Our Story:
The Clifton Forge Company, which does business as Clifton Forge School of the Arts, is made up of a small group of local citizens who are dedicated to providing opportunities for better living and learning to adults and children through the arts.
The building and land of our School building at 518 Church Street is the culmination of a negotiation among The Alleghany Highlands Development Corporation, The Alleghany Board of Supervisors, The Alleghany Foundation, and Bill Cook, owner of Wholesale Tire Company. In summary, Mr. Cook’s tire galvanizing operation was moved to the former Sonoco Company factory building in eastern Alleghany County and the structure and land on the north side of Church Street was conveyed to The Clifton Forge Company for the express purpose of creating an art school.
Clifton Forge School of the Arts opened its doors at 518 Church Street to the public on January 16, 2011, offering a wide variety of classes in painting and drawing, blacksmith arts, needle and fiber arts, beginning piano, flute, guitar and harp instruction. The School's second building at 512 Church Street was purchased with the financial support of the Reynolds Foundation and has been designated the Clifton Forge School of the Arts Reynolds Studios. It presently houses stained glass and clay studios. Future plans for the Reynolds Studios include a comprehensive Fiber Arts program and a state-of-the-art multi-purpose space for exhibits, yoga programming, and other creative pursuits that foster economic development through the arts.
The building and land of our School building at 518 Church Street is the culmination of a negotiation among The Alleghany Highlands Development Corporation, The Alleghany Board of Supervisors, The Alleghany Foundation, and Bill Cook, owner of Wholesale Tire Company. In summary, Mr. Cook’s tire galvanizing operation was moved to the former Sonoco Company factory building in eastern Alleghany County and the structure and land on the north side of Church Street was conveyed to The Clifton Forge Company for the express purpose of creating an art school.
Clifton Forge School of the Arts opened its doors at 518 Church Street to the public on January 16, 2011, offering a wide variety of classes in painting and drawing, blacksmith arts, needle and fiber arts, beginning piano, flute, guitar and harp instruction. The School's second building at 512 Church Street was purchased with the financial support of the Reynolds Foundation and has been designated the Clifton Forge School of the Arts Reynolds Studios. It presently houses stained glass and clay studios. Future plans for the Reynolds Studios include a comprehensive Fiber Arts program and a state-of-the-art multi-purpose space for exhibits, yoga programming, and other creative pursuits that foster economic development through the arts.
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Clifton Forge School of the Arts is
the community art school of the Alleghany Highlands Offering opportunities for learning and training in the fine and applied arts to adults and to children. Located in the heart of historic downtown Clifton Forge, Virginia, the School of the Arts provides a two-fold program that is recreational and vocational, promotes economic development, and encourages cultural enrichment and creativity. The Clifton Forge Company, dba Clifton Forge School of the Arts, is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are supported by private donors, individual gifts, and grants provided by The Alleghany Foundation, the Virginia Commission of the Arts, the Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany, the Town of Clifton Forge, and the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation. |
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