Longwood Center for the Visual Arts

The Center is open for business! Marvel at the giant American flag made from shoes, revel in the grandeur of Virginia's first families, marvel at the talent of children in Southside Virginia. The galleries are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Everyone is welcome. Located at the corner of Third and Main in downtown Farmville, the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts is the art museum at Longwood College.

In the Main Street Gallery view The Soul of America project, an 8' x 15' flag made from shoes. The project was conceived by LCVA staff and created by the citizens of Farmville. The Soul of America (pun intended) is a symbolic tribute to our country. It reminds us of our forefathers and foremothers who came before us, the idea that although we are all different we can come together for the greater good and that freedom is what makes us great as a nation.

More than 1000 old shoes were contributed by the community. Shoes were collected from drop off-boxes on the Longwood College campus, the Prince Edward County schools, and the Fuqua School. Bags of shoes were delivered by LCVA members, area garden clubs, area women's clubs and the Girl Scouts. After the shoes were collected, volunteers set to work priming and painting each shoe (some shoes required 4 coats of paint!). Then the shoes were arranged and screwed on to painted plywood. The flag was proportioned exactly to official standards. The stars were created with plywood and dowels.

The Barbara L. Bishop Gallery features 31 paintings from the Virginia Historical Society. The exhibition is titled Colonial Portraits: First Families of Virginia. The portraits document the region's early and celebrated history and the active art patronage of colonial Virginians. They record the likenesses and the cultural aspirations of a number of the founders of this country's first English society and government. Displayed are multiple portraits of members of the Randolph, Fitzhugh, Gordon, Wormeley, and Byrd families. These names are familiar to historians and genealogists, who over the past three hundred years have developed a sizeable body of literature about the "first families of Virginia." They have described the FFVs as a dominant force in the development and identity of society in the colony and in America.

In celebration of National Youth Art Month in March, the LCVA and Central Virginia Arts are proud to present the Annual Area Youth Art Exhibition in the Thomas Sully and Third Street Galleries. This year's exhibition includes works by students in kindergarten through 12th grade from Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, and Prince Edward Counties and the Fuqua School. Teachers showcase projects from throughout the year in all media. 355 works are featured representing 34 schools.

The Kids' Activity Room (adjacent to the Bishop Gallery) is a changing hands-on art-making area for children. Activities in the room are designed to make topics in current exhibitions come alive. The activities are free but children must be accompanied by an adult. The current theme for the Kids' Activity Room is Fabulous Faces: Portraits and Self--Portraits. Here children can dress up in costumes and produce their own portraits and self--portraits.

Heart Of Virginia Festival
P.O. Box 35
Farmville, VA 23901

email: info@heartofvirginia.org
Phone: (434) 395 2744