An endowed school programs educator position that ensures a continued museum presence in area school systems has been named for a Farmville area champion of the arts and co-founder of the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA).
Jacqueline Jardine Wall, a larger-than-life figure in Farmville and part of the group that founded the LCVA, was an educator and community icon who left a lasting mark on nearly everyone she touched.
"Jackie Wall left a remarkable legacy on the arts in Southside Virginia," said K. Johnson Bowles, former director of the LCVA and former assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations. "Her tireless work to promote art education and to rally others to that critical cause has paid vast dividends to the region. For years, there was no person more committed to the arts than her, and it is fitting that this endowed position—which ensures art education always has a place in area public schools—is named for her."
The school programs educator position is endowed by more than $350,000 raised by LCVA supporters. The school programs educator travels to different schools in a 12-county region to provide special art programming and opportunities for students.
"In a time when art programs are being cut from curriculums in school systems across the country, the need for an endowed art educator position is increasingly critical," said LCVA director Rachel Ivers. "The LCVA has a history of community outreach—which is the legacy of people like Jackie Wall—and this endowed position ensures that involvement will continue forever. That the endowment is named for such a vigorous supporter of the arts is truly fitting."
Wall, who attended Longwood University, taught at the Campus School and influenced a generation of children—including some who have gone on to successful Hollywood careers. One of her students was Vince Gilligan, award-winning creator of the television drama "Breaking Bad." Gilligan credits Wall with his entre into filmmaking.
"One of the people who got me my start as much as anyone else…was a wonderful woman named Jackie Wall," said Gilligan in a 2011 interview with Richmond Magazine. "Mrs. Wall was one of my inspirations and influences that got me interested in film. … I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for [her]."
Wall was the mother of Gilligan’s friend, Angus Wall, who has won both Emmys and Academy Awards for his film and title editing work. Both Gilligan and Angus Wall contributed to the school programs educator endowment.
The LCVA has an active exhibitions program and several opportunities for student engagement outside the classroom. In addition to art programming in area schools, the LCVA hosts the largest annual youth art exhibition in Virginia, free family workshops, the Art after Dark Creative Gatherings series, professional development workshops for teachers and tours for school children.
Several specialized programs highlight the LCVA’s commitment to arts education—a continuation of Wall’s legacy. Second-graders in a 12-county service area learn about Chinese art and culture in the "Have Art, Will Travel" program, which was recently expanded to include a segment on African art for third-graders to supplement SOL instruction. Fourth-graders in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties create and critique photographs in the Apply, Resolve, Thrive (ART) Kids program, helping them develop positive means of self-expression.
In 2010, the LCVA was accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the most prestigious accrediting agency in the field. Only 5 percent of museums nationwide have earned this distinction.
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