WILLIAMSBURG — The Virginia African American Cultural Center (VAACC) announced a new mural by artist Steve Prince in the City of Williamsburg.
The mural is part of VAACC’s statewide effort to raise awareness for black history in Virginia, via funding from the Virginia Tourism Corporation. The City of Williamsburg Public Art Council facilitated the effort over the last six months, connecting VAACC with Broadstreet Realty in Midtown Row for a mural at 200 Monticello Ave, Suite A, Williamsburg.
“We are honored to have artist Steve Prince create this vibrant work of public art that speaks to the rich history of black people in Williamsburg and our great Hampton Roads region,” said founder and chairmen of VAACC Amelia Ross-Hammond. “The VAACC mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, inform and celebrate Virginia’s African American history, culture and community and to educate the public about African American contributions in all areas of endeavor. I believe this artwork does just that.”
VAACC says it worked with the ViBe Creative District of Virginia Beach and the Williamsburg Public Art Council to identify artist Steve Prince for the mural in Midtown Row. Working collaboratively throughout the year, the partners identified a wall in Midtown Row owned by Broadstreet Realty with artist Steve Prince, who then created a mural rendering which was approved by the Williamsburg Public Art Council and Williamsburg City Council.
“Broad Street Realty is thrilled to see another mural come to life in the Midtown Row center. We are grateful that ViBe Creative and the Virginia African American Cultural Center chose a prominent wall in our center as the location to donate their mural,” said Michael Jacoby, CEO of Broad Street Realty.
“Steve Prince is an extremely well-respected artist in the community, and the group could not have chosen a better visionary for this project. Our team has worked closely with the City of Williamsburg’s Public Art Council on all of the murals, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them in the future,” Jacoby continued.
Prince calls the mural: “Peace Quilt.”
“Peace Quilt is a mural about the inextricable connections we have as people. Every culture on the planet has a patchwork quilt-making past, because they have gone through seasons of great lack where they had to figure out how to survive with the scraps,” Prince explained. “The quilt therefore is a metaphor for how we made a way out of no way and that we are made up of disparate pieces that mesh together, for better or for worse. Peace Quilt tells a story about America from the East to the West, and from the North to the South and beckons us to remember the past while moving forward into an untouched future collectively working for peace.”
For more about VAACC, visit its official website.
