“Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of A Nation
Through January 4, 2026
Press Release and Images
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) launches the nation’s first major exhibition to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary with “Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation.” An array of significant artifacts, including key American Revolution documents, symbolic objects and art, offer insight into Virginia’s leading role in the country’s founding and showcase the voices of the Founding Fathers alongside other Virginians who played important roles. Five sections — “Protest to Action,” “Words to Action,” “Liberty in Action,” “Virginia in Action” and “A Call to Action: Our Living Revolution of Ideas” — present a fresh and detailed look at the nation’s founding and provide insight into what liberty meant to different people.

Opening more than a year ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, “Give Me Liberty” is part of three years of related programming and exhibitions that establish VMHC as a national leader in commemorating the founding of America. The opening coincides with the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s galvanizing “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, delivered just miles from VMHC at St. John’s Church. VMHC, located in one of America’s oldest major cities and in the home state of several of the nation’s Founding Fathers, developed “Give Me Liberty” in partnership with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (JYF). The exhibition is presented by VA250, Virginia’s semiquincentennial planning commission. More Information.

Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865
Through July 4, 2027
Press Release and Images
Building upon research about centuries of free Black Virginians and regional exhibitions focused on local communities, “Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865” endeavors to encapsulate the broader, statewide story in depth and at a yet-to-be-seen scale through a collection of artifacts and rich histories told by descendants and experts. In 2021, Tim Sullivan, former president of William & Mary, and Jim Dyke, former Virginia secretary of education, wrote an article for the Richmond Times-Dispatch calling for support in telling the story of free Black Virginians and “advancing scholarship and promoting public awareness of a unique component of Virginia and American history.” Following this article, the VMHC began to collaborate with Sullivan and Dyke, as well as other subject matter experts and institutions of higher learning, leading to the creation of “Un/Bound: Free Black Virginians, 1619-1865.”

Collaborating institutions include Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, William & Mary, Longwood University and Richard Bland College. Alvin J. Schexnider, former interim president of Norfolk State University, joined Dyke and Sullivan in helping to guide the exhibition. The three collaborated on the foreword to the companion publication, which also features essays from Melvin Ely, Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Stephen Rockenbach, Sabrina Watson and Evanda Watts-Martinez. For “Un/Bound,” the VMHC has brought together objects from individuals and some of Virginia’s more than 500 history organizations — a frequent, intentional practice that enhances the state history museum’s ability to tell the most comprehensive story of Virginia in a central location. “As Virginia’s oldest museum, and the only museum dedicated to saving and sharing the whole of Virginia’s history, the VMHC is the institution best positioned to bring local and regional history organizations together to share information, expertise and collections,” said VMHC President & CEO Jamie Bosket. “These collaborations deepen shared values, facilitate shared progress and enhance our visitors’ experience.”

“We The People” Exhibition
March 21, 2026 to September 7, 2026
Release and Images Available Late Summer 2025
“We The People” tells Virginia's story through the lives of those who chose it as their home, linking their unique experiences to our collective history. “As with the nation, immigrants have been a vital part of Virginia’s growth and progress. This exhibition shares stories of immigrants to Virginia since 1776—their unique path, but also their shared experiences of leaving home and making a new one. Immigrants and the communities they have created, and continue to create, enrich the Commonwealth and connect Virginia to the world.” – Jamie Bosket, President & CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.