William King Regional Arts Center

William King Regional Arts Center http://wkrac.orgis the only facility of its kind serving far Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. Located in an historic 1913 building - a fully renovated former school - the Arts Center features museum-standard galleries showcasing art of the region and of the world. From the region's most compelling contemporary works to its historical decorative arts to art of the world - often that of non-Western cultures - you'll find it here.

Classes in the visual and performing arts are offered year-round for both children and adults, and school programs are available both on-site and directly in the schools through our outreach program.

The Center also features resident artist studios, an outdoor sculpture garden and museum store, and an historic house museum.

The Arts Center is a Partner of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a member of the American Association of Museums, the Virginia Association of Museums and the Southeastern Museums Conference.

Education Programs

VanGogh Outreach

Van Gogh Outreach takes the art room directly into the second grade public school classroom four times a year with SOL-based lessons and an emphasis on the visual arts using the study of China, Egypt and Native American Indians. Classes are 90 minutes in length with a 30-minute lecture and a 60-minute art project. In the 2007-2008 school year Van Gogh provided more than 16000 hours of instruction to students in 12 counties in southwest Virginia.

Art Express

A program for third graders, ART EXPRESS offers youngsters across the region a full day's visit to the Arts Center. During their day, students tour the art museum - a first-time experience for many children - then take part in two art activities related to what they have seen in the galleries. Pre and post-visit classroom activities enable teachers and students alike to maximize the experience.

Heritage Express

An SOL-based program for fourth grade Virginia History students which focuses on our rich cultural heritage. The 3.5 hour program offers opportunities to enrich and reinforce students' classroom learning experiences through guided tours of the cultural heritage galleries at the Arts Center and the Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum and a hands-on art project.

Feilds-Penn 1860 House Museum

History comes to life through guided tours that interpret 19th-century life in Southwest Virginia. The home's original owners enjoyed status in the emerging middle class: the Fields in the years on the eve of the Civil War, and the Penns in the gilded 1890s.

As a brick mason and building contractor, James Fields built his home in 1860, for wife, Susan, and their eight children, in the latest American style. The family of George and Estelle Penn moved into the house in the 1890s and made it their home for 75 years.

Visitor Information

Location: 415 Academy Drive (off West Main Street or Russell Road) in Abingdon, Virginia.

Directions: From Interstate 81: Exit 17 to Cummings Street, left onto West Main Street, right onto Academy Drive just past Abingdon Police Station. Highway directional signs mark this route. From Highway 19: Left onto Russell Road, right onto Academy Drive.

External links

* [http://www.wkrac.org/ Official Site]