Smithsonian Museum Day

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Four West Virginia Division of Culture and History museums are joining more than 1,400 others across the country Sept. 29 to celebrate Smithsonian Museum Day.

The Culture Center will showcase special artifacts that were aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, including a bell, and several military and ship accessories that were donated to the museum by individuals who served on the ship, which was sunk in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, repaired, and saw much action during the rest of World War II. A model of the ship will be on display.

Adults and children also can participate in the West Virginia State Museum's Journeys Program for 2012-13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. New challenges for the program are available at the front desk in the Great Hall.

Museum Day in Logan coincides with the Rebellion in the Hills re-enactment at Chief Logan State Park. Included are children's activities, a ladies tea, a battle skirmish re-enactment, historical portrayals, a Civil War-era period dance featuring 19th-century music, Civil War church services, and public displays at the campsites with re-enactors. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville and West Virginia Independence Hall will participate in Museum Day as well.

The Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences West Virginia and the Huntington Museum of Art also will mark Museum Day.

To participate in Museum Day, visitors must present the free Museum Day admission card, which is available in the September issue of Smithsonian magazine or can be downloaded from www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday.

Preservation grants

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Applications are being accepted for a second round of historic-preservation development grants through the State Historic Preservation Office. About $250,000 will be available for grant awards, contingent upon appropriation of funds from the Legislature or Congress. Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 15.

Eligible projects include the restoration, rehabilitation or archaeological development of historic sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Properties owned by church organizations or used exclusively for religious purposes are not eligible for funding. Privately owned properties are eligible only in instances where there is evidence of public support or public benefit.

Heritage education grant applications for technical workshops related to historic preservation restoration work also are being accepted. Local and county governments, historic landmark commissions and nonprofit organizations interested in co-sponsoring a workshop should contact the office for a workshop application.

For more information about the historic preservation development grants, a complete program description, including funding priorities and selection criteria, or a heritage education grant workshop application, contact Pamela Brooks, grants coordinator, at 304-558-0240, ext. 720. Visit www.wvculture.org/shpo/forms.html.

Chalk, pastel drawings

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Gallery 842 will exhibit large-scale chalk and pastel drawings by Michael K. Paxton, an artist based in Chicago and a Marshall University alumnus, executed directly on the gallery walls. The exhibit "Riven" has involved months of coordination and several intensive days of collaborative work with students on site, according to John Farley, director of the gallery.

Paxton grew up in Raleigh and Wayne counties graduated with a degree in art from Marshall in 1975. He received an MFA in drawing and painting in 1979 from the University of Georgia. Paxton was a visiting artist at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1981. Two years later he and his wife moved to Chicago, where he has maintained a studio ever since.

Paxton has been featured as a visiting artist at Miami University, West Virginia University, Loyola University in Chicago, and the Snow City Arts Foundation in Chicago, among others. He has been an adjunct instructor in drawing and painting in the art and design department of Columbia College Chicago since 2005.

Gallery 842, noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. 842 Fourth Ave., Huntington. Contact Jaye Ike, 304-696-3296 or jaye....@marshall.edu. Admission is free.

VH1 Save the Music

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Entering its third year, the statewide VH1 Save the Music Foundation Program will introduce music instruments to 16 more middle schools this fall, bringing to 35 the number of middle and K-8 schools in the state that have benefited from the program. Sponsors throughout the state have contributed $450,000 to match the national VH1 Save the Music partnership program to secure $30,000 worth of instruments for each of these schools.

Among the 16 middle schools are Barboursville, Bluefield, Clay, Gilmer County High School, Rainelle, Ravenswood and Sherman.

"West Virginia is the largest and first statewide effort we have undertaken to ensure, over time, greater access to music education in each of the state's 55 counties," said Paul Cothran, executive director of VH1 Save the Music.

Any traditional West Virginia public elementary or middle school that has a certified music teacher and wants to build its instrumental music program may qualify for a VH1 Save the Music Foundation grant.

For more information, contact Jeff Pierson at 304-558-0240 or jeff.a.pier...@wv.gov.

Architecture on display

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Members of the West Virginia Chapter American Institute of Architects invite the public to view an exhibition of submissions and winners of the 2011 Design Awards Program at Tamarack through Oct. 2.

For 34 years, the West Virginia AIA has sponsored the Design Awards Program to celebrate its members' accomplishments and highlight noteworthy architectural design within West Virginia.

Seventeen project entries were submitted, illustrating original designs for new construction, additions/alterations to historic structures and rehabilitation of existing buildings. Award-winning projects successfully meet specific, individual project goals and requirements. Entries are weighed individually, not in competition with each other. Projects are designated with Honor or Merit Awards for exemplary design by an independent, anonymous jury review of their peers. Here is the list of projects receiving Honor and Merit awards:

Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture: West Virginia Housing Development Fund, Charleston; ZMM Inc., architect; G&G Builders Inc., contractor.

Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture in Preservation: Princeton Public Library; E.T. Boggess, Architect, Inc., architect; Fredeking/Stafford Construction Co. and Main Street Builders, contractors.

Merit Award for Achievement in Architecture: Mon Power Regional Headquarters, Fairmont; Omni Associates Architects, architect; The March-Westin Co. Inc., contractor.

Merit Award for Achievement in Architecture in Preservation: Capital Centre, Huntington; Edward Tucker Architects Inc., architect; Structures Inc., contractor.

Merit Award for Achievement in Architecture in Sustainable Design: Spring Mills Primary School, Martinsburg; Williamson Shriver Architects Inc., architect; Warner Construction, contractor.

To have your announcement included in Arts Notes, email sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or send it to Arts Notes, The Charleston Gazette, 1001 Virginia St. E., Charleston, WV 25301. Artwork can be submitted electronically or by mail. Deadline for inclusion in the Sunday Gazette-Mail is the Tuesday before Sunday publication.