Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

In September, Clay Center staff members Morgan Robinson, Vice President of Museum and Marketing, Thaddeus Papke, Director of Education, and Zack Merritt, Education Specialist, represented the Center at the Association of Science and Technology Centers annual conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The ASTC Annual Conference is one of the premier annual events for science-engagement professionals and leaders in science and technology centers and museums as well as allied organizations across North America and around the world.

Engage in strategic partnerships with regional & not-for-profit arts organizations. Engage in leadership activities such as presenting at conferences. Recently, the Center’s Education Specialist presented at the Assoc. of Science & Technology Center’s annual conference. Community building, training, & organizing. When the Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden’s centerpiece was fabricated, the Center hosted several community workshops to make tiles for the piece. Participate in networks & collective impact efforts: The VP of Development is part of Charitable Gift Planners of WV & the VP of Museum & Marketing is on the boards of several local non-profits. Raise awareness of mission & cause through marketing activities via an extensive approach that includes on & off-site promotions. Local, state, & federal policy advocacy: The President & CEO speaks to arts advocates & legislative representatives annually at the Clay Center. The VP of Museum & Marketing attends Arts Day at the Capital.

The Clay Center continues to implement virtual programming that was introduced during the height of the pandemic. To reach a larger audience, which includes constituents who may not be able to visit due to distance, the Clay Center presents virtual exhibit tours in the Juliet Art Museum, field trips, and educational programs, such as “Notes from the Field”. This social media campaign documented the Center’s Director of Education’s experience with an excavation team in Sardinia. Photos and notes were shared throughout his time in Italy of the team’s progress excavating a Bronze Age site from the Nuragic culture. In response to feedback received from guest surveys over the last year, the Center introduced more robust adult programming. Murder Mystery events invite guests ages 21 and older to explore the museum, interview suspects, and use deductive reasoning to guess ‘whodunnit’. Visual art workshops engage teens and adults in hands-on programming. The focus of recent workshops, which have been selling out, includes rug hooking, mask-making, beginner/intermediate watercolor, and art quilting. Efforts have also been made to enhance the visual arts offerings at the Center as part of a larger, ongoing visual arts initiative within our community. These efforts include a more balanced approach to the exhibition schedule so that local, regional, and national artists are featured in the museum. Additionally, special attention is being given to the Center’s Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden. This transformed outdoor space opened in June 2021. Since then, two sculptures have been added to the space, in addition to the sculpture that was unveiled at the Garden’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a commission is underway for another. Through workshops, tours, and free events, like the monthly Art After Dark program, the Clay Center is helping to make the visual arts more accessible to West Virginians.