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

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.

Inspired: West Virginia Landscapes

The West Virginia Landscapes exhibit is the first installation of Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions, featuring four different West Virginia themes. Thirteen West Virginia artists, representing nine counties, were selected for the West Virginia Landscapes show, which features 21 pieces of various mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, craft and print. The exhibit will remain on display in the Commissioner’s Gallery at the Culture Center until mid-June 2024.

This series of exhibitions will be featured over the next two years in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary, or Semiquincentennial, of the United States of America. The other three exhibits will be titled Historic Buildings and Structures, Wildlife, and Historic and Prominent West Virginia People.

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.

Upcoming Exhibits

Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions

This 4-part series of exhibitions will be featured over the next two years in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary, or Semiquincentennial, of the United States of America. The second installation of the exhibit will feature West Virginia Historic Buildings and Structures and will open on Sunday, July 28, 2024 with a public reception and awards ceremony at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. 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.

West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History will begin accepting submissions for the 2024 West Virginia Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition on July 1, 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.

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.