Media Alert
April 18, 2022
Taylor Fuqua, Manager of PR & Marketing; tfuqua@VirginiaHistory.org; 804.342.9661
Event: Grand re-opening
Date: May 14-15, 2022
Venue: Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Significance: The Virginia Museum of History & Culture reopens after a landmark reimagination of the institution. Visitors will encounter a dramatically renewed, innovative and welcoming museum experience after the most extensive and transformative renovation in the institution’s nearly 200-year history. Designed to engage, inform and inspire, the renovated museum looks to open minds young and old, offer different perspectives and make connections between yesterday and today by presenting history through a fresh and accessible lens.
Content: The VMHC boasts multiple new exhibitions, experiences and amenities designed to welcome and reflect all Virginians. The $30+ million renovation of nearly two-thirds of the VMHC’s 250,000-square-foot building includes a grand two-story entrance atrium; an immersive orientation theater; approximately 50% more exhibition space to accommodate an exciting mix of long-term and changing exhibitions; an entirely new research library; several community meeting and gathering spaces; a new campus connector between the VMHC and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; an enhanced green space; and a new café and museum store, among other amenities.
Exhibitions: In conjunction with its grand reopening, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture will debut multiple new exhibitions and galleries. Our Commonwealth, a marquee long-term exhibition, is the centerpiece of the Museum’s new offerings. It will provide an in-depth, multi-sensory exploration through the five major regions of Virginia, featuring stories and artifacts from partner organizations and cultural institutions throughout the state — a unique approach to exhibition development. Our Commonwealth will launch audiences on a memorable and scenic journey with living murals — large-scale, changing digital projections — and custom soundscapes that will immerse them in the arts, culture, food, music, industry and people of each region.
Other exhibitions opening in May 2022 include American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith, a Smithsonian-organized exhibit that will dynamically bring the great American experiment of democracy to life; Treasures of Virginia, which will feature remarkable objects associated with Virginians who, through extraordinary leadership and creativity, have worked to shape the future of both our state and our nation; Commonwealth Explorers, a new interactive learning space for the Museum's youngest guests; and History Matters, an introductory exhibition that speaks to the ways history connects us all. There will also be a new orientation theater screening Imagine Virginia. The spectacular 17-minute film highlights indelible moments and scenes in Virginia history and serves as an introduction to the reimagined Museum.
Grand Re-Opening Events: The VMHC will welcome the public for a re-opening celebration with live music, free admission and family activities May 14-15, 2022. Member and supporter preview events will precede the public opening. For information about becoming a member, please visit VirginiaHistory.org.
Grand Re-Opening Weekend Schedule
Activities:
- VMHC crafts- All day Saturday and Sunday
- Face Painting- Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.
- Bounce House- Saturday and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.
- Studio Two Three Print Making - Saturday and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.
Live Music/Performances:
- Weldon Hill - Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
- Bio Ritmo - Sunday at 1 p.m.
- Elegba Folklore Society - Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
- More to be announced soon
Food Trucks:
- Joey's Hot Dogs - Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured in the exhibition Our Commonwealth)
- SandTopia - Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
- More to be announced soon
Partners: The VMHC has developed robust regional partnerships with institutions around the state. Among these partners are the Lynchburg Museum and Fredericksburg Area Museum (Central Virginia); Office of Historic Alexandria and Manassas Museum (Northern Virginia); Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and Rockbridge Historical Society (Shenandoah Valley); Blue Ridge Institute & Museum and WKMA/Never the Same Museum (Southwestern Virginia); and Historical Society of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and The Mariners’ Museum and Park (Tidewater Virginia).
Support: The VMHC’s dramatic transformation was made possible by more than 7,500 individual donors, foundations and corporations largely from across Virginia but also from around the nation. History Matters: The Story of Virginia for All Virginians was the most successful fundraising campaign in the Museum’s long history in terms of both money raised and donors participating. A three-year comprehensive campaign saw the Museum raise more than $60 million to support the Museum’s renovation costs, exhibitions and programming and endowment.
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is the only institution dedicated to presenting the entire history of Virginia over time and across regions. Its nationally significant collection of more than 9 million objects, renowned research library, galleries and public programs demonstrate the centrality of Virginia to the narrative of the United States.
The VMHC is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society — a private, non-profit organization established in 1831. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation.