Water/Ways Exhibits Featured at Local Museums

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“Water/Ways” Exhibits
Cape Charles, Fredericksburg, Newport News, Staunton, Warsaw, and Winchester Virginia
Sat. May. 27 – Sun. Mar. 11

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), in cooperation with the Virginia Association of Museums (VAM) and six organizations across the state, will help Virginians examine water as an environmental necessity and an important cultural element through “Water/Ways,” a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program.

Water impacts climate, agriculture, transportation, industry, and more. It inspires art and music. With VFH funding, the “Water/Ways” exhibition will explore this essential topic in six Virginia communities from May 2017 through May 2018.

Virginia “Water/Ways” Exhibits:

May 27, 2017 – July 9, 2017
Virginia Living Museum
Newport News, VA

July 15, 2017 – August 27, 2017
Menokin Foundation
Warsaw, VA

September 2, 2017 – October 15, 2017
Cape Charles Historical Society
Cape Charles, VA

October 21, 2017 – December 3, 2017
Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
Staunton, VA

December 9, 2017 – January 21, 2018
Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum
Winchester, VA

January 27, 2018 – March 11, 2018
Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center
Fredericksburg, VA

These organizations and their surrounding communities have been chosen by VFH and VAM to host “Water/Ways” as part of the MoMS program—a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations.

“Water/Ways” explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources. Human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment.

Designed for small-town museums, libraries, and cultural organizations, “Water/Ways” will convene conversations about water’s impact on American culture. With support and guidance from VAM, the six host organizations will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs, and facilitate educational initiatives to raise people’s understanding about what water means in their own community.

“Water is an important part of everyone’s life, and this program will help Virginians explore what water means culturally, socially, and spiritually in our communities,” said VFH’s incoming executive director Matthew Gibson. “We look forward to seeing how each host organization leverages the exhibition to share their own stories and explore their own challenges.”

“Water/Ways” is part of the Smithsonian’s Think Water Initiative to raise awareness of water as a critical resource for life through exhibitions, educational resources and public programs. The public can participate in the conversation on social media at #thinkWater.

“Water/Ways” was inspired by an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Museum of Australia, Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Science Centre Singapore with PUB Singapore.

The exhibition is part of Museum on Main Street (MoMS), a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions.

To learn more about “Water/Ways” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit https://museumonmainstreet.org/. Support for MoMS has been provided by the U.S. Congress.

source: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities