The American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia has become a regular stop for students of the Civil War visiting the former Confederate capital. The Richmond Times Dispatch has a description of the new film and theater. Here are some excerpts from the article:
The American Civil War Museum is debuting a new theater and a new original film, “A People’s Contest: America’s Civil War and Emancipation,” on Friday.
The Robins Theater is a 1,128-square-foot space with 67 seats and is part of the original concept of the $25 million museum which opened to the public in 2019.
“The theater was…intended to be phase two [of the project] and a compliment to the ACWM flagship exhibit, ‘A People’s Contest: Struggles for Nation and Freedom in the Civil War America,” Jeniffer Maloney, a spokesperson for the museum, said via email.
The project was delayed over the past three years when supply chain issues slowed construction of the space.
But now, on Friday, the Robins Theater will open to the public with the original film “A People’s Contest” which explores the origins, course and aftermath of the Civil War. The film, produced by Solid Light Inc. in Kentucky, cost $2 million to make.
“Understanding this history and understanding a complete view of this history with all of the voices in it is important because you can’t understand the full story without having everybody there,” Arduini said. “Complete history is digging into this story which provokes lots of questions and connections to the present.”
The film is 13 minutes and runs on repeat throughout the day for visitors.
While the Civil War’s outcome held the fate of four million slaves in the South, Arduini says the fate of democracy and result of the great American experiment was also in the balance. She emphasized that the war was not won swiftly or efficiently.
As the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond holds a unique power to tell the story.
“You can understand this story in ways you can’t understand it anywhere else, like being here at the focal point of so much of the war’s military efforts,” Arduini said. “You’re in this space, you’re right on the edge of where the fires came to.”
Arduini says that understanding the war is vital to mending racial divides. During the summer of 2020 at the peak of the Black Lives Matter Movement, she said people sought out the museum to learn about the root of the racial issues in America.
“Understanding this history is critical to having that foundational background before we can really create solutions going forward,” Arduini said. “It’s kind of like if you are sick, you have to understand what you are sick with. You can’t just treat the symptoms over and over.
The American Civil War Museum is located at 490 Tredegar St. The new film is included in the price of admission, which is $16 for adults, $14 for seniors and $8 for youth under age 17 and free for children under 5. For more about the museum, visit acwm.org.
Here is a video on the new theater:
