Contributed by Mike Feazel
“The world will see me now!” enthused Fluvanna resident Reatha Holloman after sitting for a portrait done by local artists as part of the “Looking Back, Seeing Now” collaboration between the Fluvanna Black community and local artists.
She was one of 17 Fluvanna citizens, all descendants of enslaved or free people of color, who sat for portrait paintings and photographs in the project to celebrate their accomplishments and history. More sittings are being planned.
The art show resulting from “Looking Back, Seeing Now” will open Feb. 2, 2-5 p.m. at the Fluvanna County Public Library. It will include a short program, artists, portrait sitters, food and live music. The display will be open 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.
Linda Staiger organized the project when the Fluvanna Historical Society was looking for portraits of local African Americans, and she said “the project grew from there.” Artists have met once a month for 18 months to do portraits of many of the Fluvanna African Americans who are descendants of either an enslaved or free person of color who lived in Fluvanna. In each portrait session, several artists paint each model, resulting in multiple images of each sitter.
Each sitter was also interviewed, sometimes for several hours, for an oral history including their ancestry and personal story. The narratives, organized by Fluvanna residents Nadine Armstrong, Melissa Hill, and Kathy Swenson Miller will be available on the project website: https://www.lookingbackseeingnow.com.
Loretta Johnson-Morgan said she was skeptical and nervous at first about sitting for a portrait, but it turned out to be “a good experience. This 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.”
Fluvanna’s sizeable African American community has lived here for at least 150 years. “This project aims to memorialize the continuing thread of life and community in the Fluvanna Black community,” Staiger said. “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. This project is also about building a more racially integrated community.”
The project is important for the community because it helps people see people “that they know, but really never knew, until now,” said Nadine Armstrong. She said it’s especially important to highlight some of the older residents that are relatives of enslaved people who lived in the county. “With a portrait it gives you some idea of what their ancestors looked like and what they have gone through.”
A dozen local artists participated in the project. Staiger said she worked hard to recruit Black artists, and some have participated, including Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Clinton Helms. “We want to start people talking about the gap between the races, building trust,” Staiger said. “We are working on building a better community – the kind I want to live in, integrated and appreciative of art and creativity.”
The artists are all volunteers, and each paints the models in their own way, and ultimately can keep the portraits, though some are given to the models or donated to the Fluvanna Historical Society and other local groups.
“It’s Important that this project recognizes the sitters, and that they have representation,” said Lake Monticello artist Tom Tartaglino, who participated in about half of the sittings. “These are people that work hard and never get representation, and this is part of that. This is about painting to understand these people and their lives and their histories.”
Sitters, who are encouraged to present themselves as they want to be seen, volunteer their time in return for a donation to their favorite charity, and get a high-resolution digital copy of their portraits. The project, including lighting and other equipment, has been funded by Staiger, using a small bequest she received. She said she will be looking for grants, donations or other funding to expand the project and make it available to more viewers.
The project also includes digital mapping of the communities where enslaved people lived in Fluvanna and where many of their descendants still live. The project will continue, focusing on those who received education in schools their communities built for themselves.
Staiger is looking for future display venues, after the Sentara Martha Jefferson and Center at Belvedere exhibits, and hopefully an archive in Fluvanna to make information available to current and future generations.
