and checks at the Bank; and repairing a car at the Service Station.

The Children’s Museum has created clearly marked paths for families to follow while inside in order to maintain social distancing, and has implemented new cleaning procedures. Some exhibits are temporarily closed. Visitors must reserve timed tickets online in advance.

Top Photo: Arizona Science Center, via Science Museum of Virginia

Travel Back to the 20s with The Valentine’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” Exhibit

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As The Valentine prepares to reopen, we take a look inside their latest exhibit — which heads back to the 1920s to feature Richmond’s culture of the era, and local stars like Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. 

As functions and businesses begin to open again, one of Richmond’s most iconic museums, known for their collection and preservation of the city’s culture, is re-opening. While visitors will have to make reservations to tour The Valentine’s array of exhibits, museum-goers will be able to visit a new exhibit available to the public on July 21st. 

The new addition to The Valentine is named “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” It contains antique outfits and collectables from the Roaring 20s, telling the story of Richmond’s rich culture, the history of legendary dancer and Richmond native Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and the evolution of fashion through an exclusive collection of women’s dresses, children’s clothes, and menswear. Kristen Stewart, Fashion Historian and Curator of Custom Textiles at The Valentine, describes what you’ll find when you visit. 

“The collection has a really complicated history,” Stewart said. “It was collected at a time when the museum was not the Richmond City history museum, but an encyclopedic museum. Concurrently along with the exhibition, [we] are executing a refinement project.”

During the exhibit’s preparation, Stewart has worked to determine what objects in the customer textiles collection have rich histories related to Richmond. The Valentine plans to care for, and highlight, these objects from the 1920s for perpetuity. 

PHOTO: Courtesy of The Valentine Museum

“There are about 40 dressed mannequins, and those are mostly women’s clothing,” Stewart said. “The vast majority is women’s clothing, with some children’s clothing and a handful of men’s sportswear. You’ll see examples of what women wore as ‘day wear,’ or casual wear. Active sportswear include bathing suits and knickers, which are really fun.” 

The exhibit has an emphasis on what working women in the 20s were wearing. It includes a number of examples of swimwear and sportswear, then moves into a collection of professional women’s clothing. 

“There was this huge influx of women, both graduating and completing higher tiers of degrees,” Stewart said. That influx of women into the workforce a century ago led to a whole new direction in women’s fashions.

“Then, of course, the show has to finish with what everyone is coming to see: 1920s evening wear, which is renowned and bright for its wonderful sparkle,” Stewart said.

The country was booming, and 1920s were a time when people celebrated, partied, and found fun wherever they could. Stewart emphasized the change in atmosphere that occurred due to impactful changes in society, along with the era’s new trends in fashion. 

“The 1920s were a moment when recreational sports were a leisure activity on the rise,” Stewart said. “Consequently, you see a fashion story evolve alongside a social story.”

PHOTO: Courtesy of The Valentine Museum

The exhibit’s title comes from a song of the same name, written in the late 20s and made popular by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Born in Richmond, Robinson was one of the most groundbreaking actors and dancers of his time. He pursued a career in acting, and broke social norms as one of the first African-American artists to perform alone on stage. At the time, black men never performed by themselves; only white men were allowed to be the “star” of the show. 

“There was this pleasure of a liberated lifestyle, and some fear and anxiety of the consequential political oppression in response to this liberation,” said Stewart. “The lyrics to ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’,’ to me, beautifully reflect this tension. It’s a really jazzy score that makes you want to misbehave, but the words are speaking the opposite, like ‘saving my love for you,’ and staying true.”

While most of the collection’s garments come from generous donations and The Valentine’s own curation, Stewart notes that a few items will be missing from the museum — unless the community has outfits of their own to offer. 

“We do not have any outfits related to Bill Robinson,” Stewart said. “[It’s] an honest reflection of the fact that we don’t have more material relating to his life. We, frankly, don’t have any actual women’s garments worn by black women in the 20s from Richmond. As a fashion historian, that’s just pure heartbreak, isn’t it?” 

PHOTO: Courtesy of The Valentine Museum

As a historical museum, The Valentine recognizes that the lack of preserved historical garments comes from racial segregation during the era. 

“Even though The Valentine was desegregated, in terms of audience, from the beginning, there was this hesitance,” Stewart said. “There wasn’t the same line of communication that you would have if you weren’t facing, and operating in, a segregated society. In the 30s and 40s, we missed the opportunity to collect these clothes.”

Stewart explained that The Valentine has acknowledged these missing items in the exhibition, and hopes that the Richmond community can step in to donate clothing they may have from the 20s. 

“We will have silhouetted figures that acknowledge what’s missing,” Stewart said. “[They] serve as an invitation to black families living in Richmond, who maybe had a great-grandmother from the 20s, who have captured and preserved that time in history through clothing.” 

The 1920s brought historical moments of monumental change to the country, and allowed Americans new freedoms they had not had in the past. With many of the same issues alive in Richmond in today’s world, Stewart notes the parallels between the show and Black Lives Matter protests. 

“It is like a mirror. It feels like the show provides us an opportunity to acknowledge that there have been moments of weakness,” Stewart said. “Young people, in some ways, see more clearly than those who are older than them. [They] certainly are looking at the future with a more clear-eyed vision than their parents are. The youth element that we see on the streets today may see itself reflected in the mirror in this show.” 

Photo and Caption Courtesy of The Valentine Museum

Overall, Stewart hopes that the new exhibit will not only commemorate that time in history, but share information to teach about societal differences and educate through the use of clothing.

“There is some inspiring content,” Stewart said. “We’re inspired by what women were achieving, inspired by what — in spite of segregation — black Richmonders were giving. [We’re] inspired by how Richmond was embracing this rapid pace of change in the beginning of the 20th century… and sobered by some of the dark lessons of that time.”

As The Valentine gears up to open its doors again after the pandemic’s initial closures, Stewart is pleased to see “Ain’t Misbehavin’” be the exhibit to kick it off.

“The reason I’m so glad this is the show we’re opening with is that it recognizes all the tension, pain, and anguish of that period,” Stewart said. “It is also extraordinarily playful, and incredibly fun, because it’s driven by usefulness. It’s recognizing a decade that we refer to as the Roaring 20s. That’s not because people were sitting around twiddling their thumbs — they were having a good time.” 

To learn more about the exhibit, check out “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at The Valentine’s website. Admission to the Valentine is free this summer, but tickets for self-guided tours must be reserved in advance, due to social distancing protocols.

Top Photo courtesy The Valentine

The Valentine’s Newest Exhibition Reveals Untold Stories from Richmond’s AIDS Epidemic

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A new exhibition from the Valentine helps bring stories from Richmond survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic into the public eye.

The Valentine latest exhibition opened on Thursday, January 23. Entitled “Voices from Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic,” it displays black-and-white portraits of 30 different HIV/AIDS survivors in Richmond, paired with personal stories detailing their experiences living with the disease. 

Each of the subjects for the exhibition were interviewed by University of Richmond professors Patricia Herrera and Laura Browder. The pictures were taken by photographer Michael Simon.

“People in this exhibition range from people who are much, much older…to much younger people who are still experiencing the epidemic today,” said Browder.

Individuals displayed in the exhibition vary by more than just age, though. The exhibition shares unique stories from members of the LGBTQ community, victims of sexual assault, and undocumented immigrants, among others. Subjects are divided into different groups, such as “Relationships” and “Secrecy/Openness,” according to the ways that HIV/AIDS affected their lives.  

Despite the various lives and experiences of each subject, each portrait in the exhibition is shot exactly the same way — a front-facing, black-and-white close-up.

“I wanted to give everybody, no matter who they were… the same chance visually,” said Simon. “I wanted to strip away context… I wanted people to meet the portrait and give it a fair shot.”

However, the facial expression of each portrait was left up to the subject, resulting in a wide array of emotional tones across the pictures. 

In addition to these portraits, the exhibition also displays “The Cascading Books,” a series of connected scrapbook-esque pieces created by members of St. Paul Baptist Church, the Nia Community Advisory Board, and students at University of Richmond. The piece is inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt; each piece of “Cascading Books” is unique, displaying everything from personal pictures to original stories and poems from the creators, all having to do with their experiences with HIV/AIDS.

Work on the exhibition started in 2017, and was expanded upon when Browder learned that Richmond had one of the top 20 highest HIV infection rates in the country. 

“[Curator Meg Hughes] reached out to me,” said Browder. “She asked if I could do a few oral histories of people who survived AIDS. Once I started working on that, I realized that this was a really big story that deserved a much bigger venue.”

The exhibition also received support from several Richmond organizations, such as VCU Health, Wellcome MD, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, and Virginia Humanities, who helped partially fund the exhibition.

“Voices from Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic” opened to the public on Jan. 23, and was accompanied by free on-site HIV tests provided by the Nationz Foundation. The exhibition is slated to run until May 25, 2020 at The Valentine on 1015 East Clay Street. More information can be found on The Valentine’s Website.

Photos by Jonah Schuhart

Women’s Suffrage, Social Media-Style

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In their latest exhibit, The Valentine puts a new spin on the fight to gain women the right to vote by imagining it as a social media battle between famous figures of the early 20th century.

If you’ve ever wondered what Maggie L. Walker’s social media presence would look like if virtual communication had existed during the suffrage movement of the early 20th century, you’re going to love the Valentine’s new exhibition. #BallotBattle: The Social Struggle for Suffrage, opening Thursday, November 21, showcases suffrage-era public discourse in ways that are familiar and relatable to modern Americans.

To commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment’s ratification in 2020, #BallotBattle features plausible interactions via Facebook feeds and Twitter threads between five high-profile Richmonders from the suffrage era, who represent a diverse cross section of the Virginia Capital’s political discourse from 1909 to 1920.

“In 2019, there’s so much political and social debate, and it all happens on our phones,” said Christina K. Vida, the Valentine’s Curator of General Collections. “So we wanted to use our current social media to represent how social this discussion was 100 years ago.”

“With the founding of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia in 1909 and the formation of the Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage in 1912, there was an explosion of public debate in Richmond,” said Vida. “It was happening in newspapers, in the Jefferson Hotel’s auditorium, at the Woman’s Club of Richmond, and on street corners all around the capital.”

Of the five notable Richmonders selected are women suffragists Maggie L. Walker and Lila Meade Valentine, and black suffragist John Mitchell Jr. From the opposing side of the debate are anti-suffragists Mary Mason Anderson Williams and Henry Lee Valentine, Lila Valentine’s brother-in-law. The exhibition displays Facebook profiles for each of them that look just like ours, including their relationship statuses, employment and educational histories, and even places around Richmond where they’ve checked in.

The social media interactions are modernized translations of historical documents, complete with the language of today’s online discourse such as hashtags, emojis, likes, heart-reacts, and memes. The exhibition also features an array of other documents, pamphlets, photographs, and propaganda from the suffrage era, compiled from the Valentine’s collection, the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, and the VCU Special Collections Library.

Though the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, the Valentine’s suffrage exhibition contains decades’ worth of history on the fight for women’s rights. There’s a selection of historical documentation about the Equal Rights Amendment, including one of Elizabeth Shoemaker Parman’s ERA ratification brochures that circulated in the 1970s, and a 1973 photograph of Adèle Clark controversially lobbying against the passage of the ERA with Delegate Eva Mae Scott.

“We wanted to drive home the fact that the ratification of the 19th Amendment wasn’t a foregone conclusion,” said Vida. “There was still a lot of work to do then, and there still is now. We’ll continue that work from 2020 and on.”

The ERA was first introduced to Congress in 1923, and is designed to guarantee equal rights for all Americans by eradicating sex-based legal disparities in areas such as employment, property, and divorce. While the ERA was ratified by Congress in 1972, technically the congressional deadline for the ERA expired in 1982 when only 35 states had passed it in their legislatures. Since three-quarters of the individual states must ratify an amendment before it is added to the Constitution, three states were still needed for ratification in 1982. But after the 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992 after being introduced to Congress a record-setting 202 years earlier, validity of ratification deadlines has come under scrutiny.

Virginia is now in the national spotlight because the long fight for the ERA could soon be over. In the recent 2019 elections, Democrats won control of both houses of the Virginia legislature, and many of the newly elected have voiced their intent to vote on the ERA. Nevada ratified the ERA in 2017 and Illinois followed in 2018, so if the ERA passes in the Virginia legislature in 2020, it will be the 38th and final state needed to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Thus, there is an unforeseen quality of timeliness to the Valentine’s #BallotBattle exhibition, in addition to its intended concurrence with the 19th Amendment’s centennial year. “We might have to change some of the exhibition’s taglines depending on what happens in the General Assembly,” said Vida, with a palpable tone of excitement.

#BallotBattle will close on September 7, 2020. The Valentine is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. For more details, visit their website.

Photos by Noelle Abrahams

Music In The Garden

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The Valentine is kicking off its free Music in the Garden series with performances by Deau Eyes and Justin Golden. Taking place in the Valentine Garden on June 6, 13 and 20, these free events will offer audiences unique, family-friendly performances in a beautiful atmosphere, as well as free access to the Valentine’s exhibitions.

Each evening will feature two performances by musicians from different genres and with distinct styles, encouraging fans to interact and explore their musical boundaries. Beer and wine will be on sale, and the Carriage House Cafe at the Valentine will be open.

June 6
Deau Eyes & Justin Golden

June 13
Black Liquid & Matt Coyle Music

June 20
Paulo Franco of Paulo Franco & The Freightliners & Tavishi

No one with outside food or drink will be admitted (except one bottle of unopened water). Additionally, attendees are not permitted to bring folding chairs or their pets (except service animals).

The Valentine’s Latest Exhibition Reimagines Richmond’s Most Notorious Thoroughfare

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The Valentine’s exhibit, Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion, isn’t meant to stir up controversy, said Bill Martin, museum director. But the exhibit, which premiered last Thursday (yes, on Valentine’s Day), is meant to provoke meaningful conversation about the future of Monument Avenue — a future that has been the topic of much public scrutiny and debate in recent years.

The exhibit showcases finalists in a national design competition held by the museum, in partnership with VCU’s mObstudiO and the Storefront for Community Design. The competition invited artists from across the globe to submit their reimaginings of Monument Avenue. Martin said approximately 100 artists submitted proposals. The proposals were submitted as drawings.

“Some of them are absolute fantasies, and others are things that will provide some food for thought for changes,” said Martin. “There may be some ideas that go beyond the traditional sign to help interpret the street.”

“This is an idea competition,” said Martin. “If we could release our brains and think about how we can use this street in productive ways to talk about some of the tough issues of the community, that’s what this is about… There are not a lot of parameters by intent, to give people space to rethink [Monument Avenue].”

In addition to the juried awards, a people’s choice award will be given. Every guest who views the exhibit will be given the chance to vote for their favorite design.

Martin said this exhibit is the “logical next step” following the museum’s past exhibit, Monumental: Richmond’s Monuments (1607-2018). That exhibit, which ran from July 2018 through January 2019, explored the monuments of Richmond, from Monument Avenue and beyond, and examined their historical context.

The design competition asked artists to not only consider the Monument Avenue of the city, but all five and a half miles, extending into Henrico County.

“I was particularly an advocate of making sure [the competition] was all of the street, because there’s this five-mile opportunity of Monument Avenue that has not been the focus of our conversations and ideas,” said Martin.

Martin said that VCU mObstudiO and the Storefront for Community Design were integral in executing the project, and that VCU students have played a large role in getting the exhibit up and running.

“VCU students have been working in a variety of ways. They’ve been helping coordinate the actual competition process. There’s a whole group working on the graphic approach to the exhibition, designing logos and social media… developing the look for the exhibition,” said Martin. “They have also been coordinating with public schools, and there will be a kids version of this that will open at the Branch Museum.” That exhibit, Monumental Youth, is open now and can be seen at the Branch Museum, located at 2501 Monument Ave, until April 19.

Martin says he feels that opening the competition up to artists internationally will help bring in a broader scope of creative ideas.

“So often when you live in a place, you live with objects and a history,” said Martin. “Sometimes it’s really exciting and essential to have an outside perspective, because we’ve become so comfortable with the way we talk about a particular part of town. [The competition] really invites that outside perspective that will hopefully inspire some new ideas about what we can do as a community to make sense of what is this really interesting and challenging street.”

Martin made it clear that while he hopes the exhibit will spark meaningful dialogue and inspire people to question what the monuments represent, it is not intended to do the physical work of change.

“This is the perfect role for a museum, to encourage a broad range of ideas and to challenge people to think differently about the history of this city and about themselves,” said Martin. “This is an opportunity to discuss some of the broader, deeper issues that the community faces… but also step back and maybe not take ourselves as seriously occasionally.”

Top Photo via Facebook. Other photos via VCU Capital News Service