By Jonah Grinkewitz
Do you have a pristine, prized Barbie or Ken doll that you’ve held onto from your childhood?
Well, they could take part in a new exhibition coming to the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University.
The museum is seeking submissions from the community for Barbie dolls in excellent condition for “Out of the Box,” opening March 8, 2025, and on display through July 31, 2025. The show will examine the history of Barbie as a design icon and will feature Barbie dolls from the Hampton Roads community.
“We’ve learned that with every doll exhibition we do there’s a strong local interest in them, but we always seem to find out about these great collections in our area after each show has already opened,” said Sara Woodbury, Ph.D., Curator of Art for the Barry Art Museum. “By developing this call for submissions, we’re hoping to anticipate that surge in local interest and include it as part of the show.”
The submission deadline is Nov. 15 and you can send in your information – including a photo and description of the doll – on the Barry Art Museum’s .
While the museum is open to all Barbie dolls, they are hoping to include the following ones:
- Brad and Christie, 1968-1969
- Julia, 1970 (from the TV show starring Diahann Carol)
- Superstar Barbie, 1977
- Fashion Photo Barbie, 1977-1978
- Angel Face Barbie Doll, 1982
- Peaches N’ Cream Barbie, 1984
- Day to Night Barbie, 1985
- Astronaut Barbie, 1986
- Barbie and the Rockers, 1986-1987
- First Holiday Barbie, 1988
- Pink Jubilee, 1989
- Costume Ball Barbie, 1990-1991
- Totally Hair Barbie, 1992
- Paint n’ Dazzle Barbie, 1993
- Wacky Warehouse Kool-Aid Barbie, 1995
- Olympic Gymnast Barbie, 1996
- Butterfly Art Barbie, 1998
- Givenchy Barbie, 1999
- Jewel Girl Barbie, 2000
- Barbie in the Nutcracker Tie-In Doll, 2001
- My Scene Barbie, 2002
- Happy Family Midge, 2002
- Destiny’s Child Barbie Dolls, 2005
- Top Model Barbie, 2007
- Barbie 50th Anniversary Doll, 2009
- Fashionistas, 2010
- Ken 50th Anniversary Doll, 2011
- Life in the Dreamhouse Barbie Tie-In Doll, 2012
- The Barbie Look Collection Dolls, 2012-2017
- Sports illustrated Cover Barbie, 2014
- Moschino Barbie, 2015
- Barbie Video Game Hero Tie-in Doll, 2017
- Barbie-themed Face Masks, 2020
- Barbie EXTRA Dolls, 2021
- Dia De Los Muertos Barbie and Ken, 2022
- Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Movie Edition Dolls, 2023
- 65th Anniversary Barbie Doll, 2024