Illuminating Southwest Virginia’s Appalachia

Art Exhibition Opening begins at Dusk — April 4, 2026
Haus of Taylor | Tazewell, VA

Why We’re Opening at Dusk in Tazewell, Virginia (April 4, 2026)

There’s an hour in Southwest Virginia that doesn’t behave like the rest of the day.

It isn’t daytime anymore, but it isn’t night yet either. It’s the moment the ridgelines start to soften and the hollows start to deepen. The sky turns that Appalachian blue that feels older than you are. Porch lights click on—one by one—like small, steady promises. And if there’s fog, it moves through the low places like a living thing, patient and unbothered.

That hour is where this exhibit began.

Because in these mountains, light does more than brighten things—it tells the truth.

Not the kind of truth you argue about. The quiet kind. The kind you recognize in your chest before you can name it.

On Saturday, April 4, 2026, Haus of Taylor opens a new exhibit called:

Light in the Hollows — Illuminating Southwest Virginia’s Appalachia
And we’re starting it the same way the land starts its most honest stories: at Dusk.

Why “Light in the Hollows”

People talk about Appalachia like it’s a single thing. Like it can be summed up in a photo or a headline or a stereotype. But if you’ve lived here—or if you’ve been here long enough to stop performing for it—you know the truth is layered.

Appalachia is beauty, yes.
But it’s also labor. Legacy. Hard-won humor. Pride that doesn’t need permission. Faith that’s complicated. Grief that’s quiet. Joy that shows up anyway.

So why make “light” the center of a whole exhibit?

Because light is one of the few things that touches every part of this place—and tells on it without trying.

Light shows you the ridge and the rust.
The church window and the tool bench.
The river shimmer and the coal dust.
The new paint and the old scars.
The weathered hands and the soft faces.

Light doesn’t flatter. It reveals. And sometimes what it reveals is tenderness you didn’t expect.

That’s what we mean by illuminating—not “making it pretty,” but making it seen.

The kind of light we’re talking about

Not just sunrise over a mountain (though we love that too).

We’re talking about the kinds of light you remember:

• Porch light in a hollow when you’re coming home late
• Headlights bending around a curve, carving a road out of darkness
• A kitchen window glowing warm in winter
• Shop lights at the edge of town, a man still working after the day’s “done”
• Fog-lit mornings when the whole county feels like it’s holding its breath
• Neon in a window that says someone’s still here
• Starlight you can still find if you step away from the glare

We’re talking about light as atmosphere, yes—
but also as memory, as witness, as signal, as spirit.

What you can expect inside the gallery

Light in the Hollows brings together work that uses light as a subject, a material, or a metaphor—without forcing artists into a single style.

Expect a curated mix of:

• Photography
• Painting
• Mixed media
• Sculptural work

Some pieces will feel like stepping into morning.
Some will feel like midnight.
Some will feel like a place you’ve been but can’t find on a map anymore.

There will be work that whispers. Work that glows. Work that holds shadow on purpose. Work that makes you lean in. Work that makes you pause—because it’s telling the truth in a way you didn’t expect.

This exhibit isn’t here to limit artists. It’s here to create cohesion through one shared force: light—doing what it does best.

Why we’re opening at Dusk (and not a set time)

A lot of events want you there at 6:00 sharp.

This one doesn’t.

Because Dusk is the subject, not just the schedule.

Dusk is when Appalachia shifts. When the mountains change tone. When the air cools and the world feels more honest. When the hollows become what they are. When the light gets low enough to show you what matters.

So we’re not opening at a number on a clock.

We’re opening when the day turns.
Opening begins at Dusk — April 4, 2026.

And it’s a come-and-go opening.
Stop in for ten minutes. Stay an hour. Leave and come back. Let the night deepen and see the work again under different eyes.

That’s part of the point.

Art Exhibition Event details

• Opening: Saturday, April 4, 2026
• Begins: Dusk
• Location: Haus of Taylor, Main Street, Tazewell, VA

Parking

Street parking is available on and around Main Street in downtown Tazewell. Please be mindful of marked spaces and storefronts, and if you’re able, leave the closest spots for those who need easier access.

Why Haus of Taylor is hosting this show

Haus of Taylor exists to honor this region with care—to make room for work that feels like it belongs here, and work that helps us see here differently.

This exhibit is part of that mission.

Not to romanticize Appalachia.
Not to flatten it.
Not to explain it to outsiders like it needs defending.

But to illuminate it—truthfully.

To let beauty and grit share the same room.
To let mystery have its place.
To let light reveal what it will.

We’ll share more as we get closer—featured artists, exhibit hours, and ways to experience the show beyond opening night.

Until then, watch the ridgeline when the sun starts falling.
That’s where this began.