VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

The nine-year partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and the Carver neighborhood of Richmond is something to celebrate – and that’s exactly what happened May 25 at a check presentation and awards ceremony on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus.

VCU President Eugene P. Trani presented a $7,330 check from the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign to Barbara Abernathy, president of the Carver Area Civic Improvement League. This is the first year that community programs such as the Carver-VCU Partnership participated in the campaign as a CVC charity.

“From all aspects of Virginia Commonwealth University, we take this partnership very seriously,” said Dr. Trani. “In essence, you have become our teachers.”

The partnership also was celebrated with the first annual Currents of Change Award, presented by VCU Community Solutions to the Hand Workshop Art Center, led by curator Ashley Kistler, and renowned photographer Wendy Ewald for their public art project in the Carver neighborhood of Richmond, “In Peace and Harmony: Carver Portraits.” The outdoor portrait exhibit featured 15 large-scale photographic banners, each measuring 10 feet by 8 feet, which were displayed in various outdoor locations throughout the Carver community.

The project was initiated by Kistler and is a collaboration of VCU’s creative writing program, the Children’s Museum of Richmond and Carver Elementary School. They recruited renowned American artist Ewald and together worked with a group of third, fourth and fifth grade students at the elementary school to develop photographic banners that display images and text that portray the students’ perceptions of self, community and home.

“I’d like to thank the Carver community for letting me share a part of its life and a very important year with me,” Ewald said. “I am grateful for your openness and sense of community – and it could be a very important lesson for everyone.”

VCU Community Solutions, a new initiative of the university to create partnerships that address critical community needs, established the Currents of Change award to recognize university-community partnerships that have had a significant impact in the Richmond area.

“There are many things at City Hall we may not agree on, but one thing we do agree on is VCU’s and Dr. Trani’s commitment to the community,” said William E. Harrell, chief administrative officer for the City of Richmond. “They clearly have been committed to true partnership in the community.”