This story was updated Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 12:15 p.m. with additional information from the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.
Old Jefferson Davis is heading to Hollywood.
Sunday, Aug. 17 will be the last day that Richmonders can visit the Jefferson Davis statue on display at The Valentine before it heads west to take part in a new art exhibition called “Monuments” in Los Angeles. Co-organized and co-presented by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and The Brick, the exhibition will bring “together a selection of decommissioned monuments, many of which are Confederate, with pre-existing and newly commissioned contemporary artworks that address American history and national identity,” according to the exhibition’s website.
The statue, which is owned by The Valentine, will be exhibited at LA’s MOCA Geffen for an eight-month run that begins in October.
“For The Valentine, this loan of the Jefferson Davis statue is the opportunity to bring to a close, in many ways, The Valentine’s work over the last decade of trying to understand the history of the statues, to understand the history of their creation during the Lost Cause, and to hopefully spur conversation,” says Bill Martin, director of The Valentine.
After decades of being located at the intersection of Monument and Davis avenues, the statue from the city’s monument to Jefferson Davis was pulled from its pedestal by Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020. Since 2022, the monument has been on display at The Valentine as it looked the night it was felled: dented, covered in graffiti and sporting a large gash in one arm. Most, if not all, of the city’s other Confederate monuments have been stored at the Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant in Manchester.
“Monuments” will be curated by LAXART director Hamza Walker, artist and MacArthur Foundation genius grant recipient Kara Walker and MOCA’s senior curator, Bennett Simpson. Inquiries about the exhibition weren’t responded to by press time Monday.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Mellon Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation, among other donors; Martin estimates that the exhibition will cost at least $15 million. Participating artists include Bethany Collins, Karon Davis, Abigail DeVille, Stan Douglas, Leonardo Drew, Torkwase Dyson, Kevin Jerome Everson, Nona Faustine, Jon Henry, Kahlil Robert Irving, Monument Lab, Walter Price, Martin Puryear, Andres Serrano, Hank Willis Thomas, Davóne Tines and Kara Walker.
“It really is many of the most important artists working in America right now,” Martin says.
Previously, it was announced that Richmond’s monuments to Matthew Fontaine Maury, Williams Carter Wickham and Joseph Bryan — all owned by the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia — would be part of the exhibition. In a press release issued Tuesday, the BHMCA announced that the Vindicatrix sculpture and granite base from the Jefferson Davis Monument and the Matthew Fontaine Maury sculpture and globe from the Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument would be headed west, as well as various granite slabs from the bases of Richmond’s Confederate monuments.
“Our stewardship of these monuments is grounded in a commitment to ensure that objects once intended to glorify those who led the fight to enslave African Americans are repurposed in ways that foster critical reflection, healing and deeper public understanding of America’s past, present and future,” wrote BHMVA executive director, Shakia Gullette-Warren.
Another prominent Virginia sculpture will also be a part of “Monuments.” The Charlottesville Robert E. Lee monument that inspired the 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally has been melted down with the intention of being turned into art for the exhibition.
“Monuments” was originally supposed to open years ago; Martin says he doesn’t know the cause of the delay but says that the complexities of purchasing and loaning multiple large sculptures from across the country are a likely culprit.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the sheer weight of the process didn’t extend the time,” Martin says. “It’s a very, very complicated and complex exhibition: moving statues across the country, coordinating with multiple artists.”
Back in Richmond, The Valentine is working to complete its years-long survey of what Richmonders think should be done with the monuments. Martin says the loan of the Davis statue provides The Valentine the “opportunity to do a last call” to solicit community feedback about Richmond’s monuments and what should happen next.
The new exhibition comes at a time when the federal government has been defunding public institutions it considers “woke” and the Trump administration has renamed military bases to evoke the names of Confederates and enslavers.
Taking in current political and cultural moment, Martin says it’s evident that The Valentine has a role to play in these conversations.
“The work of history has never been more important,” he says. “Helping people and communities understand their past, understand the complications, the moments of celebration, is something the Valentine has always done.
“That we’re still discussing the monuments shows us how powerful history is.”
“Monuments” will run at MOCA Geffen Oct. 23, 2025, to May 24, 2026.
