Volume I | July 3 2020
Your Museum is Re-Opening!

We're pleased to announce that the Danville Museum of Fine Art and History will re-open to the public on Tuesday, July 7, 2020! Safety remains our top priority as we reopen the museum. Please take time to learn more about our new safety guidelines and other important changes to the museum experience, all designed to help keep you safe. We ask that you wear a mask and keep a 6 feet distance from staff, volunteers and other visitors. A self-guided vinyl map of each floor with tour information will be made available upon request. To learn about our safety guidelines, Questions? Call 434.793.5644 

Beginning July 7, the Museum will be open Tuesday through Saturdays from 10 am - 5 pm and Sundays from 2 to 5 pm. As always, general admission is free for members but free tickets can also be obtained from your local public library and we also list our free weekends on our Museum Website Calendar that you can access HERE .

We do charge a $10 admission fee that support our operating cost so we are always grateful to patrons and to anybody who would like to make a donation. 

We are excited to share these new exhibitions with you: 
· Camilla Williams Exhibition is extended to August 28, 2020 
· Tobacco Exhibition Opens on July 7
· VMFA Artmobile arrives July 14 and we have full tour days on the 15th and the 16th
· Hanging Guitars (Music Maker) Opens: Nov 1 – Jan 29 

Please note our free community events on the Lawn 
· Smokestack Wednesday Readings from 6:30 - 8pm 
· Firefly Yoga FREE on Saturday mornings from 9 -10 am 


A new Sculpture on our Lawn: Archaeopteryx by Sculptor John Parker 

Sculptor John Parker received his BFA from The Cleveland Institute of Art and MFA from The Rinehart School of Sculpture at The Maryland Institute, College of Art. He taught welding at the Skill Center in Grand Rapids and sculpture for four summers at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Parker moved to the Philadelphia area in 1980, where he was the Iron Foreman for Old City Construction Co. Three years later he was a creator and Vice President of Voltri Ironworks where he fabricated and installed structural and miscellaneous steel. In 1989 he created and became President of The Painted Garden, Inc. where he designs, fabricates and installs iron garden structures, including trellises, pergolas and gates. Parker has been creating outdoor sculpture since 1975, and shown his work in exhibitions all through the Eastern and Midwest states. He is in collections that include Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, IL, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Hamilton, OH and Quiet Waters Park, MD
Artist Statement: The forms from nature that I have drawn from for this sculpture is taken from insect life-segmented, hard-shelled bodies, robotic and armor coated, yet able to instantly take flight. The large scale of these otherwise small creatures comes from reality and fantasy of the prehistoric world. Steel plate is my material of choice; man made and industrial in its purchased form. I enjoy the challenge of making something animated and weightless with iron. Outdoor sculptures have to function in a comprehensive way as a drive-by experience, as strong and dynamic silhouettes. With further exploration for the passer-by or neighborhood resident, a deeper appreciation and enjoyment can be explored walking around, under and through the pieces. Thank you to Parks and Recreation for helping us install this sculpture and for facilitating the Danville Arts Trail.
A Conversation about Monuments
The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History would like to share the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s statement about the history and treatment of Confederate monuments, emphasizing that, although some were erected—like other monuments to war dead—for reasons of memorialization, most Confederate monuments were intended to serve as a celebration of Lost Cause mythology and to advance the ideas of white supremacy. Many of them still stand as symbols of those ideologies and sometimes serve as rallying points for bigotry and hate today. To many African Americans, they continue to serve as constant and painful reminders that racism is embedded in American society.
Thank You Ann Sylves and DMFAH Attic Sale Team
The successful Attic Sale team, under the organized leadership of Ann Sylves adhered to all museum directed COVID19 safety procedures and allowed small groups of shoppers through the auditorium. Thank you to all the friends and neighbors who came through the auditorium for the sale to support the museum during the COVID19 closing. After the sale was completed all items were 
donated to Friends of the Library, College Park Baptist Church, Restore (Habitat for Humanity), Langhorne House Museum, and Danville Little Theater. Volunteers for this event were bill Wellbank, Mike Compton, Patsi Compton, Ana Spangler, Judy Strauser, Niki Fallis, Connie Fletcher, Dave Corp, Helen Earle, Ann Sylves, Aiden Thomas, Adessa Breakley, Alyssa Kid, Kent Martling and Tommy Dixon for the heavy lifting and for helping to pack. DMFAH appreciates the donation of items from the Wednesday Club. 
DMFAH Hall of Fame Wendell Scott is in the news.  
Michael Perchick of ABC11 wrote on June 11, 2020: “Throughout his career in the top-division, Scott had 495 starts and 147 top-10 finishes. In 1963, he had his lone victory at the Jacksonville 200, but even that was met with controversy. Initially, NASCAR named Buck Baker, a white driver who finished in second-place, as the winner. Following the race, NASCAR cited a scoring error as the reason behind the mix-up, though many people blamed it as an act of racism. 
In 2010 - twenty years after Scott's death - the Jacksonville Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame presented his family with a replica trophy. The Wendell Scott Foundation would 
like to see NASCAR make a more formal effort to highlight the win.
Danny Ricketts 1941-2020
Beloved local historian and artist Danny Ricketts will be remembered. If there was information related to Danville and Pittsylvania County, Danny had information on it. Danny was a big part of the museum where he contributed maps, pictures, artifacts, and his overall knowledge to exhibits including Between the Lines, our Prison exhibition and Civil Rights exhibition. Danny’s overall enthusiasm and passion for the history of this area was contagious and has inspired numerous organizations in their own research. He was also a very talented artist that participated in many Art on the Lawn events. Danny will be greatly missed by the staff and members of the Danville Museum. We send our condolences to the family and friends during this difficult time.
COVID19 DADA Dream Collage Project
This is a time like no other our generation has faced. The pandemic has affected every one of us. It has changed how we navigate the most mundane tasks in our lives; in some cases, it may cause long-term change in our social and economic environments. We welcome artists to respond to this particular, unique moment. Artists are invited to submit collage works that represent the full gamut of how the global Coronavirus pandemic and show how its associated ‘social distancing’ has affected them. Fear, uncertainty, anger and doubt are certainly typical responses but we are also interested in evidence of the creative benefits of solitude and reflection and the time to process them. 
Participate in our COVID19 Dada Dream Project by sending photographs of your project to info@danvillemuseum.org

Featured Artist: Adam Bradley
Happy 4th of July! Be Socially Responsible!  
Old Public Library Shelves find a home
Susan Sabin, the director of Spencer-Penn Centre says she will put the DMFAH’s old public library steel shelves to good use. While the museum has kept some of the old shelving inherited from the Danville Public Library – you can still see shelving units in our collections room and in the research center – the rest of the shelving has been gifted to this Spencer-Penn non-profit. The mission of the Spencer-Penn School Preservation Organization is to provide an educational and special events center for Spencer and surrounding communities by preserving the structure, facilities, artifacts and history of the Spencer-Penn School.