Restored Public Mural Brings Clintwood Community Together

Clintwood—Ellen Elmes is an artist who has painted over forty indoor and outdoor murals in Appalachian communities—some on her own, some in collaboration with students of all ages and some with volunteers and professional artists. Her murals are narratives based on collected stories of pride and remembrance of a given place. These large-scale public artworks also tend to incorporate elements of the local natural environment.

For the last year, Elmes (Jewell Ridge) has been teaching this artform to Renée Wienecke (Cedar Bluff) and Jenna Taylor (Clintwood) as part of a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship and with support from the Town of Clintwood. The three artists led a collaborative community effort involving 14 total painters to restore “Echoes,” a mural painted on the outside of the Jettie Baker Center in 2001.

"This apprenticeship has enabled me to further my resolve to pass on my skills and knowledge as a muralist to younger artists who can carry on the practice of giving visual voice to community pride, history, and unity through making public art," said Elmes. "Our mentorship/apprenticeship relationship has enabled human ties between our generations and the refurbishing of a mural for generations to come."

The refreshed mural—now much brighter and with new details—will be dedicated during a community-wide celebration on Saturday June 14 during the Mural & Mountain Traditions Festival.

The festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of the art, craft, song, and storytelling traditions of Southwest Virginia. The day-long festival takes place in several locations in downtown Clintwood, all within walking distance. It begins with morning craft workshops and a walking mural tour, continues with a 1:30PM mural dedication ceremony, and finishes with a performance of mountain traditions inside the Jettie Baker Center, featuring the Ralph Stanley-style sounds of Clinch Mountain Echo (Haysi) and the legendary bluegrass trailblazer Alice Gerrard with fellow vocalists Sophie Moeckel (Floyd) and Kay Justice (Wytheville). Kathy Swanson Coleman (Pound), recipient of a 2009 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship, returns home to tell Appalachian stories. 

The event is part of a year-long, statewide celebration of Virginia Humanities' 50th anniversary as the state humanities council.

For more information and a full schedule of events visit VirginiaHumanities.org/mural.

Virginia Humanities is the state humanities council. We’re headquartered in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, but we serve the entire state. We aim to share the stories of all Virginians—or, better yet, find ways for people to share their own stories. We want Virginians to connect with their history and culture and, in doing that, we hope we’ll all feel more connected to our communities and each other. Founded in 1974, we are one of fifty-six humanities councils created by Congress with money and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities to make the humanities available to all Americans. To learn more, visit VirginiaHumanities.org.