Abby Bowman is an emerging West Virginia artist who supports and enriches Appalachian culture through art. In 2023, she turned a used box trailer into the ARTtrek—a mobile creative space that travels West Virginia’s country roads to display the work of talented Appalachian artists and artisans in communities statewide. Abby drew inspiration for the ARTtrek from the work of Appalachian culture activists, folk artists, and public artists—as well as from her desire to create change in the Mountain State.

 

Abby’s own artistic work centers on painting and sculpture. Her work has been selected for the Speculative Sex Exhibition at Shepherd University and Columbia College in Chicago, and her work has been published in Shepherd University’s annual literacy and arts magazine, Sans Merci.

 

Abby complements and leverages her artistic efforts with her work in the areas of project planning, marketing, and community engagement. Since 2021, she has served as Social Media Coordinator for the Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau Welcome Centers.

 

Abby is based in Shepherdstown, WV, in the state’s historical Eastern Panhandle.