RICHMOND, Va. — Six years after protesters and later Richmond city officials took down Confederate statues on Monument Avenue during the 2020 civil unrest, most of those monuments remain in storage at the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant on Brander Street along Interstate 95.
The Robert E. Lee statue can be seen lying down in two sections, while others are covered in white sheets.
Shortly after their removal, city officials granted stewardship of the decommissioned artifacts to the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.
In a statement, museum executive director Shakia Gullette Warren did not reveal any immediate plans to display the monuments.
"Decisions regarding their long-term future continue to be guided by care, listening, and engagement with community stakeholders, artists, historians, and subject matter experts. We remain committed to these objects being used for healing and look forward to sharing more with the community soon," Gullette Warren said.
The Valentine and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia sent several artifacts to the 2025 exhibition MONUMENTS at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
The Jefferson Davis statue was returned to The Valentine.
VCU's ICA brings Confederate history exhibit to Richmond
Visitors to VCU's Institute for Contemporary Art can learn more about the Confederacy through the Deo Vindice (Orion's Cabinet) exhibit, which recalls the burning of Richmond in 1865.
The Abigail Deville immersive, gallery-sized installation was originally commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles as part of its MONUMENTS exhibit and sat near the remains of several heavily graffitied Confederate statues that once stood in Richmond.
Amber Esseiva, ICA senior curator, said the Richmond debut includes charred Colonial-style cabinets inspired by photographs of Richmond set ablaze as the Confederacy left the city in the last days of the Civil War.
"The significance of the cabinets for the artist is thinking about the truths and the stories that we continue to carry on through generations in our families, and in this particular show — the story is one of revisionism," Esseiva said.
Using the shape of Orion's constellation, the exhibit encourages the audience to ask questions and see beyond what has been delivered as the truth.
"We chose to bring this piece because this piece is dealing exactly with the history belonging to our city," Esseiva said. "What an audience member might walk away with from this show is that it is never advantageous to hold yourself captive to a small history that someone is telling you."
The free exhibit runs through Aug. 18.
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