Mission and Purpose:

The Bay School is more than an arts educational facility and organization.  As stated in our corporate mission statement we:

• Sponsor or conduct educational workshops, training, conferences, programs and demonstrations of the techniques employed in the visual arts.
• Provide creative opportunities for adults and children.
• Support and encourage the economic development of Mathews County in an environmentally sustainable manner.
• Foster an appreciation of the arts, and encourage people of all ages and abilities to explore their own creativity.
• Provide a resource for life long learning.
• Aim to become a regional arts center and community asset, supporting all aspects of the arts, including music and theater, and to contribute to the revitalization of Mathews Courthouse.
• Support local artists' artistic endeavors by offering space in our gallery.

In pursuit of our goal to bring the creative process into the lives of all of our citizens, the Bay School reaches out to the community and the surrounding areas through programs and projects provided at little or no cost to the recipient.  We are a non-profit organization that is supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Mathews County, J. Edwin Treakle Foundation, William F. and Catharine K. Owens Foundation, the Mathews Community Foundation and private donors.

The Bay School houses a gallery with local and regional artists, an art supply store, three classrooms and exhibit space. 

Funding Support

The Bay School is funded in part by grants from the following government agencies and foundations.

    Virginia Commission for the Arts 

   National Endowment for the Arts

   William F. and Catharine K. Owens Foundation

   Mathews County

   Mathews Community Foundation

   J. Edwin Treakle Foundation

   Belle Terre Fund of the Gloucester Community Foundation

Also, thank you to the many donors for their ongoing support of the Bay School.  We could

not do it without all of you!