Posts

New Valentine Exhibition Chronicles Richmond’s Response to Seven Deadly Diseases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2018

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

                                                                

New Valentine Exhibition Chronicles Richmond’s Response to Seven Deadly Diseases

Stories of life-saving progress collide with racial and social disparities in Pandemic: Richmond

RICHMOND – A new exhibition exploring the storms of disease that have swept through the city of Richmond will debut at the Valentine on May 10.

Richmond Influenza Vaccines, 1976, photo by Wallace Huey Clark, V.85.37.2477

Pandemic: Richmond identifies stories of both loss and survival as Richmonders fought silent, invisible enemies, including the 1918–1919 influenza, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, polio and HIV/AIDS. Drawing on the Valentine’s expansive archival collection, this exhibition reveals how these seven diseases ravaged communities while prompting life-saving advances in health care.

“This exhibition gives the Valentine the opportunity to show the true scope and impact of disease throughout Richmond’s history,” said Curator of Archives Meg Hughes. “In addition to the past, Pandemic: Richmond looks at disease today and will hopefully inspire visitors to take an active role in determining how Richmond will address future outbreaks.”

The exhibition also confronts issues of access and inequality. Throughout Richmond’s history, the impact of disease has fallen disproportionately on African Americans, the poor, the enslaved and the disadvantaged. Pandemic: Richmond aims to examine and share these important stories.

“This exhibition uses disease as a way to discuss progress, community, bigotry and modernity in Richmond,” said Valentine Director Bill Martin. “From the laudable scientific achievements to the uncomfortable truths about who did and did not receive care, Pandemic: Richmond tells a nuanced story that is equal parts frightening and hopeful.”

Pandemic: Richmond was developed with collaborating scholar Elizabeth Outka, an associate professor of English at the University of Richmond and author of the upcoming Raising the Dead, a book about modernist literature and the flu pandemic in Britain and the United States.

“Disease often receives less attention than military conflict but pandemic outbreaks from smallpox to AIDS/HIV have profoundly shaped the city’s history and the lives of its citizens,” said Outka.

The exhibition will be on view at the Valentine from May 10, 2018 to February 24, 2019.

###

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/

New Valentine Exhibition Recognizes Women’s Advancement through Fashion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2018

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

New Valentine Exhibition Recognizes Women’s Advancement through Fashion

Photo courtesy Jay Paul/Richmond Magazine

Day ensemble worn by Nathalie L. Klaus, 1972, Cotton voile, V.88.237.12a,b, Hanae Mori, Courtesy Jay Paul/Richmond magazine

RICHMOND – A new exhibition exploring fashion as central to the professional, creative and social advancement of women in Richmond will debut at the Valentine on April 26.

Entitled Pretty Powerful: Fashion and Virginia Women, this unique exhibition will explore how fashion offered Richmond women of diverse backgrounds and experiences an accepted professional path with prospects for personal agency.

“In this deep dive into the history of Richmond women working and living in fashion, the Valentine’s costume and textiles collection has revealed one treasure after another,” said Kristen Stewart, the Nathalie L. Klaus Curator of Costume and Textiles. “The styles in Pretty Powerful: Fashion and Virginia Women are as stunning as the stories are inspiring. “

Pretty Powerful emphasizes the role Richmond women have played in bringing greater awareness to the city and its industries. From the 19th century to the present day, this exhibition highlights how women designers, producers and consumers of fashion have sought their own means of empowerment, using their talents and expertise to help shape the cultural landscape of Richmond in the process.

“This exhibition is a perfect example of the Valentine’s dedication to sharing unique and timely Richmond Stories,” said Valentine Director Bill Martin. “As we continue to grapple with the nationwide discussion about the experiences of women in professional settings, Pretty Powerful provides a compelling narrative of empowerment, accomplishment and success.”

Pretty Powerful: Fashion and Virginia Women will be on-view at the Valentine from April 26, 2018 to January 27, 2019 in the Nathalie L. Klaus Gallery on the lower level.

###

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.