Your weekly news & updates |
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a bill Tuesday, June 15, 2021, that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
The bill leads to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday. It passed the House and the Senate, and was sent it to President Biden for his signature.
Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. That was about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the rebellious Southern states (but not Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland or Delaware; slave states that remained loyal, and did not secede from the Union).
“Making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a major step forward to recognize the wrongs of the past,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “But we must continue to work to ensure equal justice and fulfill the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution.”
The Senate passed the bill under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation.
On June 19, 2021, Justin Ferrel organized a Jazz and Poetry Event for Juneteenth on the Museum Lawn, which was attended by approximately 250 people. This outdoor event included multiple Black Business vendors and two food trucks also owned by African Americans.This is the Museum's first outdoor event since the mask ordinance was lifted, and a good time was had by all. Thank you to all who came out for this festive occasion.
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Summer Solstice 2021:First Day of Summer, longest day of the year! |
Get those lawn chairs out of storage, and fire up the grill or go to an Otterbots Game that starts today at 5 pm. The first day of summer 2021 is arriving on Sunday, June 20, which happens to coincide with Father’s Day this year.
For people who work in the weather industry, like forecasters for the National Weather Service, the summer season starts on June 1, and covers the three hottest months of the year, ending on Aug. 31. They call it the meteorological summer.
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Welcome to our new DMFAH summer volunteers! |
We want to give a warm welcome to our new volunteers that will be helping us through the summer. Mary Kent will be working with the collections team to help us prepare for AAM accreditation; Jane Murray will be helping us prepare for the Attic Sale, one of our best loved programs. Alison S. Tuthill and Ronnie Mand will be working at the museum and the Craghead Gallery. Serious Pinchback is joining our Summer team, and has already been thrown in the deep-end with our summer camps!!! Cynthia Lewis, who has recently moved to Danville from Florida, will be helping us out as a Museum weekend staff member. Thank you for your tremendous gifts of time. We could not be more thankful to have all of you onboard. We will announce our Goodwill Interns next week!
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A Theater Performance and an Exhibition |
Danville Museum and Smokestack teamed up in July to bring cultural Summer programming to the DMFAH campus. The Smokestack Team focused on theater craft for the morning session, and the Museum Team delivered a studio experience for the afternoon. We thank the DMFAH Intern team and volunteers who provided a great lunch experience with strategy games offerings. We want all who participated in this year’s EXPLORER Camp that we loved seeing your faces and experiencing the wonderful energy you brought to the campus. Please let us know your thoughts on what we did well and what we can improve on by contacting us at info@danvillemuseum.org. We would very much like to grow this program!!!
Eli on the left is holding up his "verb" painting inspired by artists Mel Bochner and Richard sierra as well as the Museum's Civil Rights Collection.
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A Shout out to the Education DMFAH team: Aidan Thomas, Annie Chappell, Tripp Hayes, Grace Doss, Aidan Lawrence, Daniel Shogan, and Serious Pinchback. And a special salute to Aidan Thomas, who led this team.
We also want to give a Shout out to our DMFAH Community Partner and the whole Smokestack Team: Josh Lucia (who handled drop off and pick up); Kris Dobs Williams; Matt Doss; James Anderson; Rachel Timm and their incredible team of volunteers. Hats off to all! This was a great way to start off the Post-Covid-Summer.
Skit above with Oliver on the left and JJ on the right... driving as you can see.
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During our Afternoon art sessions we themed our art classes around specific Museum Collections and then looked at the work of specific Artists. For Instance, we did “Word Paintings” based on the artist Richard Sierra’s Verb-list while looking at our DMFAH Civil Rights Exhibition. We also did self-portraits after looking at the portraits of Harriet Fitzgerald, who is an Artist Represented in the Museums 20th Century Art Collection. After looking at the Danville Museums Hall of Fame, we made drawings of mechanical tools to remember the life and times of African American race-car driver, Wendall Scott. During this unit, we looked at the “tool Drawings” of Artist Jim Dine and learned How to “crosshatch”.
Drawing Seen Above is by Henry
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Father’s Day offers us a chance to recognize the role that dads and fatherhood have played in our lives. Enjoy StoryCorps collection of stories celebrating father figures and the many ways they support and shape us.
What would you like to share with a parent or guardian in your life? This Father’s Day, honor a father figure in your life and record his story. You can record in person using the StoryCorps App, or remotely using StoryCorps Connect.
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Clipping And Weeding and Rock finding |
Three weeks ago, our Perkinson Rose Garden was in full bloom and gorgeous. But this week we needed help with weeds and dead-heading the rose bushes. The DMFAH wants to give a big THANK YOU to the Danville Garden Club members, who came out in full force at 9 am on Thursday, June 17, with clippers and weeding tools to give the roses a much needed facelift, and to rejuvenate the rose bushes: Kris Carbone, Anne Foster (who worked the day before), Nan Freed, Carol Hollande, Anne Mason, and Miki Younger - Thank you for your tremendous efforts in this heat. What a difference rose pruning makes!
The Perkinson Rose Garden will instantly lift your spirit during the long summer months. The rose garden is a great stop on a late summer afternoon for an incredible sensory experience. When strolling through the garden, please also look for the painted rocks contributed by the professor Catherine Clark’s French students: These are philosophical quotes (about roses) from the book The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. One side of the rock is French and the other side gives you the English translation.
Quote on Left:
"One sees only well with the heart, the essential things are invisible to the eye"
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On July 1, Double Your Donation Day, gifts up to $1,200 will be matched by generous DMFAH patrons who are passionate about Dan River History and preserving our Cultural Histories told through music, art and performance as well as film.
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Any gift made online, by mail or over the phone, will be doubled by the match. Please make a matching gift, and help the DMFAH start the fiscal year in a strong financial position. As we come out of, and learn from, the challenges of the pandemic year, the next few months are absolutely critical.
Upcoming projects include:
- Maintaining our Residency program that brings professional writers, performers, artists and videographers as well as education specialists into our City to work with communities in Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County.
- Continuing outreach and advocacy for great summer arts programming for local and far-flung counties through a partnership with Averett University and the VDOE for education units; the Pittsylvania Public Schools for “Governor’s School” gifted programs; and Smokestack Theater, to bring cultural offerings to our local families.
- Producing Gallery Programming on Craghead’s 500 Block in the River District and installing the region’s biggest community engagement Art Project on the Riverwalk called WANDERLOVE: A STRITCH IN TIME.
- Offering an Internship Program for young adults to explore Museum Best Practices for the Galleries, the Collection, The Museum, Education Programming and Events. These Internships come with field trips and virtual learning opportunities.
- Supporting “Crossroads: Museum on Main” a Smithsonian exhibition coming to our region in September of 2021 allowing conversations around local preservation issues.
The DMFAH is not a state agency and rely on the support of our friends and supporters to make these projects and programs happen. To say thanks, any donation over $65 comes with a one-year membership to Danville Museum of fine Arts and History, which includes free admission for families to the Museum and specific Gallery Events, Classes, Music Performances and Lectures. Membership to the DMFAH provides so much to see and do this summer and all year.
Thank you so very much in advance for your interest and support. Together, we'll continue helping to bring Arts and Culture to the Dan River Region.
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Please Join Us for a Public Viewing of WANDERLOVE panels on June 25 and 26. Join us for a WORKSHOP conducted by WANDERLOVE Installer Carter Brannock on June 27. |
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Soft Opening of Pop-up Gallery June 25 ( DMFAH Members Only)
5:30pm-8pm
Where: Craghead 500 Block (next to Mucho's Restaurant)
Hard Opening of Pop-up Gallery
June 26 (Public & Community)
2pm-5pm
Where: Craghead 500 Block (next to Mucho's Restaurant)
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Workshop with Calder Brannock
at Pop-up Gallery
June 27 (Members, Public & Community and Community Partners)
2pm-5pm
Where: Craghead 500 Block (next to Mucho's Restaurant)
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