Commissioned by the City of Virginia Beach Office of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the African American Cultural Center of Virginia Beach, Portraits from a Place of Grace pays tribute to Virginia Beach’s historic African American neighborhoods and their residents. Representing a broad range of residents, we sincerely thank all who have shared their stories to build this visual tapestry and oral history of the Black experience in the city.
Learn more about the project
About the Project
Commissioned by the City of Virginia Beach Office of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the African American Cultural Center of Virginia Beach (AACCVB), the immersive project celebrates Virginia Beach’s historic African American neighborhoods and their residents.
Through a network of community leaders, the artist, Richard Hollant, and AACCVB leaders reached out to the historic African American neighborhoods in Virginia Beach to identify a broad range of residents who would contribute to the visual tapestry and oral history depicting the Black experience in the city. With the hospitality of Ebenezer Baptist Church and New Hope Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, neighborhood residents were photographed and video-recorded over several months.
“Hollant traveled through the community and got to know some of the people here—developing a rapport that would create familiarity and comfort when the time came to capture portraits,” said Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, founder and chairman of the African American Cultural Center of Virginia Beach. “The portraits reflect the dignity, resiliency and hopes of several generations.”
Portraits from a Place of Grace captures the essence of a timeless story. The hope is to tell the stories of the past and ‘the now’ of the historic African American neighborhoods in Virginia Beach, and to portray residents as they meet each other, stand together and imagine a new, bold future for generations to come.
Visit the accompanying dimensional, walk-through installation at the future home of the African American Cultural Center of Virginia Beach on the corner of Newtown Road and Hampshire Way. This piece is intended as both a work of art and a place of reflection. Stay a while among the portraits of our community members and contemplate our shared spirit.
About the Artist
Richard Hollant is the creative director at co:lab, a firm focused on initiatives that encourage community engagement. Hollant studied philosophy and psychology at Boston University and film/video direction at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He has received numerous awards including top honors in international design competitions. His work on diversity is in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.
Hollant’s images have been displayed in gallery exhibitions including a traveling retrospective of the best of digital imaging from around the world. He has conducted numerous “photo booth” sessions, including a 2017 program at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Visit www.richardhollant.com for more information.
About the City Of Virginia Beach’s Office of Cultural Affairs
The role of the Office of Cultural Affairs is to develop the vision and direction of the cultural arts in Virginia Beach, assist and direct the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, coordinate the city’s Public Art Program, provide contract management for the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, serve as the liaison with Virginia MOCA and the ViBe Creative District, and serve as a resource to local arts and humanities organizations.
About The African American Cultural Center of Virginia Beach
The mission of the African American Cultural Center, Inc. is to collect, preserve, interpret and celebrate Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County’s African American history, culture and community from the mid 1600s to the present, and to inform and educate the public about African Americans’ achievements in business, politics, religion, civic organizations and the Arts, and include regional African American History.
City of Virginia Beach’s Office of Cultural Affairs / Press release
