Folklife Center Honored During Governor's Arts Award Gala
The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University was awarded an Organizational Medallion for Excellence in Support of the Arts during the Governor’s Arts Awards Gala at the Culture Center on Thursday, March 10.
Sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, the event celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith of the Division of Culture and History, Director of Arts Renee Margocee and Commission on the Arts Chair Susan Landis presented etched glass medallions to 50 individuals and 50 organizations whose work in respective fields exemplifies the importance of art in our lives.
“The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center is honored to be included among this distinguished group of our state’s artists and art supporters,” said Pat Musick, Interim Director of the Folklife Center.
“The Center houses a library; classes for FSU’s Museum Studies and Folklore Studies minors; exhibitions, lectures and performances in our Great Room of Cultures and gallery spaces; and archives including heritage textiles, pottery, antique photographs, Ruth Ann Musick’s collected folklore, Patty Looman’s folk music estate and the Phyllis Wilson Moore West Virginia literary collection. It’s a tribute to West Virginia’s cultural diversity that our rich folk heritage and contemporary arts are honored together in this year’s Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. This award recognizes the Folklife Center as part of the richness of the arts in the Mountain State, along with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Mountain Stage, the WVU Art Museum and theater, dance, visual arts, music, poetry and traditional folk arts from all over West Virginia.”
The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University is dedicated to the identification, preservation and perpetuation of our region’s rich cultural heritage, through academic studies, educational programs, festivals and performances and publications. For more information about the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center, visit www.fairmontstate.edu/folklife.
About the photo: From left to right are Patricia Musick and student Christy Thompson.
Folklife CenterPatricia MusickGov. Earl Ray TomblinWest Virginia Division of Culture and HistoryWest Virignia Commission on the ArtsCollege of Liberal Arts
