Explore the Vibrant Arts Scene in the Advantage Valley

This beautiful region of West Virginia boasts a wide variety of arts resources that serve both local creatives and visiting connoisseurs.

By Amy Antonation on October 23, 2023

Jeff Adkins

There’s more to West Virginia’s art scene than alley wall murals or park sculptures. Here, art is a medium that can foster a higher quality of life and spark economic development. Both aspiring and established artists in Charleston, Huntington and the Advantage Valley are sure to find opportunities, whether that means turning their side hustle into a career or using their work to invest in their community.

Night at the Museum

Exposure to the arts starts early at the Huntington Museum of Art (HMA). Its Museum Making Connections program is wide-ranging, with initiatives that include hosting art classes, sponsoring community events and working with chemotherapy patients to provide an outlet for creative expression.

A number of HMA’s programs are designed specifically for students, says Cindy Dearborn, director of education. “We have a program called Tri-State Elementary. An artist goes into second-grade classrooms within a 75-mile radius of the museum and does a program based on the STEAM principles,” she says.

(One of the counties served by HMA, Lincoln County, has built on arts education by establishing Lincoln County Friends of the Arts, which operates a gallery selling rural artists’ work and has provided workshops to help artists effectively market their art online.)

“We give the presentation and do an art project with the students. We also have an after-school program, so we visit schools and daycares,” Dearborn says.

Then there’s ArtWorks!, an outreach program in which professional artists mentor underserved teenagers while they conceive and create art projects.

But according to Dearborn, the most impactful educational program HMA offers is its tour program. “It’s the main focus we all hone in on,” she says. “We’re doing daily tours at the museum.”

Bryan Cooper

Making Connections

Encouraging local artists is so important that Charleston and Huntington have both dedicated city resources to the effort through Charleston’s Office of Public Art and Huntington’s Arts Council.

Also in Charleston is Arts Amplified, which, under the leadership of Bryan Cooper, supports artists by creating an online gallery and artists’ registry, offering mini-grants, and acting as a liaison between artists and potential patrons.

Arts Amplified came together in April 2020, says Cooper.

“We had an arts-rich town, but what we needed was a connector,” he says of the organization’s origin. “We have these two groups that don’t communicate well; Artists have a hard time valuing themselves and businesses don’t even know where to begin (when looking for an artist). How do we want to facilitate this?”

Later that year, Arts Amplified launched artsamplifiedwv.com and its artists’ registry, which Cooper says has been the most meaningful part of the project to date.

Area artists across all mediums add examples of their art to the registry, making for an easy, one-stop shop for individuals or businesses looking for a muralist, band, copywriter, chef, performer or other creative. In addition, says Cooper, the registry allows him to pass on paid opportunities to a large number of artists with ease.

Cooper also assists organizations seeking artists by helping with their search and even managing the hiring process, if needed. He cites a local brewery as well as the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, both of which are currently seeking artists via the formal request for quote (RFQ) process. “They want a whole RFQ process, which I’ll do for them,” he says. “We’ll house that opportunity for them, lead the meetings and reach out to artists.”

Finally, Arts Amplified has awarded over $116,000 in grants to projects ranging from a documentary highlighting the state’s Black musicians, to scholarships for artists attending classes and conferences, to an artist-in-residence program at a ceramics studio.

“Seeing our city really gather around art and grow is one of my favorite things,” Cooper says. “So is helping people realize how easy it is to work with our local artists. When an organization is overwhelmed, and I can streamline the process and make that easy for them, it always turns into them doing more with artists in the future.”