The COVID-19 pandemic, competition with online art classes and other nonprofits, decreased enrollment and a smaller volunteer base have led to the announcement that the Beverley Street Studio School will close December 12, 2025.
A fixture of downtown Staunton since 1992, the studio school was founded by five artists, Frank Hobbs, Ron Boehmer, Rosalee Day White, Daniel Dempsey and Ryan Russel, who wanted to have space to teach art.
“The school hasn’t really been profitable I’d say for the last 10 years,” said BSSS Board of Directors President Dana Quillen.
A strong volunteer base kept the school running smoothly for 20 years, according to Quillen, but many grew older or became unable to volunteer.
“And that’s what kept the school from going under,” Quillen, who paints oil landscapes, said.
The COVID-19 pandemic‘s in-person restrictions inhibited the school’s growth also, so the board focused on school operations and workshops. The lack of fundraising efforts and volunteer interest in serving on the school’s board also did not enable growth.
“It’s just unfortunate that it came to this. I just think that with everything there’s a cycle,” Quillen said.
The school’s popularity peaked in the 1980s and 1990s.
“It contributed a lot to the art scene then,” she said.
The school opened originally where CoArt Gallery is now downtown in the Crowder building. The school’s art gallery later remained, but the school moved to 217 W. Beverley Street. In 2002, the school became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and offered non-degree, studio-based art instruction.
BSSS became the place to study if you were serious about studying art outside of academia.
BSSS has offered five classes and six workshops per session or season. After the pandemic, Quillen said that enrollment dropped 40 percent.
Fall 2025 session classes, workshops and open sessions will be held as scheduled, and the BSSS Gallery will remain open through February 2026.
The school rents the studio and office space. However, as a nonprofit organization, the board must disperse financial assets to other nonprofits, which will be determined in 2026 by the board.
An auction will be held November 11, 2025 of the school’s collection of paintings.
Other options for art after the school closes include Staunton Augusta Art Center in downtown Staunton, Shenandoah Valley Art Center in downtown Waynesboro and the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville.
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Rebecca Barnabi
