Several Richmond organizations will receive funding from a series of grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in August. The federal program will distribute $37.5 million to 240 projects nationwide, including five in the River City.
The funded projects come from the Library of Virginia, University of Richmond, Valentine Museum, and Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
Learn more about what to expect from each project below.
An exploration of Jackson Ward history
The Library of Virginia received $282,975 to implement a new exhibition on the history of Jackson Ward. It will partner with The JXN Project to put on “House to Highway: Reclaiming the Hidden History of Jackson Ward.”
The exhibit will delve into more than 250 years of neighborhood history with maps, photographs, and other materials from LVA’s archives. It will highlight the story of the Skipwith-Roper family, whose home — built by Abraham Peyton Skipwith in the 18th century — is on the oldest documented in Richmond.
Contemporary researchers discovered that the Skipwith-Roper cottage, thought to be destroyed as part of the construction of I-95, was actually relocated. The JXN Project is working on a reconstruction site for the cottage, expected to open in April 2026.
“House to Highway” will open at LVA in 2025 and stay there for 10 months. The exhibit will then move to the cottage reconstruction site as a long-term exhibition.
An effort to digitize historic newspapers
A $235,692 grant was awarded to the Library of VA to support its Virginia Digital Newspaper Program for the next two years. Researchers will use the funds to digitize 100,000 pages of newspapers, including African American and German-language newspapers as well as nineteenth century agricultural publications.
Want to learn more about digitization? LVA hosts Making History events twice a month, where volunteers can learn how to transcribe historical documents to make them more accessible to researchers.
A new research center all about AI
The University of Richmond will welcome researchers, students, and educators to the Center for Liberal Arts and AI in fall 2025. Led by professor of digital humanities Lauren Tilton, CLAAI will focus on the social, cultural, and legal questions surrounding artificial intelligence.
UR was awarded over $700,000 for CLAAI, which will host eight faculty fellows per year in partnership with the Associated Colleges of the South.
Pro tip: It’s going to be pronounced like “clay.”
A series of revolutionary workshops for teachers
$170,670 is headed towards the Virginia Museum of History & Culture for educator workshops. The historical society will take dozens of K-12 educators on a one-week journey through Virginia’s role in the American Revolution.
The project will lean into the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Revolution.
A better way to monitor a museum
The Valentine Museum will receive $10,000 to expand its environmental monitoring program. It might not sound like a flashy topic, but museums rely on these systems to keep temperature, humidity, and light at ideal levels for the preservation of materials.
The Valentine wants to purchase equipment and hire a consultant to be able to monitor its main museum as well as the two attached historic buildings, the Wickham House and Valentine Studio.
