Contact Information
Lyndsay Dennis, Executive Director
PO Box 1706
925 Market Street
Parkersburg, WV 26102
lyndsaydennis@yahoo.com
304-428-3988, 304-428-3989
Links
http://artsbridgeonline.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Artsbridge/
Description
The primary focus of Artsbridge is arts education. We currently provide arts programming in Wood, Pleasants, Jackson, and Ritchie counties in West Virginia, and Washington and Morgan counties in Ohio. Arts Education programs include: ArtCart, Very Spectacular Arts Festival, Catalog-of-Artists, school Arts Tours, Arts Encounter, Art Connections, and an annual fine arts scholarship. All of these programs are free for students.
ArtCart is our largest and fastest growing program. This program, which began in one school in 2016 has now grown to include over 2,000 4 th and 5 th grade students in 15 Wood County elementary schools! The curriculum follows the WV state curriculum guidelines for Art and focuses on learning the process rather than product.
Our annual Very Spectacular Arts Festival brings between 250-500 special needs students together for a day of hands on arts experiences including painting, singing, dancing, and many more activities. The “Catalog of Artists” and School Tours programs bring artists directly into the schools for interactive presentations. Art Connections is a traveling series we present in various neighborhoods which provides six-week series’ of free art classes.
The secondary focus of Artsbridge is providing arts opportunities for our community. Some of these events include: Summer Music Series, Winter Music Series, art activities tents at festivals and parks, and a free, public art gallery at Grand Central Mall!
History, Mission and Vision
A group of 250 citizens came together in 1966 to create United Arts Council for the Mid-Ohio Valley. In 1986, Artsbridge, Inc. was born out of that group of local arts supporters and advocates. Over the years Artsbridge has transitioned from a re-granting organization to a fully program based arts education organization. We offer nearly 20 arts programs for all ages. With one of goals being accessibility, we strive to keep most of our programs free. Our mission statement is “igniting the Arts within the Mid Ohio Valley” and our vision statement is “Serving as the bridge to bring Arts to our communities.”
