The Valentine Names General Collections Curator, Appoints New Trustees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2019

Contact:
Eric Steigleder
Director of Public Relations & Marketing
esteigleder@thevalentine.org

The Valentine Names General Collections Curator, Appoints New Trustees

Christina K. Vida

RICHMOND – Following an extensive national search, the Valentine has named Christina K. Vida as the new Elise H. Wright Curator of General Collections. In this new role, Vida will help oversee the  preservation and interpretation of the Valentine’s general collections, 1812 Wickham House and Edward V. Valentine Sculpture Studio.

Vida currently serves as the Virginia History Day Coordinator at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, and has served in a variety of roles in the public history sector, including Curator of Collections & Interpretation at Windsor Historical Society and Assistant Curator at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Meg Hughes

Additionally, Meg Hughes, who as Curator of Archives has managed the Valentine’s archival holdings since 2004, has accepted a new position as the Director of Collections/Chief Curator.

“At the core of the Valentine’s mission is our remarkable collection of over 1.6 million objects,” said Valentine Director Bill Martin. “These changes to our curatorial team foster innovation and  strengthen our commitment to the continued care and access of these important historic resources. We welcome Christina to the Valentine and are excited for her to bring her unique experience to Richmond’s oldest museum.”

The Valentine has also appointed a new slate of members to the Board of Trustees. These nine individuals represent a diversity of backgrounds, areas of expertise and interests that will continue to inform the museum’s community-focused work.

The full list of new board appointees can be found below:

Ed Ayers
President Emeritus, University of Richmond

 

 

 

Tracy Kemp Stallings
Adjunct faculty, VCU Department of Health Administration

 

 

 

 

Paula Pando
President, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

 

 

 

 

Leah S. Rasmussen
Mitchell Wiggins

 

 

 

 

Susan Robertson
Founder, Capital Trees

 

Charlotte McGee
Senior Vice President and Market Sales Executive, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Wealth Management

 

 

Austin Jones
Business Development Manager, Dominion Energy

 

 

 

Saurabh Madaan
Managing Director, Investments, Markel Corporation

 

 

 

Elaine Ryan
Partner, McGuire Woods

 

 

 

“Our new additions to the Valentine’s Board of Trustees reflect our commitment to broadening the voices at the table, “ continued Martin. “It is essential that we continue to build and support the next generation of leadership to ensure our continued growth as an institution and our relevance to the Richmond community.”

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About the Valentine

The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond stories for more than a century. Through collections, exhibitions and programs, the Valentine provides residents and tourists the opportunity to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. The Valentine offers major changing exhibitions, which focus on American urban and social history, costumes, decorative arts and architecture. https://thevalentine.org/

The Valentine Explores Identity Through Dress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2019

Contact:
Eric Steigleder
Director of Public Relations & Marketing
esteigleder@thevalentine.org

The Valentine Explores Identity Through Dress

A new costume and textiles show presents visitors with a peek inside the collection to see who we are by what we wear

RICHMOND – Opening today, Dressing Identity is a one-of-a-kind two-part exhibition that presents a working Costume and Textiles Collections Lab alongside a gallery filled with powerful symbols of identity.

Taken together, these galleries provide a glimpse into how both the Valentine and the larger community claim, interpret and share identity through dress.

Dressing Identity: Caring for Collections features a Collections Lab on view where visitors can watch as members of the museum’s Costume and Textile team catalog, mount, photograph, label and prepare artifacts for storage in the museum’s collection. The lab will provide museum attendees with an inside-look at how the Valentine’s historic objects are protected for generations to come.

In the adjacent gallery and as a companion to Dressing Identity: Caring For Collections, Dressing Identity: Understanding Ourselves presents visible manifestations of grief, pride, honor, ambition, fear and joy. These objects from our collection speak in a broad array of symbolic languages that reflect the rich diversity of Richmond but also communicate a message that is shared by everyone.

“As visitors make their way through these two separate but unified galleries, I hope they will be touched by someone’s story and gain a better understanding of how we express who we are by what we wear,” said Kristen Stewart, the Nathalie L. Klaus Curator of Costume & Textiles. “I hope that the stories on view in both galleries inspire visitors to seek out deeper connections in their community.”

Dressing Identity will be on-view at the Valentine from May 1, 2019 to January 26, 2020 in the Nathalie L. Klaus Gallery on the Valentine’s lower level.

 

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About the Valentine
The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond stories for more than a century. Through collections, exhibitions and programs, the Valentine provides residents and tourists the opportunity to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. The Valentine offers major changing exhibitions, which focus on American urban and social history, costumes, decorative arts and architecture. https://thevalentine.org/

About the Valentine Costume and Textiles Collection
The Costume and Textiles Collection at the Valentine comprises over 30,000 dress, accessory and textile objects made, sold, worn or used in Virginia from the late 18th century to the present day. The largest of its kind in the American South, this collection enjoys an international reputation among fashion and textile scholars.