Winchester, VA 5/13/16…The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) is this week unveiling a new logo to herald its plan to expand as a cultural arts and heritage park.

According to MSV Executive Director Dana Hand Evans, the Museum’s new graphic identity signals the exciting transformation that is now taking place as the MSV enters the next phase of its Master Plan. This second phase, says Director Evans, will open 90 additional acres of the property to the public free of charge with the installation of three miles of hiking, biking, and walking trails enhanced by imaginative garden structures and outdoor art installations. Evans adds that the additions to the landscape and expanded access to the Museum campus will make the MSV Virginia’s largest—and the Shenandoah Valley’s only—public art park and gardens.

The new logo symbolizes both the Shenandoah Valley’s heritage and the MSV’s future. It was inspired by the eight-point star motif that is commonly featured in regional decorative arts, such as textiles, furniture, and folk art. The blue and green colors of the logo represent the Valley’s natural beauty, while the curving line in its center evokes both the Shenandoah River and the miles of paths that are now planned for the MSV landscape. The bold use of “MSV” under the logo acknowledges the popular use of these initials to refer to the site.

Designed by Shenandoah Valley graphic artist John Burns, of John Burns Illustration in Bluemont, Virginia, the new MSV logo now appears on signage outside the site’s entrance, on the MSV website (www.theMSV.org), and on printed materials. The transition to a total site-wide use of the new graphic identity will take place over the next six months.

A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes galleries, the Glen Burnie House, and seven acres of formal gardens. The galleries and exhibitions are open year-round; the house and gardens are open April through December. MSV admission is $10 or $8 for seniors and youth ages 13 to 18. General admission is always free to youth ages 12 and under and to MSV Members. Thanks to sponsor Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc., admission is free to all every Wednesday; between Memorial Day and Labor Day, free admission on Wednesdays extends until 8 p.m. Additional details are available HERE or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235. –END–

About the MSV Master Plan:

In 1997 the Glen Burnie House and Gardens opened seasonally to tell the story of the Wood and Glass families. Directed by a subsequent strategic planning process, in 2005 a new building with galleries and administrative space transformed the site into the year-round Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Six years later, the process to develop a new strategic plan began and culminated in The Strategic Plan for 2013–18. Directed by that blueprint, the new, eight-phase Master Plan is now guiding the transformation of the MSV. Fundraising is underway for Phase 2, which will provide a new main entrance; three miles of trails enhanced by garden structures, artworks, and four pedestrian entrances; an environmentally innovative Parking Garden; a new event lawn; and a horticultural facility. Highlights of subsequent phases will include new Orientation and Arts and Education Centers; an ornamental Crab Apple Orchard; an outdoor Amphitheater; and expanded exhibition spaces in the Museum Galleries. More complete details about the Master Plan are available HERE.