Operating Hours

Open Tuesday through Saturday

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed
Sundays and Mondays

Admission is free.

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

Artists’ Register

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 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. 

2024 Quilts and Wall Hangings Juried Exhibition

The 43rd annual Quilts and Wall Hangings Exhibition will be featured Great Hall at the Culture Center through September 9, 2024. The exhibit opened on Friday, May 24, 2024 with an awards ceremony at the annual Vandalia Gathering at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex. For more information, please contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 or Sidney.L.Duncan@wv.gov.

GOLDENSEAL: 50 Years of West Virginia Traditional Life

The West Virginia State Museum and GOLDENSEAL Magazine have worked together to create a showcase of photos and artifacts related to GOLDENSEAL magazine subjects and our museum collections. Like GOLDENSEAL, the exhibit aims to showcase the people and stories of West Virginia. 

The culture and community of the Mountain State, as covered by GOLDENSEAL magazine over the last fifty years, are highlighted in the exhibition through sections related to the history of the magazine, music, rural life, industry, and artists and craftsmanship. The photography of Steve Payne, Rick Lee, Michael Keller, Tyler Evert, and Steve Brightwell who were state photographers that contributed regularly to the magazine, is used throughout the exhibit.

This exhibit will remain on display through October 2024. For more information, please contact Laiken Blankenship, GOLDENSEAL editor, at (304) 558-0220 or Laiken.J.Blankenship@wv.gov.

Visions of the 80s: Juried Art for the Permanent Collection

Enjoy a look back at the first full decade of the West Virginia Juried Exhibition from five decades ago and the artwork that laid the foundation to create one of the finest contemporary art collections in any museum. Since 1979, the West Virginia Juried Exhibition has highlighted the extraordinary creativity of West Virginia artists and craftspeople. Now featured in the Balcony Gallery of the Culture Center are thirty-three works of art by fourteen artists from the 1980s who produced multiple award winners throughout the decade that then became part of the museum’s permanent contemporary art collection. Each artist featured in the exhibit won more than one award during the period.

This exhibit will remain on display through mid-October 2024.

Upcoming Exhibits

West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History will be accepting submissions for the 2024 West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition through September 6, 2024. The exhibit will open with an awards ceremony and reception at 2:00 p.m. on November 3, 2024 at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. Eligible artists may submit two pieces for the exhibit jurying in painting, print/drawing, mixed media, craft/wall hangings, photography, digital art and sculpture. Entries must have been created within the last two years (between 2022 and 2024). Please note that digital images, not original pieces, are submitted for the jurying process. The winning work for Best of Show is a $1,000 Purchase Award and will be acquired for the West Virginia State Museum’s Permanent Collection.

The prospectus and entry information can be found at: https://bit.ly/2024-emerging-artists. For questions and more information, please contact Sidney Duncan, Exhibits Coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 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.

The upcoming two exhibits in the series will be titled West Virginia Wildlife, and Historic and Prominent West Virginia People. Submissions for the third installation, West Virginia Wildlife will open September 20, 2024. A prospectus and information will be available on our website.

For more information or if you are interested in submitting artwork for the upcoming shows, 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.