Many museums inspire awe and wonder, transporting visitors back to the past or giving them a glimpse of the future, but few can claim to be a paradise for those who walk through the doors. The William King experience reaches that level for many people in Southwest Virginia who see their rich history celebrated along with art from around the world and new works from resident artists that will speak to current and future generations.

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Executive Director Betsy White played an integral role in transforming the former school into an accredited institution with a three-pronged mission to provide arts education, exhibit fine art, and preserve the region’s cultural heritage. She started out as a member of the William King Foundation committee formed to save the building and ended up preserving more than a historic structure.

“We found there were two strong needs that extended well beyond Washington County,” explained White. “One was a high security exhibition space and the other was art teachers at the elementary level. So, we ended up creating this large service area of nine counties in far Southwest Virginia that we hoped to serve through education and exhibitions.”

A capital campaign followed to raise funds to turn the aging building into the William King Museum of Art (WKMA). The new statewide partner of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) tapped into the expertise of VMFA exhibit designers and security teams to create the galleries for the 1992 opening, and a 1994 field study funded through a National Endowment for the Arts grant helped to significantly expand the collection.

White oversaw the study to find objects made by hand in the region prior to 1940. The treasure trove of items they uncovered ranged from local quilts to furniture, pottery, and musical instruments. Each contribution to this Cultural Heritage Project is helping to raise awareness of and appreciation for the region’s historic culture and the role it plays in American decorative arts. 

“We had our first exhibition in ’96 and now we're on exhibition number 44! The project has also produced two books published by university presses and has sort of become my life's work,” said White. “Going door-to-door with the field researcher really made me fall in love with it. There are so many beautiful pieces throughout the region.

“We are the research center for the cultural heritage of this region. That survey of ours has now resulted in 4,000 records and we use it to develop changing exhibitions. There's one downstairs right now that celebrates our own costume collection.”

The project also inspired a new program called Heritage Express, which uses the museum’s permanent collection of heritage objects to teach fourth graders about their history and traditions. Another educational program addresses Virginia’s Standards of Learning in social studies through presentations in the classroom. VanGogh Outreach offers lessons in Native American traditions for second graders and the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, China, and Mali for third graders.

“Most of the time, Heritage Express is their first visit to a museum,” said White. “They see their rich culture with their own little eyes and it's heartwarming. I happened to do the tour one day and we were in the gallery looking at crazy quilts. One child looked at a label and his eyes got very big. He said, 'That's a quilt like my grandmother has. I didn't know you were bringing me to paradise.'”

That was one of many memorable moments that make it all worthwhile for White, but paradise does come at a price. As one of about 1,000 museums in the nation to have received American Alliance of Museums accreditation, the WKMA has faced some operational challenges associated with the added visibility and prestige.

“We must take our security very seriously,” explains White. “Everything comes to a full stop at five o’clock and everyone, including me, must leave the building to the security guards. Those restrictions presented a challenge for artists working on site because creativity doesn’t conform to a 9 to 5 schedule. We were going to build a separate artisan courtyard but found a better option when Washington County moved out of the adjacent annex used as an administration building, opening up space for our new Art Lab.”

USDA Rural Development (RD) has been a partner in WKMA educational programs for more than 10 years, providing a $24,200 Community Facilities Grant in 2013 to fund the purchase of a vehicle and equipment like desktop computers and printers, a dry mount press, and laminator. Six years later, a $25,000 grant was used for additional digital lab classroom equipment to help students and adult learners become certified in Adobe Creative Cloud programs.

“I can remember learning about USDA a long time ago but wasn’t sure what Rural Development did,” said White. “When someone explained it to me, I just thought that’s the very nicest sort of agency.”

When continued growth began to tax aging systems required to maintain accreditation, RD stepped up once again to invest in the work of this unique community facility. A $66,000 grant awarded in 2021 helped White acquire a generator to ensure that collections remain well protected from a climate control perspective. An additional grant of $25,000 followed in 2023 towards the purchase of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) chiller to provide proper humidity and temperature control.

“Climate control is critical for the preservation of our collections and maintaining our high security status, and we had no generator,” said White. "Here we are in Southwest Virginia with some extreme weather but, knock on wood, we've gotten through it.

“We've also been using the same chiller for about 30 years, so we’re desperate for a new one. It has been band aided for so long but is holding its own so far. The new one is due to be installed in October and will serve this building and the art lab.”

Those upgrades are coming just in time for an expansion to house a special collection with ties to Southwest Virginia. Longtime Bristol Herald Courier owners Gene and Anne Worrell had a particular interest in wildlife art and acquired about 170 paintings and sculptures, including 12 large ones best displayed outdoors. After their passing, the foundation they created was determined to place the collection where it could be appreciated by schoolchildren and the general public.

“I know they were looking at a lot of other places, but the Worrells had lived here in Bristol and he was from here,'” said White. “Our accreditation, network with the school systems and big campus focused on nature were all selling points along with our mission of serving this large region.”

Construction has begun on a new three-story wing on the back of the existing building, which is scheduled for completion in late 2025. Visitors will enter on the main level. The middle floor will feature a lobby with a small café, gift shop and collection of Bristol artist Suzanne Stryk’s specially commissioned works, which will serve as an introduction to the animal art exhibit. The lower level will be reserved for receiving and art and collections storage.

“We're planning a big rollout opening for May of 2026 to coincide with Virginia 250* here in Abingdon,” said the Virginia Beach native. “We've decided on that time to celebrate Southwest Virginia’s main contribution to the Revolutionary War … basically winning it at the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain. The frontiersmen who fought in that battle, called Overmountain Men, were something else. Southwest Virginia is beyond wonderful, and few people know it.”

*Virginia American Revolution 250 (VA250)

Hear an audio excerpt from this interview. View transcript (pdf 77kb)