Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865 Traveling Exhibition

Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865 Traveling Exhibition

Image
Deed of emancipation for Lavinia Hargrave shows handwriting on a sepia-toned paper.

Deed of emancipation for Lavinia Hargrave, Surry County, 1782.  VMHC Collection, Anonymous gift through the Virginia Genealogical Society (VMHC Collection, Mss3 Su788 b 22). Lavinia Hargrave’s deed of emancipation noted that “she was free borned” and “has attained lawful age.”  Some free Black Virginians were apprenticed to white people as small children and received their freedom when they reached a certain age.

Content: Exhibition currently in development

Size: Approx. 750 square feet

Loan Period: 6 weeks

Rental Fee: Package options below

Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865 will explore the lives of free Black Virginians from the arrival of the first captive Africans in 1619 to the abolition of slavery in 1865. Through powerful objects and first-person accounts, visitors will discover how Virginia’s people of color achieved their freedom and persevered within a legal system that recognized them as free but not equal.

This traveling exhibition will consist of 10 double-sided retractable banner units. A version of the exhibition will also be available as free-standing double-sided panels.

BOOK EXHIBITION

Un/Bound Traveling Exhibition Schedule

2025
  • 6/16/2025 – 7/28/2025: [AVAILABLE]
  • 8/18/2025 – 9/25/2025: [AVAILABLE]
  • 10/20/2025 – 12/1/2025: [AVAILABLE]
  • 12/22/2025 – 2/2/2026: [AVAILABLE]
     
2026
  • 2/23/2026 – 4/6/2026: [AVAILABLE]
  • 4/27/2026 – 6/8/2026: [AVAILABLE]
  • 6/29/2026 – 8/10/2026: [AVAILABLE]
  • 8/31/2026 – 10/12/2026: [AVAILABLE]
  • 11/2/2026 – 12/14/2026: [AVAILABLE]
     
2027
  • 1/4/2027 – 2/15/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 3/1/2027 – 4/12/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 4/26/2027 – 6/7/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 6/21/2027 – 8/2/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 8/16/2027 – 9/27/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 10/11/2027 – 11/22/2027: [AVAILABLE]
  • 12/6/2027 – 1/17/2028: [AVAILABLE]

Package Options

Standard: $400*

  • 10 Double-Sided Retractable Banners
  • Approximately 750 Square Feet
  • 6-Week Loan Period

*Give Me Liberty exhibition is free to venues through 2027 thanks to Virginia's 250th Commission. Must make reservation by 12/31/24.

Deluxe: $800

  • 10 Double-Sided Free-Standing Graphics
  • Approximately 750 Square Feet
  • 6-Week Loan Period

Premium: $5,500

  • 10 Double-Sided Free-Standing Graphics
  • Audiovisual Kiosk with Touch-Screen Monitor
  • Display Cases with Reproduction Artifacts
  • Approximately 900 Square Feet
  • 6-Week Loan Period
Questions?

The VMHC’s Traveling Exhibitions program brings our exciting collections and exhibitions to your museum. For questions or more information about booking, please contact the team at TravelingExhibitions@VirginiaHistory.org.