FLUVANNA COUNTY, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – An 18-month project by Fluvanna artists to memorialize and honor Fluvanna residents who are descendants of county enslaved people will come to fruition with three scheduled exhibits, including at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital and the Center at Belvedere.

In the project, a dozen artists created portraits of 17 Fluvanna residents who descended from enslaved county residents. The project also includes oral histories from each of the models and digital mapping of Black communities in the county that date back to the Civil War era.

“This project aims to memorialize the continuing thread of life and community in the Fluvanna Black Community,” said organizer Linda Staiger. “Portraiture has historically been elitist, reserved for those of wealth and power.  We want to turn the artist’s view to these neighbors, to express that they are worthy of being seen.”

“The world will see me now!” enthused model Reatha Holloman after sitting for a portrait as part of the “Looking Back, Seeing Now” project. Another model, Lorretta Johnson-Morgan, said sitting for a portrait “is a great way to bring out the experience of African Americans in Fluvanna. Nothing like this is really being displayed anywhere, and it helps tell the story of some wonderful people and what they have done and accomplished.”

The art show resulting from “Looking Back, Seeing Now” will open with a reception Feb. 2 at the Fluvanna Public Library. The display will stay at the library for a month, followed by exhibits at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in May and June, and at the Center at Belvedere in July and August.

Staiger is looking for future display venues, after the exhibits at Fluvanna Public Library, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital and the Center at Belvedere, and hopefully a permanent archive in Fluvanna to make information available to current and future generations.