Visions & Shadows takes viewers on an exploration of the unknown as national and regional artists display works that push the boundaries of traditional and non-traditional artistic mediums, as well as our imaginations.

Nationally recognized artists in the exhibit include puppeteer Darren Way, sculptor Lavana Lemley, photographer Jenna Manson, taxidermist Sara Ford Cocco, mixed-media artists Michael McKowen & Jason Sauer and more. Visions & Shadows also showcases the work of local artists in a juried competition.

Exhibit runs August 25 through November 4. The Stifel Fine Arts Center is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday. Free Admission.

Sponsored by United Bank.

The Shadows Ball Costume Party

Join us 7-11 p.m. Saturday, October 22 at the Stifel Fine Arts Center for a costumed celebration among the art of the Visions & Shadows exhibition.

Read more here.

The Mansion Museum in Oglebay is currently displaying nearly 40 samplers created during the heyday of schoolgirl samplers in America from 1764-1853. “Behold the labour of my hands” draws from the donated collection of Dr. Betty Jane McWilliams as well as Museum’s own collection. The exhibit demonstrates the educational role that samplers played in the lives of their young makers while showcasing an extraordinary range of patterns and needle skills.

On display through January 8, 2017. Free with Museum admission.

Sponsored by The McWilliams Foundation.

What is a Sampler?

Samplers are pieces of embroidery produced specifically as a demonstration of needlework skills by the maker. Each sampler is a record of the maker’s educational training. Until the mid-nineteenth century, education for girls across social and economic boundaries utilized the sampler as a teaching tool to develop skills for both practical and ornamental purposes. The majority of American samplers were stitched on a loosely woven linen that pulled together when cross-stitched with cotton or silk thread. Completed samplers were often framed and displayed as tangible evidence of a girl’s practical skills and artistic abilities.

By the middle of the nineteenth century developments in education and industry supplanted sampler making in the classroom, relegating it to a pastime engaged in at home. Once treasured as family heirlooms, samplers are now highly prized by collectors, and are an important part of museum collections as representations of early American female education.

A unique movie theater in Wheeling, Towngate is home to the Wheeling Film Society, which offers free screenings of some of America’s most iconic films.

Wheeling Film Society presents In the Heat of the Night
Free Screening at 7 p.m.  Friday, September 30, 2016  (Conversation about the film takes place immediately following the screening.)
Towngate Theatre

The Academy-Award winner for Best Picture in 1968, In the Heat of the Night is a groundbreaking film about racial confrontation in the deep south. It features one of the most memorable dual performances of the racially fraught 1960s — Sidney Poitier as a Philadelphia detective dueling and Rod Steiger’s Mississippi sheriff. No one can forget Poitier’s defiant line “They call me Mr. Tibbs.”

Why Go To the Movie Theater?

Oglebay Institute, Wheeling Jesuit University and the Ohio County Public partnered to form the Wheeling Film Society. WFS events bring movie buffs together to watch and discuss classic films. Screenings and post-screening discussions are free and open to the public.

So, get off the couch! Stop binge watching by yourself. Hollywood movies are meant to be seen­ with others, in the movie theater, on the BIG screen. The actors are figuratively and literally larger than life! Get together with other movie lovers. Engage in thought-provoking conversation. You will learn more about the art and history of cinema, too.

Towngate: A unique movie theater in Wheeling.

A church-turned-theater, Towngate is located in Wheeling’s historic Centre Market District.

At Towngate, not only can you watch live theater productions, spoken word performances, improv and concerts, you can see movies, too! Towngate is also a single screen cinema. On select weekends throughout the year, we show a host of classic and independent films, thought-provoking documentaries and film shorts by local and regional filmmakers. Our movie selections encourage thought and conversation. You won’t be disappointed. Our regulars know we only show quality films. Sometimes, they show up for screenings without knowing the title of the film. They trust us that much.

Whether you consider yourself a film buff or you only like movies for the popcorn, our films will entertain and inspire. See you at Towngate!