144  West Main Street, Marion, Virginia 24354

Appalachian Spirit Art Association has recently incorporated as a non-profit organization. The group formed Appalachian Spirit Gallery in the fall of 2005 as an adjunct to the Sherwood Anderson Festival held from September – November.  Paintings and jewelry by Vesce, Sukle, Johnson, Cornett, and Carol Murray, done in the style of modernist artists befriended by Sherwood Anderson—O’Keefe, Hooper, Esherick, Kent, and Spratling—were on display as well as information about the festival and other town events. 

Appalachian Spirit Artists is a cooperative composed of artisans who share jobs to fulfill the mission of the group to celebrate the arts, traditions, lore, and spirit of the Appalachian Mountains and showcase the work of local talent.

Our  artist group has been in loose existence for five  years starting with meetings at the Art Place in Chilhowie where a small corner was used for a gallery.  A year later we  expanded into the empty storefronts of un-rented buildings in downtown Marion. Fortunately for the Town, we were booted out of our space as the buildings were rented or renovated.

The cooperative serves a two fold purpose:

            1. to showcase the work of member artists and to be a place where member artists can share ideas, techniques, information, and

             2. work with other area groups to promote the Appalachian arts.

It is composed of two segments: the gallery, and the cooperative.

With partnership from the Town of Marion, our location next to the town hall works well towards helping us achieve our goal of being central to the arts in Marion--art, music, literature-- and allows us to network with Marion Downtown, the Smyth-Bland Regional Library, Smyth County Museum, Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Theatre, General Francis Marion Hotel, Bed and Breakfast Inns,  Art League of Marion, and other downtown businesses.  We also are a prime spot for Marion visitor information, and our lobby is filled with an array of materials about local attractions and activities.  Our artists even lead  guided historic downtown  walking tours.