A new initiative at the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia aims to give its loyal patrons a chance to shape the museum’s collection.
“Fralin Visionaries” offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the art acquisition process. In the first iteration, museum curators each chose a work of art they wanted the museum to purchase, and during a June 5 meeting, program participants voted on which piece the Fralin would acquire. UVA clubs across the country livestreamed the meeting.
Members selected “Some Theories About Private Property,” by UVA alumnus Rodney McMillian, for acquisition.
The other finalists were Georges Adéagbo’s “No. 300, No. 297 and No. 295” and Christine Sun Kim’s “Mind Rock.”
“It’s a way to be in touch with the Fralin in a much deeper, more meaningful way,” said Terry de Guzman, who participated in the program.
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A native of the Philippines, de Guzman moved to Charlottesville in 2007 to become a senior associate dean of finance and administration at UVA’s Darden School of Business. In 2014, she left to work as the chief operating officer at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. There, she said, she developed a deep appreciation of the art world.
When de Guzman joined the museum, it had implemented an acquisition program like the Fralin’s to make the museum more accessible to its audience. In 2018, de Guzman retired and returned to Charlottesville.
The Fralin Visionaries program helps people feel like museums – which can seem elite – are for them, too, she said.
“It becomes this open-ended conversation, which goes past art and into society,” de Guzman said.
While the program is not unique to the Fralin, the museum is making a special effort to include young alumni and Charlottesville residents who may not otherwise have ties to the university.
“At large museums, the barrier to entry for a program like this is high,” Hannah Foster, the Fralin’s associate director of annual giving, said. “We wanted to make sure we were not limiting access to our community.”
Mary Winston Richardson, who was a docent at the Fralin and founder of its student engagement council, said the program helps her maintain a connection to the arts. Richardson studied art history and media studies as an undergraduate at UVA and interned at Sotheby’s before graduating in 2016. She decided on a career in finance and earned a business degree from the Darden School in 2022.
“I live in New York now, and the New York museums are just so hard to make an impact with,” Richardson said. “Whereas with the Fralin, you can really get to know the exhibitions and the staff, and it’s just a much more approachable museum.”
The idea for Fralin Visionaries came from a 2024 visit to an art fair. Museum director Karen Milbourne, along with staff and members, came across a work by Alison Saar.
“Our director, Karen, and our curator, Kristen (Nassif), saw it, and their eyes just got big,” Foster said.
In art-world terms, it wasn’t an especially expensive piece, but the museum also wanted to build donor support and advocacy. By crowdsourcing the funds from museum members as part of this new acquisition circle, they are engaging new audiences in both the museum itself and the art acquisition process.
