Featured Exhibits

Operating Hours

Open Tuesday through Saturday

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed
Sundays and Mondays

Admission is free.

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Contact

Main: (304) 558-0220
TDD: (304) 558-3562

WV Department of Arts, Culture and History
Capitol Complex
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300

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Museum Events

Importance of Arts to Our Cultural History

When we talk about the value of arts and culture to society, we always start with its intrinsic value: how arts and culture can illuminate our inner lives and enrich our emotional world. This activity encompasses a broad range of disciplines that ranges from performing arts production and presentation, to visual arts exhibition, to arts education and arts in healthcare, to preservation and interpretation of our collective heritage. This is what we cherish.

However, we also understand that arts and culture have a wider, more measurable impact on our economy, health and wellbeing, society, and education. It is important we also recognize this impact to help people think of our arts and culture for what they are: a strategic national resource.

Essentially, life without the collective resources of our arts communities would be static and sterile—no creative arguments about the past, no diverse and stimulating present and no dreams of the future.

For more information about our current, upcoming or past exhibitions, contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department at (304) 558-0220 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

Current Exhibitions

West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition

The 2024 West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition features artwork by promising West Virginia artists from an array of disciplines. 57 West Virginia artists, representing 23 counties were selected for the show, which features 80 pieces including mixed media, craft, photography, digital art, painting, drawing, sculpture, and print.

This exhibition, as well as the biennial Juried Exhibition that the museum has held since 1979, and exhibitions like the Inspired series that is part of America250, have allowed the State Museum to build one of the best contemporary art collections in the country.

Please enjoy this presentation of West Virginia artists in various stages of their artistic careers on display in the Theater and Balcony Gallery of the Culture Center through February 2, 2025.

For questions and more information, please contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

West Virginia Historic Buildings and Structures

West Virginia Historic Buildings and Structures is the second installation of the Inspired: A Series of West Virginia Juried Exhibitions, a 4-part series honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Twenty-one West Virginia artists, representing twelve counties, were selected for the West Virginia Historic Buildings and Structures show, which features thirty-three pieces including painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, and print. The exhibit will remain on display in the Commissioner’s Gallery at the Culture Center until mid-December 2024. 

Upcoming Exhibits

West Virginia Wildlife

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) is now accepting submissions for the third installation of Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions. This installation of the exhibit will feature West Virginia wildlife.

Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions is a four-part series in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, highlighting visual representations of West Virginia themes. 

The exhibit will open Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, at 2 p.m. with an awards ceremony and reception at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, in Charleston and will be displayed through early May 2025.

For more information, please contact WVDACH Exhibits Coordinator Sidney Duncan at (304) 558-0220 ext. 175 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

Almost Heaven Art Exhibition

The office of the Governor, the West Virginia Department of Tourism, and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) invite students in Kindergarten through 12th Grade to participate in the annual Governor’s Almost Heaven Art Exhibition. This exhibition is open to public, private, and homeschool students. Submissions can be mailed or hand delivered to the Culture Center no later than Friday, January 17, 2025.

Designed to showcase student creativity and the arts, this year’s exhibition is a call for one-of-a-kind postcard designs illustrating your favorite West Virginia waterway. Selected postcard artwork will later be used by the Department of Tourism to personally invite travelers to Almost Heaven.

For entry information and contest guidelines, please visit https://bit.ly/AlmostHeavenArt2025. For questions and more information, please contact Sidney Duncan, WVDACH Exhibits Coordinator, at (304) 558-0220 ext. 175 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

2025 Youth Congressional Art Competition

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) will begin accepting submissions for the 2025 Youth Congressional Art Competition on Monday, December 2, 2024 through Friday, January 31, 2025. The competition is open to high school students only. Exceptions will be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grade on one campus. Each student can submit up to two entries. Artwork submissions can be mailed or hand delivered to the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston.

The exhibit is scheduled to open at the Culture Center on Friday, February 21, 2025. The WVDACH will host an arts workshop and awards ceremony, which will include light refreshments.

For complete entry information and detailed submission guidelines, please visit https://bit.ly/2025YouthCongressionalArt. For questions and more information, please contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 ext. 175 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions

This 4-part series of juried exhibitions featuring West Virginia themes will be featured over the next two years in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary, or Semiquincentennial, of the United States of America. All parts of the series will be displayed in the Commissioner’s Gallery of the Culture Center.

The final exhibit in the series will be titled Historic and Prominent West Virginia People. Previous shows have focused on landscapes, as well as historic buildings and structures. Submissions for Historic and Prominent West Virginia People will open February 2025.

For more information or if you are interested in submitting artwork for the upcoming show, contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

Past Exhibits

Click here to view current and past Department of Arts, Culture and History exhibits and exhibitions. The Department of Arts, Culture and History youth programs exhibits can be viewed here.