Exhibitions and Collections

Collections

The Museum holds works by renowned artists such as Sam Gilllam, John Biggers and P.H. Polk. In addition, the Museum has an extensive collection of African Artifacts and textiles from various ethnic groups throughout Africa.

The BHMCC strives to become the largest repository for black memorabilia pertaining to people and businesses of Historic Jackson Ward, the birthplace of Black Capitalism.

Exhibitions

What is Africa to Me?

“From salt to gold, from peanuts to cotton, from koras to banjos, from griots to you.” This exhibition encourages viewers to use the lenses of Malian history and culture to consider and interpret for themselves the connections between Virginia and Africa. Exhibition created in partnership with the Virginia Friends of Mali (www.VaFriendsofMali.org). Dates: April 17 - July 18, 2009

Reunion of the Spirit: A Photographer's Journey to Ghana, West Africa

Born and raised in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward, Sir James L. Thornhill is a gifted American painter and photographer whose essence is shown in his intimate portraits of dynamic figures, balanced with a backdrop that emphasizes diverse cultural themes relating to African descendants around the world. Dates: May 1 - July 25, 2009

Ethnic Gathering: Sisters of the Yam Opportunity Quilt

“Who are your people?  Where are they from?”  For African Americans, in particular, placing one’s family geographically has long been vital to understanding oneself and one’s relationship to others.

In Motion: The African American Migration Experience

“Who are your people?  Where are they from?”  For African Americans, in particular, placing one’s family geographically has long been vital to understanding oneself and one’s relationship to others.

 

In Motion: The African American Migration Experience is a multi-panel exhibition that chronicles the movement of people of African descent in the United States over hundreds of years. In Motion divides African American movement into 13 distinct migrations—2 involuntary and 11 voluntary—and presents these stories using photographs, graphs, and text.  Copies of the exhibition book are available for sale in the museum’s gift shop.

 

On loan from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture, In Motion will be on view through March 28, 2009.

Heirlooms by Horne

This exhibition features 35 selected designs from J. W. Robinson Horne collections: Fall Drama, Paris Inspired, University, Bridal, 1776, Couturier and Spring1950 Collections. Also featured are three designs from his “Carousel of Coats” Collection. These Heirloom Fashion Designs by J. W. Robinson Horne will be on display through September 30, 2008.

The Gift of Black Inventors

The Gift of Black Inventors highlights the numerous contributions of Americans of African descent to science and industry. The product of more than twenty-five years of research by its curator James E. Wright, Jr., the exhibition will display more than 125 items that feature inventions from the late 19^th century through the present. The Gift of Black Inventors will be on display at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia through July 31, 2008.