By Micah M. Mocnik
For The Register-Herald
Beckley — The Beckley Art Center auction turned donated collections into community support this week.
The Center hosted an art auction Thursday evening to raise money for the center and Hope in the Mountains, a faith-based, non-denominational nonprofit serving communities in southern West Virginia.
For Sandy Shaw, director of the Beckley Art Center, the event was about more than selling artwork. It was part of a larger effort to make the center a gathering place for Beckley and the surrounding community.
“We are striving to be a community center for everyone,” Shaw said. “We want to create artists, of course. But we also want to create a community for people to come.”
The auction featured donated artwork and objects from two collections. One collection centered on work by W. Lee Atkyns, an artist born in Washington, D.C., in 1913 who later died in Puzzletown, Pennsylvania, in 1987. Atkyns worked as a retouch artist for the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Map Service. The Atkyns collection was auctioned off live.
The second collection came from a woman who traveled widely and collected art and objects from around the world, including pieces connected to Cambodia, China, various African countries, Egypt, South America, the American Southwest, Alaska, and beyond. This collection was auctioned off in a silent format.
Shaw said the travel-based collection included original artwork, cut paper, printmaking, maps, World War II-related items, Japanese carved name tags, Russian military buttons, Americana, and other objects gathered through years of travel.
“There’s just a little bit of everything,” Shaw said.
Ryan Snuffer, executive director of Hope in the Mountains, said the auction offered a chance to raise money for the two organizations while also bringing people together through art.
“We want to make some friends, meet new people,” Snuffer said. “We want to raise money for two really good organizations.”
Hope in the Mountains works with people in impoverished areas and communities that may not have the same opportunities as people in other places, Snuffer said. The organization serves young people, older residents, and those in between, with a strong emphasis on substance abuse prevention.
The organization’s programs include summer camps for younger children, senior programs, and Pathways to Success, which works with young men from challenging backgrounds. He said the program focuses on mentoring, life skills, and providing support that some young people may not be receiving at home or in school.
The organization also works with Southern West Virginia Fellowship through a hiking program focused on relapse prevention, Snuffer said. As a nonprofit, Snuffer said, fundraising matters because the needs are practical and constant.
“Everybody knows that everything costs these days,” Snuffer said.
He said money raised can help cover program costs, staff, meals, facility expenses, and direct assistance for families. In the past, he said, the organization has helped provide Christmas gifts and shoes for children whose families could not afford them.
For Shaw, the same reality applies to the Beckley Art Center. Like many nonprofits, she said, the center depends on the generosity of the public, whether through donations, class participation, event attendance or art purchases.
“As a nonprofit, we are always sort of needing money,” Shaw said. “We depend on the generosity of the public.”
But Shaw also argued that the value of art cannot be measured only in dollars, even though art can have a real economic impact on a community.
“Where art thrives, communities flourish,” Shaw said. “Everybody looks for strong art programs when they move to a community.”
She said one reason the arts are often undervalued, especially in schools, is that creativity can be difficult to quantify in the same way as test scores or percentages.
“Art can’t be quantified in dollars and cents,” Shaw said. “Although it really can.”
She said art and music help strengthen other skills, including math, counting, timing, confidence, and communication. A student taking an art class, she said, may also become stronger in other areas because creativity teaches ways of thinking that do not fit neatly into standardized measurements.
Shaw also connected the arts to the need for community after COVID-19, saying many people have forgotten how to communicate, socialize, and relate to one another.
“I think community is more important now than it ever has been,” Shaw said.
She said classes at the Beckley Art Center can help people build confidence, feel creative, and find belonging. That sense of belonging, she said, is especially important for children.
“When you find a community, and you learn art classes, and you feel good about yourself because you’re creative, it makes people live longer, it makes people happier, it gives people self-confidence,” Shaw said.
Snuffer also described creativity as something deeply human. He said art reflects the belief that people are made in the image of God.
“As we create, we’re doing what the Creator wanted us to do,” Snuffer said.
Shaw expressed a similar idea, saying creativity is part of what separates humanity from the rest of creation.
“God created us in His image,” Shaw said. “He’s the great creator.”
The live auction included work from Atkyns’ collection, with pieces showing a range of style and development. Snuffer said some of Atkyns’ earlier pieces were more realistic, while later works showed looser lines, fewer details, and influence from trips out west.
He said Atkyns’ work showed a clear progression over time.
“You can see a progression in his style,” Snuffer said.
For anyone nervous about attending an event at the center, Shaw’s invitation was simple.
“Just take a look and come and join us,” Shaw said. “It won’t take long until you feel like you’ve found your people.”
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