The National Council on the Arts, the advisory body for the National Endowment for the Arts, held their first meeting outside of Washington, DC, in 27 years when they gathered in Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia, for their summer meeting in 2018. The state arts agency West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) hosted the NEA and the council. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito spoke at the session and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin sent a video greeting.

“I am delighted to welcome members of the National Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to our great state of West Virginia,” said Governor Jim Justice. “They will have a chance to see our rich cultural history in action and the exciting things that artists and arts organizations are doing across the state for residents and visitors.”

NEA Chair Mary Anne Carter, NEA staff, and council members visited arts organizations such as the Huntington Museum of Art, the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center, and Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences.

“By bringing our National Council meetings to different venues, we are inviting the public to more fully participate in our grantmaking process,” noted Chair Carter. “At the same time, it allows our National Council members to see firsthand the impact of the grants they approve, including allocations to state and regional partners such as the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. State arts agencies and regional arts organizations are among our most important partners, as they best understand the unique needs and cultures of their communities. Exploring the rich and diverse West Virginia arts community will connect us with the value of our own work in a way that reading grant reports can never do. We will see firsthand how NEA-funded arts projects have touched and even transformed lives.”