New Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commissioner was 'raised on the arts'

Jul. 15—FAIRMONT — The city's Arts and Humanities Commission has a new appointee.

Treasure Barberich-Wyckoff will help the commission choose artists for the city's annual awards ceremony, which honors local talent in the community.

Barberich-Wyckoff heard about opportunities for service from a friend who was previously on the Human Rights Commission. After searching the city's website, she found a few that caught her eye.

"The three that I was most interested in were the Human Rights Commission, arts and humanities and then the library board," she said. "Those were my interest areas and found the application online, submitted it, and within probably a week I heard back."

She said the wheels started turning after hearing a speaker deliver a talk on their involvement with the arts and humanities board in Williamson. The talk was part of a statewide program called Generation West Virginia, where Barberich-Wyckoff is a member. After hearing the speaker, she sought out her own opportunities here in Fairmont.

Barberich-Wyckoff was raised on music, musicals and theater. She was in marching band and orchestra throughout school and was involved with school theater. Her focus of interest is in that region of art, and she counts herself lucky that many of her friends are pursuing professional careers in theater, dance or music. And although it's not inside her wheelhouse, she said she also appreciates other types of art like drawing, painting or puppetry.

"I don't think that I would be looking for a specific area in the arts but more importantly, an artist who is passionate and community oriented and is doing good work to progress not only their personal art, but art within our community," she said.

Barberich-Wyckoff is a West Virginia native. She was born in Morgantown and received a degree in International Studies and Political Science from WVU and is currently pursuing a master's degree.

The commission was founded by city council in 1984, according to Commission Chairman Jack Hussey. He said the commission's principal task is to give nine or 10 awards to local folks who are in the arts at a ceremony that takes place every year. Winners can be in the arts either professionally or personally, and includes everyone from adults to high school students.

There's also been the occasional show that the commission sponsors for the public. However, it doesn't happen frequently. The last event was a one man Mark Twain show that happened roughly 4 years ago. One other show took place at least a decade ago.

"I think every community knows no matter how large or small it is, or where it's located, whether it's rural or urban, that they do need artists and they need the presence of the arts community and so this is one way we can do that," Hussey said.

One recent project the commission did was to memorialize past winners who have passed away. On the fourth floor of the Marion County Courthouse, photographs of deceased artists who have been previously honored by the commission are on one of the walls leading into a hallway. Hussey said that even though the hallway isn't the most traveled, at least a number of people get to see it and maybe even read up on who those artists were.

Hussey said the 11-member commission is currently down by about 4 members. Fortunately, it hasn't impacted the commission's work but nonetheless, it's been difficult maintaining a full board.

Getting involved in community work is fairly simple. City Clerk Janet Keller said there's around 30 different boards and commissions in the city of Fairmont. Some are city appointments, others are council appointments. Keller said anyone can come and fill out an application to serve at any one of those groups online. Applications go directly to Keller's office.

When there's an opening, anyone who has applied is automatically up for consideration. Depending on the board or commissions bylaws, how the appointment is made differs.

"We're always thrilled to have anybody that's interested in serving on any of the boards and commissions," Keller said. "So I would encourage anyone if they're interested in serving the city."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com