Out of 20,000 historical organizations, VMHC is among just 51 organizations to receive the honor and the only museum in Virginia to receive the recognition in 2023.
VMHC was selected for the honor for its renovation and reimagination completed in early 2022. The most significant architectural and programmatic overhaul in the museum’s nearly 200-year history, the History Matters campaign and initiative was designed to help the VMHC better welcome and reflect all Virginians, and to be the history museum Virginia needs, and deserve.
Cited in the museum’s nomination, and characterizing the spirit of its transformation, was an excerpt from The Washington Post’s July 20, 2022, critical review: “The result is a compelling new museum of Virginia’s full history … a fully satisfying, engaging and often moving museum, that echoes in its tone what is happening at all levels of public history.”
“It is an honor to receive such recognition from the American Association for State and Local History, and also to be select by a group of our peers,” said Jamie Bosket, President & CEO at the VMHC. “Our recent renovation and reimagination was the most extensive such project in the history of our institution, and it has fundamentally changed what we do and how we do it. It has positioned us for success and greater public service now and for generations to come.”
Each year, AASLH awards a select number of distinguished and deserving projects, as determined by a nationwide panel of history professionals. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history.
The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation history throughout the United States.
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Crystal Graham
