Artbeat Studio holds meet the artists show in Ravenswood

RAVENSWOOD — Artbeat Studio, one of the many programs Wood County Society has to offer, held a traveling meet the artists art show on Sunday at the Ravenswood Municipal Complex. Artbeat Studio is a community arts center located in downtown Parkersburg that provides space to its group of artists with developmental differences. Wood County Society serves 12 counties in the Mid-Ohio Valley Region, including: Athens, Meigs, Mason, Jackson, Roane, Calhoun, Ritchie, Wirt, Wood, Washington, Pleasants and Tyler counties.

“I think it’s a great testament to see all of these community members coming out and really checking out the artwork and meeting the artists,” said Mallory Valentour, Artbeat coordinator at Wood County Society.

Valentour said it is her job to respond to the artists in the studio.

“I kind of just help them achieve their artistic dream so to speak,” she said.

Valentour said she has been with Artbeat Studio for almost a year, but has been in the collaborative artworld working with people with developmental differences for a little over ten years.

“I think it’s a challenging world out there for people with developmental differences,” she said. “And any space that can make them feel more welcome, is a space that I want to be a part of and I know that others want to be a part of. And giving them the collaborative aspect to also be in the community in a positive light, is awesome.”

Valentour said each piece of artwork in the show has at least three artists that have worked on it.

“So it really is a layered process, a collaborative process,” she said. “We really love that collaborative process.”

She said she loves helping the artists do what they love to do.

Karla Burkman, program director for Wood County Society, said she believes it is important to give artists the recognition they deserve.

“I think like all artists, they deserve their time in the spotlight. And it’s just a way for them to get out there and see their work,” she said. “It’s super important for them to see their work on a gallery wall and know that their worth is just as much as everybody else’s.”

James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com.