The Virginia Museum of History & Culture unveils $30 million makeover.
It’s taken two years and millions of dollars, but the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) in Richmond is throwing a grand reopening party May 14-15 to celebrate its dramatic transformation.
“We simply can’t wait to welcome guests from around the state and across the nation,” says VMHC President & CEO Jamie Bosket. “This extensive project, the most important in our 200-year history, was done for them.”
Located on Arthur Ashe Boulevard next to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the newly reinvigorated space features an immersive orientation theater, digital murals and soundscapes, an interactive learning center, a new café and museum store, a research library, a rare document room, an event terrace, and an outdoor plaza.
“It’s a more welcoming, more engaging place for people to gather and learn the remarkable story of this Commonwealth,” Bosket says. The celebration will include live music, food trucks, family-friendly activities—and free admission to see this once-quiet museum reimagined.
With a collection of more than nine million objects illustrating the crucial role Virginia plays in America’s history, the VMHC is the only institution dedicated to presenting the complete history of the Commonwealth. “We are creating—at long last—the state history museum Virginia needs, and Virginians deserve,” Bosket says.
Opening exhibits include Our Commonwealth, an in-depth, multi-sensory exploration through Virginia’s five regions, along with Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith, and Treasures of Virginia. VirginiaHistory.org
