The Valentine Richmond History Center will launch its first three exhibitions on the Google Cultural Institute this Wednesday, February 19.
The History Center along with The George C. Marshall Foundation jointly share the second place for partnering institutions in Virginia. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation holds the first spot.
“It is an honor for us to be a partner of Google Cultural Institute. This is an exciting opportunity to have our exhibitions featured on a global and innovative platform,” said Bill Martin, Director at the History Center.
This launch marks the beginning of an ongoing partnership with Google Cultural Institute for the History Center.
The first three exhibitions include:
The “What in the World is Happening in this Photo?!?” Caption Contest Exhibition
An exhibition of mid-to-late century images from the History Center’s Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, as determined by the winners of a caption contest held in February 2011. The public was invited to submit original, creative captions for up to 100 random images from this collection. The winning captions appear alongside their respective photos, along with the actual captions that ran in the Richmond Newspapers
History, Ink: The Tattoo Archive Project
This exhibition focuses on the rising popularity of body art, specifically tattoos, broadly in American culture and locally in Richmond. In 2010, NBC’s “The Today Show” listed Richmond as the third most tattooed city in the United States, citing the city’s high number of tattoo shops per capita. The History Center partnered with local photographer Terry Brown to document locally made tattoos.
A History of Richmond in 50 Objects (RVA50)
“A History of Richmond in 50 Objects” explores the history of Richmond, Virginia, through a selection of objects from the Valentine Richmond History Center collection. Paying homage to “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” the groundbreaking partnership of the British Museum and BBC Radio 4 in 2010 that focused on world history, this exhibition continues the dialogue in a way that is uniquely Richmond. From an 1819 imprint of John Smith’s 1624 Map of Virginia to the rainbow flag that flew at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in 2011, “RVA 50” examines how objects contain layers of meaning that are both personal and public.
All three exhibitions can be viewed at www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collections
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The Google Cultural Institute is dedicated to creating technology that helps the cultural community to bring their art, archives, heritage sites and other material online. The aim is to increase the range and volume of material from the cultural world that is available for people to explore online and in doing so, democratize access to it and preserve it for future generations.
The Valentine Richmond History Center engages, educates and challenges a diverse audience by collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond’s history. Located in the heart of historic downtown, the History Center is creating a lively and compelling new center for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that come together to tell the history of Richmond.
For more information about the Valentine Richmond History Center, visit www.richmondhistorycenter.com.
