Haus of Taylor
One-Thirteen Fincastle
Tazewell Virginia, 24651
Mary Blevins
Director
984-389-7436 phone
AN INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY MEMORY EXHIBITION
What We Kept
Now on view at Haus of Taylor Gallery through November 30, 2026, What We Kept brings together community stories, meaningful objects, historical pieces, original artwork, and the memories of the people who shaped this region.
What We Kept is a living community memory archive — a place where photographs, family objects, handwritten notes, tools, clothing, artwork, and everyday things become vessels for stories that might otherwise disappear.
Come explore what our families carried forward, what our community chose to remember, and why some things were simply too important to let go.
Now On View Haus of Taylor Gallery 113 Fincastle Turnpike Tazewell, Virginia 24651
Historic Main Street, Tazewell, Virginia
Every family carried something forward.
A Living Archive of Southwest Virginia Memory
A photograph.
A recipe.
A letter folded and unfolded for years.
A tool worn smooth by work.
A piece of a life that refused to disappear.
What We Kept brings together meaningful objects, photographs, letters, tools, recipes, heirlooms, keepsakes, and family stories from across our community.
Each selected object becomes part of a carefully curated gallery experience honoring memory, work, family, place, and identity. And because this is a living archive, the story can continue to grow as new memories and objects are shared.
This exhibition is not simply about objects. It is about the lives attached to them.
What Did Your Family Keep?
Family photographs
Letters
Recipes
Tools
Work objects
Clothing or uniforms
Family Bibles
Keepsakes
Handmade items
Oral histories
Business or Main Street artifacts
Objects tied to Tazewell County or Southwest Virginia life
The things we keep do not have to be valuable in the traditional sense. They only have to carry a story worth remembering.
Some Stories Should Not Disappear
Rural communities are filled with stories that rarely make it into museums, history books, or public archives.
What We Kept gives those stories a place.
Through community submissions, object labels, photographs, audio recordings, and gallery installation, the exhibition helps preserve pieces of Southwest Virginia’s lived history in a way people can see, hear, and feel.
In Collaboration with Local History
Haus of Taylor Gallery is working to connect this exhibition with the broader historical record of Tazewell County.
What We Kept connects personal memory with the broader historical record of Tazewell County.
Through collaboration with the Tazewell County Historical Society, selected historical pieces are presented alongside community objects and stories, creating a conversation between personal memory and regional history.
Commissioned for the Exhibition
Haus of Taylor Gallery has commissioned an original work of art for What We Kept.
Proceeds from the auction will directly benefit the Tazewell County Historical Society and its efforts to preserve local history.
This gives the exhibition a direct way to honor history while helping support the people and organizations preserving it.
Visit What We Kept
Now on view through November 30, 2026
Come spend some time with the photographs, objects, artwork, family histories, and everyday things that Southwest Virginia families chose to carry forward.
Some will make you smile. Some may bring back something you had forgotten. And some may make you wonder why one ordinary object mattered enough for someone to keep it for decades.
Haus of Taylor Gallery 113 Fincastle Turnpike Tazewell, Virginia 24651
Admission is free. Come see what we kept.
Community Partners & Exhibition Sponsors
What We Kept is made possible through the people and organizations who believe the stories of this region are worth preserving.
