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ART26201 is capturing community project “small wins” in a creative way

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ART26201 Publication – Download a copy »
BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

The ART26201 initiative kicked off in Buckhannon in 2015 when a group of community members recognized that with a greater focus on creative placemaking in their town, they would be better positioned to keep and attract new residents – especially young people and creatives like visual and performing artists. The presence and contributions of both young people and creatives can be vital to sparking the momentum that is needed to build community and drive economic growth for small towns. 

The all-volunteer, community-run nonprofit group operates with about a dozen active members. Their team began issuing an annual 4-page print publication last year that has become a critical tool in raising funds to sustain their work as well as in increasing visibility for their projects and key accomplishments.

Through this publication, the team at ART26201 is able to show how a series of “small wins” can accumulate to create a significant positive impact on their community.

Download a copy of this year’s ART26201 publication » 

In their latest issue, there are stories about public art projects, special events like a block party and a young filmmakers camp, recognition for donations received, and others. 

For the team at ART26201, their flagship project is the Art in Public Places Program. The group started by identifying 50 sites in their community that would be good locations to place public art projects. They work each year to chip away at this list – adding new projects as they are able to develop concepts, and then identify and secure the funds to complete them. The feature story in their publication this year is about a series of wildlife murals located in the Traders Alley Arts District in downtown Buckhannon that were designed by the renowned, native West Virginian artist Charley Harper. 

Spectators gather at the unveiling of the latest works for the Art in Public Places Program, four Charley Harper Murals, on October 25, 2019. Photo by Brian Bergstrom.

The annual publication is included as part of a targeted mailing that is sent out to those who have donated to ART26201 in the past, and it is also distributed to small businesses in high traffic areas in Buckhannon so that visitors and residents alike can find it. 

Buckhannon resident and ART26201 board member Bryson VanNostrand shared that the publication helps to increase the sense of professionalism for the organization’s work and assists with laying the groundwork for requests for donations and support for new projects.

About the ART26201 initiative, Bryson says, “We are intentionally focusing on our message to our kids, and are using the arts to project a colorful, progressive, and welcoming community image to them. Communities across West Virginia suffer from the exodus of its youth to more metropolitan communities, and we are actively trying to convince young people that choosing to stay in Buckhannon after graduation is a viable option. We’re seeing proof of headway with these public art projects as we find young people taking selfies in front of the artworks almost on a daily basis. We’re even seeing wedding, engagement, and baby shower portraits taken in the arts district. We want art to be part of our community’s daily conversation, and it’s rewarding to see how the public artworks are attracting folks organically.”

To find out more about ART26201, visit their website at www.ART26201.com. 


Monticello community celebrates life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Community members taking part in the “A day to remember the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” event (image from the WV Black Heritage Festival Facebook page)
BY SHERRI L. JAMES, WV BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL (BOARD MEMBER); KELLY MILLER COMMUNITY CENTER (PROGRAM COORDINATOR); MONTICELLO BLUEPRINT COMMUNITIES TEAM (COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER)

The West Virginia Black Heritage Festival, Inc. in partnership with the Monticello community team, now participating in the Blueprint Communities program, celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The celebration took place at the Kelly Miller Community Center in Clarksburg, WV. We decided to hold the event on January 15, 2020 because it was his birthday.

(image from the WV Black Heritage Festival Facebook page)

Katherine L. Dooley, Esquire was the keynote speaker, Ms. Dooley has been a practicing attorney for more than twenty-nine years. She is the principal of The Dooley Law Firm, P.L.L.C. where she concentrates her practice in plaintiff’s work. The theme for her speech was The Charge to Keep.

The event was opened with prayer by Pastor Rahaan A Armand and welcome by Deacon Hodge and Pastor Franklin Hairston. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Arin Shatto, Community Engagement AmeriCorps VISTA with the WV Community Development Hub.

Lift Every Voice & Sing was sung in unison with all in attendance. Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, often referred to as the Black National Anthem, is a song written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) in 1900 and set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954) in 1905.

The City of Clarksburg’s Mayor Ryan Kennedy and County Commissioner Ron Watson presented Proclamations declaring January 15, 2020, Dr. Martin Luther King Day.

There were several beautiful musical selections by Morning Star Baptist Church of Fairmont, WV.

There were special presentations given by Myya Helm & Dre Hodges both West Virginia University Students, and Josiah Corley who attends Mountaineer Middle School in Clarksburg, WV.

The Jr. Friends from The Clarksburg Public Library presented their favorite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes.

It was a blessing to be a part of celebrating the life of a man who was an activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, who peacefully stood against racial violence and inequality.  He paid the ultimate price so that I and people of color could have the same rights and privileges of every American. It is important for us to remember his campaign to end racial segregation on public transportation and for racial equality in the United States.

“The film is a love letter from me to Helvetia” – Clara Lehmann on Born in a Ballroom and her Mütter

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BY CLARA LEHMANN, DIRECTOR, BORN IN A BALLROOM

A black pleated skirt embroidered with gold thread hung in my closet for over a decade. Before it found its way there, the regal skirt belonged to my mother, who received it from her mother, Eleanor Fahrner Mailloux. We grandkids called Eleanor, Mütter, the Swiss word for mother. Mütter designed the skirt, picked out the fabric, and her husband, Gordon Mailloux had it made for her by some of the finest seamstresses in Hong Kong circa the late-1950s.

I donned the skirt for the first time on the red carpet of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). Jonathan Lacocque and I directed and produced the documentary film called Born in a Ballroom. A five-year investment for us, the film premiered at SBIFF in January 2020. The film is a love letter from me to Mütter and to Helvetia, the Swiss-settled village in West Virginia that we call home. The film explores the impact Mütter had on me, her family, her restaurant, and especially her muse, the village of Helvetia.

Nearly sixty years since that skirt cinched Mütter’s waist, it sat on mine as Jonathan and I walked our very first red carpet. In true Murphy’s Law fashion, the half-century-old threads clasping the waist together broke just as we arrived. Panicked, I nearly flagged down drivers passing the Arlington Theatre to ask for a safety pin, a paper clip, anything to hold me together. But then, I saw salvation. Chicken Little, a warmly lit, children’s toy store sat across the street. Without hesitation, Jonathan and I headed to this beacon of comfort and cheer in search of something to bind.

Upon entering the store, two lovely store clerks immediately and compassionately began to search. Digging through drawers and bins, one of the women looked at me calmly and said, “I’m sorry honey. We don’t have a safety pin, but we have a stapler.” My heart soared as I, without question, swished around to embrace the stapling. After hugs adieu and promises to be in debt to them, Jonathan and I waltzed through six red carpet interviews and hundreds of pictures. In true Mailloux form (believe me, the Mailloux’s are notorious for their self-deprecating but hilarious humor) I snuck the secret of my stapled dress into to ears of two reporters. We laughed about my fortuitous wardrobe malfunction.

Born in a Ballroom carries a piece of me. A piece that I hope you can see yourself in. For while it’s quite personal, its themes of resilience, community, loss, and love are universal. This film is especially important to me. It depicts a West Virginia I love and know well: one that is quite often overlooked in the media, the news, and in politics. And while I’d like to let the film tell you itself, I’ll share one last story.

In March 1917, Mütter was quite literally born in a ballroom the night her parents’ Virginia cabin caught fire. She always proudly resounded that she’d been dancing ever since. Along with this charming quip, her story exposes how every one of us is born in a ballroom. What we do after that grand entrance determines how we impact the people and places our lives touch. I hope that Mütter’s story will inspire you to dream and to do. Whether it’s twenty-five, fifty, or ninety-three years, dedicate some of your life to a place. A community. Because dammit you’re important and we need you.  

So, if you’d like to bind yourself to this film for seventy minutes, take a peek at our site, www.borninaballroom.com to see where it will be screening next or to buy the film for your personal collection. I promise the experience will be staple free.

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As of this story’s publish date, Born in a Ballroom is set to screen in Charleston, Buckhannon, Fayetteville, Thomas, Morgantown, and Beckley. Check out the Screenings page on the Born in a Ballroom site to check for these dates and more.

WVPB: Meet 5 people who don’t fit the stereotypes on this week’s Inside Appalachia

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Poet Nikki Giovanni is one of the 5 Appalachians featured in this story (Photo from Nikki Giovanni’s Facebook page)
BY ROXY TODD, LIZ MCCORMICK, AND ERIC DOUGLAS FOR WV PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Think back to the last time you saw an Appalachian portrayed on TV, in the national media, in a book or a cartoon. Often, when people talk about Appalachians, they portray us as white, or poor, or ignorant — or all three. But when you dig beneath the surface, and challenge the stereotypes that are often used to misrepresent people who live in our region, the story becomes much more honest, and interesting…

Read this story + listen to Inside Appalachia on the WV Public Broadcasting site »

First Legends and Lore Marker goes up – is your town next?

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Photo from the Alderson Main Street Facebook page
BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

The Beckley-Register Herald shared a story recently about the first roadside marker going up in Alderson, WV through the Legends and Lore Marker program, run through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and West Virginia Humanities Council’s Folklife Program.

The deadline to apply for the next round of this program is October 1! Check out more information on the WV Folklife Program website »

From the story by Tina Alvey:

“A new roadside marker commemorating the famed Alderson lion, ‘French,’ will be dedicated… The marker will be placed near a striking metal sculpture of the lion that was created and installed in 2017 by Michael Loop.

Local residents are well-versed in the story of the circus lion cub that was rescued and raised by an Alderson woman in the 1890s. As the lion grew, he occasionally wandered away from his home and strolled the streets of Alderson, much to the dismay of townsfolk. After he frightened a salesman into jumping into the Greenbrier River to escape, the town council passed a law requiring “all lions” in Alderson to be properly leashed.”

Read the full story on the Register Herald site »

What is special or unusual about your town’s history? Head to the WV Folklife Program’s website for more details about this program and to apply by October 1 »

Coal Valley News: Battle of Blair Mountain centennial event scores major grant

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Image from the Blair 100 Facebook Page
BY THE HD MEDIA TEAM

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently awarded the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum a $30,000 challenge grant for The Blair Centennial Project, a plan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 2021.

The NEH grant committee called the Blair Centennial Project “a bold and collaborative effort to use the humanities to foster cultural tourism and give a challenged community hope for the future through respect for the past,” according to a news release.

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War…

Read the full story on the Coal Valley News site »

WV Mine Wars Museum invites all to plan 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain

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Gilbert Middle School students visit the museum (image via Facebook)
BY KENZIE NEW, DIRECTOR, WV MINE WARS MUSEUM

The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is spearheading a campaign to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain, a project funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities. The Battle of Blair Mountain was a five-day battle and the culmination of two decades of conflict and violent unrest for labor and civil rights in the coalfields of southern West Virginia.

Set for Labor Day Weekend in 2021, a core planning committee has already begun planning for the Centennial Commemoration and is enlisting volunteers and organizations to host events in their own communities.

The museum conducted their first wave of organizing for the event series in September 2018, where they held a Blair Kick-Off Meeting for the Centennial Commemoration in Historic Matewan. Dozens of organizations across the state and region answered the call to contribute ideas and participate in the Centennial.

The next inspiring chapter in Blair Mountain’s 2021 Centennial will take place on May 4th at 1:00pm at the Historic Oak Hill High School in Oak Hill, West Virginia. A collaborative session led by the Mine Wars Museum staff and core planning committee will set the stage for partners to share concepts, resources, and launch their own creative vision for sharing this crucial period of American history.

Teachers, community leaders, historians, museum staff, and other members of the public are invited to participate in the planning process. Please RSVP by contacting Museum Director Kenzie New at 304-923-4027, visiting wvminewars.com, or by emailing wvminewarsmuseum@gmail.com.

The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is located in historic downtown Matewan. The West Virginia Mine Wars was a twenty-year period of labor violence in southern West Virginia, in which coal miners fought company forces for their constitutional rights and the right to form a union.  

Like the courageous miners of West Virginia’s not-so-distant past, a new generation of rednecks is rising to meet a challenge: this time, to ensure that this American struggle for dignity and basic human rights takes its rightful place in the nation’s memory. March with us on May 4th!

WV Folklife’s new Legends and Lore roadside marker opportunity

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Ichabod Crane sign from NY Folklore Society. Photo via the Pomeroy Foundation.

The West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council is partnering with The William G. Pomeroy Foundation to bring the Legends & Lore Roadside Marker Grant Program to the hills of West Virginia. The program promotes cultural tourism and commemorates legends and folklore as a part of our cultural heritage.

The Folklife Program has a call out right now for applications for ideas for these roadside markers.

The first round of applications is due May 1!

From the organizers:

Selected applicants will receive an attractive, well-crafted metal road sign, resembling a historic marker, to commemorate a story, figure, or tradition important to their community’s cultural heritage.

The Pomeroy Foundation will cover the costs of manufacturing the marker, the pole, and shipping. Grant recipients will be responsible for the installation of the marker (and, if required by their local transportation department, for the cost of a breakaway pole).

This program recognizes traditional customs and practices, tales and stories (whether based in historical fact or fiction), sayings, foodways, music, dance, and art or craft forms shared and passed on by a community.

Head over to the WV Folklife site to find more information »

Ready to put arts at the forefront of your community’s revitalization strategy?

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The Create Your State Tour crew and a portion of the program from the 2016 tour

Applications are now open for the 5th round of the Create Your State (CYS) Tour in West Virginia. Five towns will be selected to host the program started by the founders of the RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton on May 13-17. The CYS Tour inspires and empowers arts-centric community development. 

Interested individuals and groups can access the application to host the CYS Tour at createyourstate.org. The deadline to submit applications is February 10.  For more information about the CYS tour, stay tuned to that website, send an e-mail to createyourstatetour@gmail.com, or call 304-320-8833. 

History of the program

The downtown area of Princeton, West Virginia is in the midst of a dynamic creative renaissance on its way to becoming a vital regional tourist destination known for its blossoming arts district. Early pioneers and catalysts of this revitalization Lori McKinney and Robert Blankenship began working toward this vision nearly a decade ago when they established the RiffRaff Arts Collective in the heart of downtown. Featuring an art gallery, artist studios, performance venues, a recording studio, a music school, and more, this vibrant collective has brought color and life to a turn-of-the-century structure and its surrounding neighborhood. Over the years, partnerships with local government and universities, local non-profit Community Connections, the Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, volunteers and more, have amplified their work and sparked a sweeping movement to renovate Mercer Street, the town’s main thoroughfare, now home to many new business and community-building celebratory events such as an annual arts parade and various holiday-themed street parties including the “Downtown Countdown,” a New Year’s Eve ball drop a la NYC’s Times Square. Downtown Princeton once again has a thriving pulse!

Since 2012, McKinney and Blankenship, along with their music ensemble Option 22, have been traveling around the region to leadership conferences, entrepreneurship summits, and places of education to present a multimedia production called “Create Your State” that inspires citizens with their story of arts-based community revitalization and empowers other civic leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives with tools to transform their environment and boost their local economy. Teamed with Community Connections, The Create Your State Tour was awarded a major grant in 2016 by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to take the show on the road around West Virginia. Twenty towns have received the program and are now making strides towards public art projects, establishment of arts festivals, arts-co-ops and more. Five additional WV towns will be selected to participate in the 2019 tour based on their interest, drive, and need for this type of development.

About Create Your State

The CYS program features live music, visuals, and a compelling exchange about the arts-centric revitalization of Princeton, providing inspiration and insight for the replication of this work. The music of Option 22 is full of hope and uplifting messages. The visuals—both video and still shots—are colorful and impactful, reflecting on building renovation, arts events, public works of art, parades, community garden creation, public space beautification, and more. The program is a stage show complete with professional sound and lighting, which creates an exciting, engaging setting for experiential learning. The web portal createyourstate.org is full of information, step-by-step instructions, webinars, and more, so that communities will have ongoing access to the information and a direct line of communication with the CYS founders. The generous funding provided by Benedum will allow McKinney and Blankenship to further elaborate their existing CYS curriculum, provide richer learning materials to participants, and offer ongoing support and mentorship as development plans get executed in communities throughout the state. 

The mission of The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is to encourage human development in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania through strategically invested resources. The foundation honors Michael and Sarah Benedum’s belief in “helping people help themselves” by creating “opportunities to cultivate the creativity of people and communities.”

CYS project manager and presenter Lori McKinney says, “This is a project ten years in the making. We have worked so hard for so long and we are incredibly thankful to have this opportunity to contribute to communities around the state, sharing what we’ve learned and inspiring people to transform their environment. The tour last year was impactful, and we have loved providing ongoing coaching to the wonderful teams that are working all around West Virginia. We are extremely grateful to Greg Puckett and Community Connections for all the support they have given us over the years to develop our work, and this opportunity is something we’ve been waiting for—to share what we have learned and give back at a bigger level. Many, many thanks to Community Connections and the Benedum Foundation for enabling this project!”

Greg Puckett, Executive Director of Community Connections says that, “We are exceptionally pleased at this amazing opportunity. Statistics show that when you change the physical design of a community, followed by an infusion of cultural diversity, it provides a vision of hope, innovation, and dedication from the community at large. This hope builds new partnerships and truly changes perception of negative, to overwhelmingly positive.”