Bringing Art to the People in Richmond

弗吉尼亚美术博物馆(VMFA)坐落在里士满博物馆区的中心, on the north side of the James River. 由弗吉尼亚联邦于1932年在邦联士兵之家的旧址上建立, it's now freely open 365 days a year to “enrich the lives of all."

博物馆的使命听起来很简单，但现实要复杂得多. VMFA面临着和许多博物馆一样的挑战:参观的人并不总是代表所有弗吉尼亚人——当然也不代表里士满人, the majority of whom are Black and Latino (according to the U.S. Census).

他说:“我的一个具体目标和优先事项是扩大和多样化我们的游客基础," says Paula Saylor-Robinson, VMFA's Director of Audience Development and Community Engagement. “里士满市近50%的人口是非裔美国人，但我们的游客却不是. There is an opportunity."

Partnering in the Community

Saylor-Robinson collaborates with many community organizations to create awareness and develop relationships across Richmond; one such group is Girls For A Change (GFAC), 这是一家当地的非营利组织，旨在“通过邀请年轻女性设计来赋予她们权力”, lead, 资助和实施社会变革项目，解决女孩在自己社区面临的问题.“虽然GFAC对所有想参加的女孩开放，但它特别关注黑人女孩.

GFAC's CEO, Angela Patton, 有兴趣帮助VMFA解决吸引少数族裔游客的挑战, in the process, expanding the horizons of the girls enrolled in her programs.

“Last year, VMFA提议举办我们的一个女孩行动小组——课后项目，女孩们在那里找出根本原因，并采取行动，创建解决这些问题的社会变革项目. 每周带女孩们来博物馆，有助于将她们与一个她们可能从未去过的空间联系起来," says Patton. “As the museum worked to open The Dirty South Exhibit, our girls got to see it come alive, meet the curator, see the installations up close and personal, ask questions, and ultimately add their voices to the exhibit."

This year, 女孩行动小组正在进行一个名为“黑人女孩博物馆”的项目，他们正在设计一个展览体验.

“我们通常不认为自己是博物馆体验的一部分，因为许多博物馆都以欧洲为中心, says Patton. “Through this year's Girl Action Team project, our girls are learning that the way they dress, their culture, 它们的表现形式是历史的一部分，总有一天会被陈列在博物馆里, too."

In addition to hosting GFAC's Girl Action Team, VMFA has offered tickets to the museum's special exhibits, hired a summer intern through GFAC's Girl Ambassador Program, 她已经连续两年主办了非营利组织的年度黑人女孩展示会. “在VMFA举办黑人女孩展示会是结束我们的女孩行动团队计划的完美方式," says Patton. “他们可以体验博物馆，作为包括他们在内的活动的一部分."

Working with Chase

VMFA与“女孩变革”组织的合作激发了塞勒-罗宾逊试图找到一种与该组织更密切合作的方式. Unfortunately, 扩大合作需要资金——这也是VMFA这样的博物馆面临的另一个挑战.

"With JPMorgan Chase's support, 我们能够在博物馆赞助并举办一个女孩行动小组," Saylor-Robinson said. “这是为数不多的跨越多所高中的女孩行动小组之一, 今年的项目有来自5所高中的8名女生参加."

但澳博官方网站app对VMFA和GFAC之间合作的支持甚至更进一步. “通过与澳博官方网站app的合作，我们在夏天带回了一名参加过‘女生行动’团队的带薪实习生," Saylor-Robinson says.

巴顿同样热衷于在VMFA有一个女孩大使的参与者. “女孩大使计划旨在让女孩接触到她们可能从未接触过甚至从未想过的工作, " she says. “他们还获得了现实世界的经验，帮助他们培养未来的软硬技能，同时有一位‘大使’在实习期间指导他们。."

Bringing Art to the People

Girls For A Change is only one part of VMFA's efforts to reach out to the community; it's also literally taking art to the people. VMFA On The Road—aka "the Artmobile"—is a mobile art museum, housed in an expandable trailer, VMFA于2018年成立，旨在将艺术带给弗吉尼亚州各地的人们.

"People are so thrilled to have it come to their neighborhood, town or city," said Jeffrey Allison, 保罗·梅隆收藏教育家和VMFA全州项目和展览总监. "And even in Richmond, 令人惊讶的是，很多人从未去过VMFA，或者在很多情况下，没有去过任何艺术博物馆, 所以登上艺术移动号是他们第一次参观弗吉尼亚美术馆或其他博物馆."

而且，澳博官方网站app(JPMorgan Chase)再次帮助推动了这一趋势...literally. This year's mobile exhibition, “揭示和模糊身份:永久收藏的肖像”," is sponsored by the bank.

“这很棒，因为人们并不总是有机会去博物馆——你不可能总是去那里旅行," says Tom Ing, Chase's Executive Director, Market Director Banking in the region. "With the Artmobile, we bring it to them."

澳博官方网站app的赞助使Artmobile和它的三位教育工作者团队能够走遍整个城市和州, 为游客提供参观和创作自己艺术的机会. There are currently 24 stops on its schedule through December, including fairs, cultural festivals, schools, community centers and other sites in underserved areas.

"We are thrilled to partner with JPMorgan Chase," says Allison. "We have the same goals: Sharing wonderful art, wonderful educational opportunities, 让人们有机会看到和学习他们无法做到的事情. It's enriching the community."