3 minute read
A Big Job In A Small Space
A Big Job In A Small Space
By Charlotte deButts
What do you do when you have two tiny rooms for everything folks want to learn about a 289 square mile area in the Virginia Piedmont? You take turns. The Middleburg Museum with 400 square feet of space and loads of subjects to address has to be picky and has to change things up each month with the expectation of covering just about everything by the turn of the next century.
Since the move to the Pink Box in September, the charming, petite history-rich Middleburg Museum has presented an exhibit on the historic gravel roads of the area (in an effort to educate all on their value and need for preservation). And also the artwork of the late Emily Talbot Sharp, Middleburg’s colorful local artist and teacher, whose large cut out wooden signs have graced the streets of Middleburg during holiday seasons since 1982.
Coming up in January is a film created by Bill Ferster and Denis Cotter, based on the book by Marc Leepson on the Huntland farm, and a photo exhibit on the horse community of the 1920s and ‘30s. And in February, in honor of Black History Month, the story of Mickie Gordon Park will be showcased with another film (a Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area production), along with photos and artwork of the African-American community.
The word “film” seems to be a theme at the museum, thanks to board member and designer, Bill Ferster, who has taken over the back room of the museum for digital works to accompany temporary exhibits. With his help, the early 1800s office of Middleburg’s founder, Leven Powell, has been thrown into the 21st century. In the works are QR codes for links to more and more information and digitized oral histories of the Middleburg area of long ago, as well as computer tablets for diving down the history rabbit hole. These will create a new kind of interactive atmosphere at the museum in addition to the sparkle of chatting with old and new friends who stop by.
In this way, the museum aspires to reach more folks through multiple presentation formats of material to provide remote access to its exhibits and archives. It is first and foremost a place for the community to engage, contribute, and take away a sense of interconnectedness. To that end, it will use modern, traditional, and everything-in-between methods to cover those 289 square miles. With that kind of determination, it’s bound to cover it all by 2099.
Visit the Middleburg Museum, 12 N. Madison St. Winter hours: 11-4 Friday through Sunday
