> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Amid fanfare, VUU opens new Fine Arts Building - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/amid-fanfare-vuu-opens-new-fine-arts-building/ - Published: 2026-10-23T21:25:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T21:25:14.000Z - Description: The naming ceremony brought around 100 VUU officials, alumni, notable figures and guests from throughout the community. - Author: George Copeland Jr. - Tags: Local News, #the-bridge A new venue for art appreciation, education and creation opened Tuesday afternoon at Virginia Union University, as officials unveiled the renamed Industrial Hall building as the William A. & Pamela K. Royall Fine Arts Building and grand opening of the VUU Museum Galleries. The naming ceremony brought around 100 VUU officials, alumni, notable figures and guests from throughout the community to recognize the unveiling, celebrate the building’s new use and honor its namesakes for their contributions to the city, the university and the arts. “Education was always a priority in our lives,” Pamela Royall said in an emotional address during the ceremony, “not only because of the work we did, but because of the promise that it represents for greater access and opportunity. “I'm deeply grateful that our names will be associated with this building, and most importantly, also associated with the students who will learn, create, and discover right here.” The building, constructed in 1899 for industrial and technical learning as one of VUU’s original “Noble Nine” buildings, contains multiple gallery spaces and a creative incubation room on its first and second floors, while the third serves as space for art storage, workshops and classrooms. The works of self-taught artist Thornton Dial Sr. are featured in the building alongside Jacob Lawrence’s "Genesis" series, West and Central African masks and sculptures, Ethiopian crosses, and other contemporary, woven and folk art gifted by VUU alumni and supporters. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Folk-Art-Gallery-1.jpg) Along with the galleries in the L. Douglas Wilder Library, a total of over 800 works across eight collections are hosted between the two buildings on VUU’s campus, according to the university. “A lot of people poured their heart and soul into this project, and it shows,” Historic Richmond Executive Director Cyane Crump said of the Fine Arts Building. “It was a long time coming, but it was worth it.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Wilder-and-VUU-L.-Douglas-Wilder-Collection-Director-Ameta-Cartwright.jpg) Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and VUU's Wilder Collection Director Ameta Cartwright. The building also recognizes the work and commitment of Pamela and her husband Bill, who died in 2020\. Their decades of philanthropy and volunteer work with museums, artists, community initiatives and institutions across the city, including their time on the VUU Board of Trustees, have been cited and celebrated for their dedication. The breadth of appreciation for the Royalls' impact could be felt in the commendations from current and former political officials, and in the presence of leaders from art installations they’ve helped or served on, including the Institute for Contemporary Art, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts throughout the event. “Bill and Pam Royall, for you to put your money where your mouth is means a great deal,” former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said during the ceremony. VUU alum, fine artist and DJ Alvin Daughtery saw the building as a welcome addition to the university, given the state of fine arts education when he graduated over a decade earlier. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Alvin-Daughtery-2.jpg) Alvin Daughtery The Board of Trustees had reinstated the Fine Arts degree program in 2011, with three disciplines and a new location in the recently re-designed Belgian Building, but Daughtery remembers the department’s scope as limited compared to other majors when he was enrolled. Daughtery was glad to see continued investment in this aspect of the university’s curriculum, and is open to contributing to and collaborating with VUU in its future art endeavors. “I’m very excited that they’ve opened up this fine arts building for the students, for the future, for the past, and for everything that Virginia Union has to offer,” Daughtery said. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Ceremony-Ribbing-Cutting-2.jpg) The ceremonial ribbon cutting. Speakers and guests during and after the ceremony struck a similar tone of enthusiasm and optimism when talking about the Fine Arts Building and Museum Galleries, and its potential for the future of Richmond and the arts. “While Bill is not with us today, this building carries his name and Pam's, and it carries their conviction that great art belongs in every part of this city,” State Delegate Rae Cousins said. “I am excited that it will not only be an asset to students here at Virginia Union, it will be an asset to kids throughout our community.”