Dear Friends and Supporters,
As I reflect on the past year at WKMA, I am grateful for the support and dedication of our members, volunteers, Board of Trustees, and staff. Together, we have made 2024 a remarkable year!
Throughout 2024, our skilled curatorial team curated exhibits that spanned from 19th Century Art Nouveau to contemporary Urban Folk Art. Our Youth Education department introduced thousands of children to the joy of art. The Art Lab offered numerous classes, providing our community with the chance to learn from accomplished educators and artists.
Looking forward, I’m excited about all we have planned for 2025! We will unveil ten new exhibits, including the 17th biennial juried show titled “FromThese Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands.” Our commitment to delivering outstanding art education programming for both youth and adults will continue. By the end of the year, we expect to be nearing the completion of our new wing, which will house the Worrell Collection of Animal Art.
The WKMA team and I are excited about all that the museum has to offer in the upcoming year. We look forward to welcoming you in 2025!
-Betsy K. White, Executive Director
In 2024, we welcomed 5000 visitors from 29 States as well as 2 Canadian provinces (Toronto and Quebec). Additionally, we had visitors from Ireland, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
We held six Members, Lenders, and Special Guests Receptions to celebrate the opening of new exhibits, from 19th Century Art Nouveau to contemporary Urban Folk Art. In conjunction with the Virginia Highlands Festival, we hosted the 8th Annual Plein Air Abingdon Grand Finale Exhibit Reception with all proceeds from art sold going to disaster relief.
WKMA Members were treated to five Members’ Morning events where they had the opportunity to learn more about the exhibits from the artists and curators. We also held four family friendly Tours at Four/Tours at Two where adults had the opportunity to experience a curator led tour while kids got to make a craft with teachers from our Youth Education department.
13,920 children experienced the joy of art through our Youth Education programs. These programs include VanGogh Outreach, Heritage Express, tours, art camps, classes, and after school activities.
Our VanGogh Outreach visits 43 schools in 12 counties, spreading the love of art to second and third graders across Southwest Virginia. Our Heritage Express program is a museum experience tailored to fourth graders that immerses students in the history of the Great Road and the early pioneering spirit that brought settlers to the mountains. We also offer weekly classes on our campus for homeschool students.
Mistletoe Market is the region’s largest holiday shopping event and the biggest annual fundraiser for William King Museum of Art. Proceeds from Mistletoe Market benefit educational programming at William King Museum of Art.
This year we offered 85 booths filled with local art, holiday items, jewelry, clothes, crafts, décor, and more. We also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the market with the Silver Bells Gala and Silent Auction. As always, we had a VIP Champagne Brunch and pictures with Santa.
WKMA’s Art Lab is a hub for learning where artists, makers, students, educators, and the public can connect, exchange knowledge, explore ideas, and hone their skills.
In 2024, we continued to provide enrichment experiences for visiting high school groups as well as classes, workshops, and internships for our educational partners, Emory & Henry College, Virginia Highlands Community College, and the College for Older Adults.
We offered five tours, twenty-two classes, and four camp sessions for teens. We also featured ten Art Lab Hallway Exhibits, highlighting the work of students and adults. We brought artists in our community together with two Local Artist Meetups in collaboration with Jocelynn Matthewes. We also offered a teacher in-service session and hosted an intern.
William King Museum of Art hosts resident artists throughout the year. These talented artists are engaged in contemporary artistic research and/or production and are actively involved with the museum’s educational mission.
In addition to our Resident Artists, we also host Suzanne Stryk who creates conceptual nature paintings and assemblages. This year we welcomed Patrick King, our New Visions Emerging Artist. Patrick currently has a series of abstract paintings on view in the Art Lab Hallway Gallery.
Be sure to check out our current and upcoming exhibits!
Interested is classes or workshops? Check out our Calendar to see what we have to offer!
