William King Museum of Art

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage "Sherwood Anderson and the American Modernists" is a special exhibition and related programming planned for September through December 2005, based on Sherwood Anderson's connection to Abingdon and the William King Regional Arts center's locale. The related programs will sustain cultural heritage through the implementation of an exhibit and activities that are special to this part of southwest Virginia. The exhibit and activities will use original works of art, artifacts, and scholars to educate residents and visitors to the region about American cultural heritage, the modernist movement in art history, and American literature. Three years in the planning, the exhibit is a cooperative effort involving the museum, libraries, higher education institutions, and the State Theatre of Virginia. Starting in 2000, the advisory committee met several times to discuss the scope of the exhibit, and all major participants have surveyed the historic Anderson home. The Arts center's curator of fine art has searched for works to be exhibited and has consulted with a major Sherwood Anderson scholar at the University of Richmond about the relevance of the works to Anderson's career. The Arts Center consulted with a fine arts travel service in planning the time slot for the exhibit.