“Portraits: The Style Weekly Photograph Archive” Opening at the Valentine

RICHMOND, VA – For more than 40 years, Style Weekly has been a source of culture, arts, opinion and creative thought for the Richmond community and starting July 11, 2024, visitors to the Valentine can explore a new exhibition of the rich collection of imagery from Style documenting life in Richmond from the 1980s to recent years.

In 2021, as the publication was facing possible closure, the Valentine acquired Style’s photograph archive. Luckily, VPM purchased the publication and brought it back to life.

“For decades, Style Weekly has captured Richmond’s zeitgeist and explored complex issues facing our community. Compelling photography, particularly portraiture, has been an important part of this documentation. We are thrilled to have worked with Style photographers to share a sampling from this immense collection,” says Meg Hughes, exhibit co-curator and Valentine Deputy Director of Collections.

Featuring the work of staff photographers including Kent Eanes, Scott Elmquist, Chad Hunt, Jay Paul, and Stephen Salpukas, Portraits: The Style Weekly Photograph Archive is a sampling of the publication’s countless memorable portraits taken over the decades – including outtakes never seen publicly and images unearthed from their own files – that captures the vibrancy of Richmond’s many communities and memorable personalities.

“The bold portrait is a signature of Style’s photographic history. Whether on the street or in the studio, making strong portraits has always been the paramount mission of the Style photographer” says Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly staff photographer and co-curator of the exhibit. “Revisiting the archives reminded me of the thousands of people who have graced Style’s pages: the artists, musicians, restaurant owners, politicians, the movers and shakers, and the unsung heroes of the city, the everyday Richmonders.”

Portraits will be on view at the Valentine until May 26, 2025. In honor of the exhibition opening, visitors can enjoy free admission to the Valentine on Sunday, July 14, 2024.

For more information about this exhibition, including ticketing and visiting hours, please visit thevalentine.org or call, 804.649.0711.

###

The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond’s 400-year history for 125 years. Located in the heart of historic downtown, the Valentine is a place for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. thevalentine.org