March 12, May 7, Aug 13, 6-6:45pm

Lift the lid of our current exhibition, Valley Culture: Constructing Identity Along the Great Wagon Road with our curator Christopher Malone. Learn how Pennsylvania German folk art evolved as settlers moved west. From the Perkiomen Valley of southeastern Pennsylvania to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, locally distinctive forms of material culture emerged. This tour will help visitors understand how German settlers transformed artifacts of daily life —including fraktur, painted furniture, boxes, and other artifacts—as they settled along the Great Wagon Road. Christopher Malone will highlight key pieces, as you experience a special behind the scenes look at the exhibition not otherwise available to the public.

About the exhibition: Drawn from nearly a dozen private collections, the exhibit features exemplary works of American folk art, including the iconic “leaping stag” cupboard painted by Johannes Spitler of Shenandoah (now Page) County, Virginia; exuberantly painted boxes by John Drissell of Bucks County; and fraktur by Durs Rudy, Jacob Gottschall, and Andreas Kolb of Montgomery County.