The Strongwell Gallery was named for the Strongwell manufacturing company of Bristol, Va., by its owner and longstanding museum supporter, John Tickle. This gallery exhibits handmade objects and art created in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee prior to the mid-20th century. It also showcases the Cultural Heritage Project (CHP) and its research, which began in 1994 with a National Endowment for the Arts-funded field survey. Exhibits include loaned material, cultural arts, and decorative arts, supplemented by the museum’s own CHP permanent collection.
