RELATED: Day-by-day guide to shows, concerts and more in the Charleston area, through July 2008. If you know of changes to any schedules listed below, e-mail gazz@wvgazette.com or call 348-3017
Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences
1 Clay Square (300 Leon Sullivan Way), hands-on science exhibits, changing art exhibits and ElectricSky Theater in the center's Avampato Discovery Museum; permanent science exhibits Health Royale (health), Gizmo Factory (physics, mechanics) and Milton Gardner's Earth City (earth sciences); giant-screen films and planetarium shows; science demonstrations daily, Wee Wednesdays 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. story time for preschoolers.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; admission, adults, $6.50; children, teachers and senior citizens, $5; Electric Sky Theater events extra. Call 561-3500 or visit www.theclaycenter.org.
Through Sept. 7: Selections from permanent collection; part of gallery closed for installation of new exhibit.
Sept. 8-Nov. 11: "In the Realm of the Senses: Selections from the Collection of Dr. James Cottrell and Joseph Lovett," collection of West Virginia native Dr. James Cottrell and Joe Lovett, both now of New York, offers glimpse at painting in contemporary art through high-quality works by contemporary abstract artists Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Roy DeForest, Robert Longo, Robert Mapplethorpe and others. The collection tends toward abstractions with built-up surfaces of paint and offers an in-depth look at many of the artists, often through three or more examples of their work.
Nov. 23-Dec. 30: "Remembering When: Christmas at the Clay Center."
Jan. 12-March 30: "Rite of Spring: An installation by Robin Hammer and Chris Dutch": Local artists interpret in wood, painted wood, glass and metal their impression of the ballet, music and history tied to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." The 800-square-foot installation will include a three-dimensional wall system representing a life-size stage set. Freestanding, life-size human figures and elements of nature will take their places on the gallery floor. The exhibit will also include a survey of the duo's collaborative sculptural work over 18 years.
April 12-June 22: "Fiberart International 2007." Work of nationally and internationally known contemporary fiber artists in juried show organized by Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, a group that supports fiber artists worldwide.
July and August: TBA.
Huntington Museum of Art
2033 McCoy Road, Huntington, permanent exhibits include history of firearms; factory glass and art glass from Ohio Valley and beyond; English portraits and English silver; Touma Near Eastern Gallery and its Damascus Room; Edwards Conservatory and its rotating exhibits of subtropical gardens; permanent collection includes paintings by Braque, Renoir, Eugene Boudin, Charles-Francois Daubigny, Childe Hassam, Franz Kline, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, Robert Henri, an oil crayon drawing by Picasso, art glass by Toots Zynsky, Dale Chihuly and Paul Stankard and a mobile by Alexander Calder.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, $8 per person, $25 per family through Sept. 9, when the Marilyn Monroe exhibit closes; then the price drops to $5 per person, $18 per family. Free on Tuesdays, free for school groups. Call 529-2701 or visit www.hmoa.org.
Sept. 8-Nov. 4: Walter Gropius Master Artists Exhibit: "Michael Connelly." Utilitarian pottery by Michael Connelly, studio potter in Philadelphia and head of ceramics, Montgomery Community College, Blue Bell, Pa., in conjunction with Connelly's three-day hands-on workshop Oct. 19-21.
Sept. 15-Nov. 11: Walter Gropius Master Artists Exhibit: "Black and White: Diane Edison." Artist explores chiaroscuro, or illusion of volume created by light and shade, in portraits of important men in her life including friends, family and colleagues. Professor of painting and drawing at University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art, Edison offers a three-day workshop Sept. 21-23.
Sept. 22-Dec. 30: "Alex Booth Collection." Former museum board Chairman Alex Booth Jr., a Huntington native now retired to Florida, has over the past 50 years donated works by Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Georges Braque, John Singer Sargent, George Wesley Bellows and many others to the museum. The family's gifts keep working today through the bequest of his mother, Roxanna Y. Booth, which funds the Walter Gropius Master Artists Workshop Series and related lectures.
Sept. 22-Dec. 30: "Passionate Gatherings/Private Worlds: Works from Tri-State Collections," a look at private collections in the area, and the objects that speak to their caretakers. Objects range from an ancient Egyptian bronze and early American Indian artifacts to cutting-edge contemporary art.
Nov. 3-Jan. 13: "Video: Beyond the Frame -- Mary Lucier, Floodsongs, 1998." Based on devastating 1997 Red River flood and fire in Grand Forks, N.D., this large-scale, multichannel, environmental video and audio installation evokes feeling of being submerged as layers of voices and images surround a visitor. A Walter Gropius Master Artist, Lucier will speak about her work at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 and give a three-day workshop Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
Nov. 17-Jan. 6: "Snow Paintings": wintry scenes from permanent collection.
Jan. 5-March 30: "Daywood Collection -- Prints." Complements Daywood painting exhibit that opens Jan. 12.
Jan. 12-March 30: "Daywood Collection -- Paintings," one of museum's core collections, assembled by West Virginians Arthur S. and Ruth Woods Dayton and focusing on American art of late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jan. 26-May 4: "Blenko: West Virginia's Gift to the World." More than 100 glass pieces from West Virginia State Museum and Huntington Museum of Art tour the state.
Jan. 27-March 16: "Painting the Beautiful: American Impressionist Paintings from the Michener Art Museum Collection," 25 paintings by 12 Pennsylvania Impressionists working in Bucks County, whose realism grounded in love of land embodied America's populist, pioneer spirit.
April 12-July 13: "A.G. Edwards Collection: American Spirit." Fifty-five American prints, posters and photographs explore westward expansion, American industry, wartime art, women's issues, landscapes and immigrant experience.
April 12-July 13: "Bill of Rights." Created as a bicentennial salute to Americans' constitutional rights, these 15 silkscreen prints (1970-74) by artist Paul Levy use the American flag to give different shades of meanings to everyday expressions.
April 12-May 11: "Portfolio." Work by middle and high school students from the Tri-State area.
May 24-June 22: Allied Artists of West Virginia: biennial exhibit held for first time at Huntington Museum of Art.
July 26-Sept. 21: Marshall University's Rosanna A. Blake Collection. Yet-to-be-determined selections from superb Confederate collection that includes monographs, imprints, soldier's diaries, Civil War-era newspapers preserved on microfilm.
July 26-Sept. 21: "Civil War Photographs from the David L. Hack Collection," 50 original, rare photographs from major collection owned by Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va.
July 26-Sept. 21: "Civil War Redux: Pinhole Photographs by Willie Anne Wright." Contemporary pinhole photographs by Virginia photographer Willie Anne Wright, who followed weekend troops to re-enactments, both large and small, capturing vast array of characters -- men and women, whites and blacks, Yankees and Rebels. Wright will offer a three-day Walter Gropius Master Artist Series hands-on workshop on pinhole photography (date TBA).
Aug. 16-Sept. 14: Tri-State Arts Association, biennial juried exhibit.
Museum in the Park
Chief Logan State Park, W.Va. 10, Logan, regional cultural center with changing art and history exhibits and permanent historical exhibit "Dehue ... A Special Place"; children's art and craft workshops at 11 a.m. Saturdays. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, school and tour groups by appointment. Free. Call 792-7229 or visit www.wvculture.org.
Sept. 29: Fall Festival: Performer Mark Wood, also free games and prizes for kids.
Nov. 4 and 5: Frontier Days: Living history weekend with early 1800s re-enactors demonstrating skills in encampment on museum lawn.
June 14 and 15: West Virginia Days: Early 1800s re-enactors encampment.
Parkersburg Art Center
725 Market St., Parkersburg, in addition to special exhibits, selections from the permanent collection go on display from time to time. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, $2. Dates, shows are subject to change. Call 485-3859 or visit parkersburgartcenter.org.
Sept. 12-Oct. 31: "The Portrait in Nature: Oils by Martin Weinstein." New York painter inserts shadowy figures into lush landscapes.
Sept. 12-Oct. 2: "Wild, Wonderful Fibers." Work by 17 of state's best fiber artists, including Elaine Bliss, Michael Davis, Lori Flood, Sharon Goeres, Betty McMullen, Cynthia Myerberg, Liz Nutter, tours the state.
Oct. 19-Feb. 8: West Virginia State Juried Exhibition: For first time, exhibit will be somewhere other than Cultural Center in Charleston.
University of Charleston
2300 MacCorkle Ave. SE, West Virginia Women Artist Collection in Erma Byrd Gallery, rotating exhibits in Frankenberger Art Gallery, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free. Call 357-4795 (Frankenberger) or 357-4716 (Byrd).
Capitol Complex venue showcases state's artistic, cultural and historic heritage. The State Museum, telling the story of the state's history, is closed for an extensive and somewhat stalled renovation that has just received additional funding from the Legislature; a reopening date has not been set, and it won't be in 2007 or 2008. The Cultural Center houses the West Virginia State Archives, also display cases and small galleries that showcase the state's art and history in changing exhibits. The Cultural Center also offers family programs and State Capitol tours. Free. Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Call 558-0162 or visit www.wvculture.org.
Through Nov. 13: Homer Laughlin China.
Nov. 2-Jan. 1: Sculptures from the collection.
Nov. 21-Jan. 1: Quilts from the collection.
Jan. 10-March 30: Fenton Art Glass.
March 14-April 18: Youth Art Month Exhibition.
May 9-Sept. 2: Quilts and Wall Hangings, annual juried exhibit by West Virginia fabric artists.
Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia
New River Park, Beckley, beside the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Hours: April 1-Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday; Nov. 2-March 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; admission to museum, its Mountain Homestead, the coal mine and its coal camp: adults $15; senior citizens $13; children $10; everything but the mine is $8; until mine reopens (estimated to take place in April 2008), admission to the museum is $5, free for children under 3. Call 252-3730 or visit www.beckleymine.com.
Through Sept. 30: "Go Figure." Hands-on exhibit transforms charming children's books into kid-size world, from Minnesota Children's Museum.
Oct. 1-Dec. 31: "Blast Off." Interactive space exhibit from the Children's Museum of Cleveland gives children opportunity to learn math, science, language and arts while exploring space.
Dec. 1: "Christmas in the Homestead." Traditional music, cooking on open hearth, candlelight tours. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Admission TBA.
Jan. 6-April: "Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood." Exhibit designed as class project by WVU graphic design students. The West Virginia Humanities Council led a team that created the content. Should the new state have needed the consent, as the Constitution required, of the state from which it was splitting?
May 12-August: "Inside Art." Using such iconic images as painter Grant Wood's "Dinner for Thrashers," exhibit gives kids the opportunity to step into and walk through framed paintings into a world where watercolor paint tins becomes benches and the paintings themselves become three-dimensional settings that the children enter.
BRIEFLY NOTED Musuems and Exhibition Spaces:
African-American Heritage Family Tree Museum: Logtown Road and Jones Street, Ansted, artifacts from West Virginia blacks, photographs by William Harvey Jordan, exhibits about Carter Woodson and Booker T. Washington. Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Memorial Day through July 31, Friday and Saturday Aug. 1 to Labor Day, and by appointment the rest of the year, $2. Call 658-5526.
Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine: New River Park, Beckley, beside the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia. CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS UNTIL APRIL 2008. Call 256-1747 or visit www.beckleymine.com.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park: Parkersburg: Hours: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday from May 1 to Labor Day; 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday through last weekend in October; boat to the island: adults $8, children 3-12 $7; tour of the reconstructed mansion: adults $3, children $2. Call 420-4800 or visit blennerhassettislandstatepark.com.
Pearl S. Buck Birthplace: Hillsboro: Childhood home of West Virginia's Nobel Prize-winning author, restored to her 1892 birth year. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, May 1-Oct. 31. Adults $6, senior citizens $5, students K-12 $1. Call 653-4430 or visit www.pearlsbuckbirthplace.com.
Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse: 300 Virginia St. E, rotating art exhibits, ground floor and mezzanine lobbies. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free. Call 347-3086.
Camp Washington-Carver: Clifftop, Fayette County, mountain cultural arts center, originally created as 4-H and agricultural extension camp for state's black residents. Call 438-3005 or visit www.wvculture.org.
Cook-Hayman Pharmacy Museum: Room 1132, Health Sciences North, West Virginia University, Morgantown, pharmacy artifacts, including old remedies, glassware, business ledgers, from the 19th and 20th centuries. CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. Call 293-5101.
Craik-Patton House: 2809 Kanawha Blvd. E, tours of the 1834 home. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday or by appointment; adults $3, students $2. Call 925-5341.
Della Brown Taylor Gallery: Davis Fine Arts Building, West Virginia State University, Institute, changing exhibits of art by both students and professional artists. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Free. Call 766-3196.
Heritage Farm Museum & Village: 3300 Harvey Road, Huntington. Guided tours of five museums: PROGRESS: 1850-1925 kitchens, model railroads, printing, etc.; TRANSPORTATION: Conestoga wagon, 1908 all-electric, four-battery delivery truck, Model T and A Fords, miniature steam exhibit; COUNTRY STORE: peddler, post office, drugstore; INDUSTRY: agriculture equipment, including 1913 steam-powered Case tractor; machine shop; exhibits on coal mine, timber, glass industries; AMERICANA: 100 washing machines, churns, weaving, farming, dentist and doctor's offices, barbershop, one-room schoolhouse, broom shop. Also, accommodations for overnight stays and receptions. Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday (weather permitting in December, January, February); two-hour tour, adults $8, senior citizens $7, children ages 3-12 $6; last tour begins at 1:30 p.m.; petting zoo/nature walk, Saturdays only, $5 per person. Call 522-1244, e-mail hfmv@comcast.net, or visit www.heritagefarmmuseum.com.
Heritage Towers: 612 Virginia St. E, self-guided tours of the facility and an exhibit promoting black history and the contributions of West Virginians. Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, also group tours by appointment; adults $7.50, students $6.50, senior citizens and children under 12 $5.50. Call 343-6202. www.heritagetowers.us.
Huntington Railroad Museum: Memorial Boulevard and 14th Street West, in Huntington's Ritter Park, outdoor museum includes steam engine locomotive, caboose, wood-frame handcar, one-man velocipede; museum operated by Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, whose members explain all. Hours: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday from Memorial Day through Sept. 30, also by appointment. Free. Call 523-0364 or visit www.newrivertrain.com/museum.shtml.
WVU Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp & Conference Center: Jackson's Mill, Weston, site of boyhood home of Stonewall Jackson; availability of main grounds depends on camp/conference schedule. Hours: historic area open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday April, May, September and October, and daily except Mondays from Memorial Day through Labor Day; guided tours are available on the hour, $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, $3 for children ages 4-12; last tour begins at 4 p.m.; group tours available. Call (800) 287-8206 or visit www.jacksonsmill.wvu.edu.
James Hornor Davis Family Galleries: downtown library complex, West Virginia University, Morgantown. Historical artifacts, manuscripts, and art related to West Virginia history from West Virginia & Regional History Collection. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday when school is in session. Free. Call 293-3536.
Jenkins Plantation Museum: W.Va. 2 between Huntington and Point Pleasant, 1835 home of Confederate Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Free. Call 762-1059 or visit www.wvculture.org.
Mesaros Art Galleries: Creative Arts Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown: Hours: noon to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Free. Call 293-4841, ext. 3108, or visit art.ccarts.wvu.edu/galleries.
Museum in the Community: 3 Valley Park Drive, Hurricane. Hours of operation vary. Call 562-0484, visit museuminthecommunity.org or e-mail info@museuminthecommunity.org.
Museum of Radio and Technology: 1640 Florence Ave., Huntington, radio and television receiving and transmitting equipment from the early 1900s through the 1960s. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday year-round, also usually 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday from mid-April through mid-October. Admission free, donation appreciated. Call 525-8890 or visit www.mrtwv.org.
Pierce Art Gallery: Conley Hall, WVU Tech, Montgomery. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and by appointment. Call 442-3257.
South Charleston Museum: 311 D St. in Historic LaBelle Theatre, South Charleston: exhibit on history of South Charleston and Kanawha Valley; documentary and feature films of local and regional interest and sometimes live entertainment at 7 p.m. on second and last Saturdays of each month. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment, exhibits free, $4 for Saturday events. Call 744-9711, e-mail scmuseum@yahoo.com, or visit www.geocities.com/scmuseum.
Tamarack: Exit 45, Interstate 77, Beckley, crafts superstore, rotating art exhibits, Jan. 1-March 1, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., April 2-Dec. 31, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call (88) Tamarack.
Touma Medical Museum: 9th Street Plaza in Century Building, Dr. Joseph Touma's collection of ear trumpets, believed to be among world's largest, and variety of medical memorabilia, including doctor's buggy from 1800s and a 1926 Ford Model T known as the Doctor's Coupe. Hours by appointment only. Free. Call 522-8800.
Booker T. Washington Cabin: 4208 Malden Drive, tours of the reconstructed home, maintained by West Virginia State University, available by appointment. Adults $5, children and school groups free. Call 766-4281.
Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum: Mineral Resources Building, Evansdale Campus, West Virginia University, Morgantown, historic artifacts and tools from coal, oil and gas industries in West Virginia. Free. Hours: 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday to Friday. Call 293-5695, ext. 2100.