Renovations continue on the Keystone Cottage, one of several historic buildings that are part of the Aurora Project, an ambitious international artist residency program underway in Preston County.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In Roman mythology, Aurora was the goddess of dawn and a harbinger of fresh things to come. The Aurora Project doesn't draw its name from those mythological roots, but the connection is apt as the project is all about birthing new things in the West Virginia hills.
Conceived in 2001, the Aurora Project is a Preston County-based effort to create an international residency program for artists, writers and scholars in the fashion of such renowned artist colonies as Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony.
"It's international, it's open to anyone in the world who wants to come," said Michele Moure-Reeves, one of the project's several co-founders.
The effort draws its name from the small town of Aurora, near the Maryland border. The project has been taking root there at Brookside Hotel and Cottages, a 19th-century vacation and resort spot across from Cathedral State Park on U.S. Route 50.
Moure-Reeves and two friends, Alice Penzo and Walt Ranalli, got the ball rolling, purchasing some of the resort's crumbling old cottages and forming a nonprofit corporation and board of directors.
Since then, renovations have continued apace. Some residencies have already taken place with artists staying in board members' homes, along with writing, painting and historic preservation workshops. But more funding is needed to finish a host of renovations and to complete studio and lodging spaces for Aurora Project residents, said Moure-Reeves.
She and other board members will be on hand at a public fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at the home of Cindy and Tony Majestro, 1511 Quarrier St. (For more information, email artistbar...@aol.com.)
The Aurora Project invites applications from artists, writers, composers and scholars in all disciplines who are at work on paintings, sculpture, writing, music, photography, books and interdisciplinary efforts. Applications will be considered by peer-reviewed panels who then choose residents to come for three- to six-week residencies.
Once renovations are complete, the project's six buildings, up to 14 artists will be able to be housed in residencies, said Moure-Reeves. "It's totally their time. They are able to create new projects or work on works in progress. They can do collaborative projects. It's also open to scholars, so if someone is writing or doing research they're able to come and work."
Penzo, who has since died, also donated the old Aurora general store, which has been restored with a West Virginia Commission on the Arts grant. The project makes use of the upper floors for artist and photographers while the Aurora Historical Society rents the ground floor.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In Roman mythology, Aurora was the goddess of dawn and a harbinger of fresh things to come. The Aurora Project doesn't draw its name from those mythological roots, but the connection is apt as the project is all about birthing new things in the West Virginia hills.
Conceived in 2001, the Aurora Project is a Preston County-based effort to create an international residency program for artists, writers and scholars in the fashion of such renowned artist colonies as Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony.
"It's international, it's open to anyone in the world who wants to come," said Michele Moure-Reeves, one of the project's several co-founders.
The effort draws its name from the small town of Aurora, near the Maryland border. The project has been taking root there at Brookside Hotel and Cottages, a 19th-century vacation and resort spot across from Cathedral State Park on U.S. Route 50.
Moure-Reeves and two friends, Alice Penzo and Walt Ranalli, got the ball rolling, purchasing some of the resort's crumbling old cottages and forming a nonprofit corporation and board of directors.
Since then, renovations have continued apace. Some residencies have already taken place with artists staying in board members' homes, along with writing, painting and historic preservation workshops. But more funding is needed to finish a host of renovations and to complete studio and lodging spaces for Aurora Project residents, said Moure-Reeves.
She and other board members will be on hand at a public fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at the home of Cindy and Tony Majestro, 1511 Quarrier St. (For more information, email artistbar...@aol.com.)
The Aurora Project invites applications from artists, writers, composers and scholars in all disciplines who are at work on paintings, sculpture, writing, music, photography, books and interdisciplinary efforts. Applications will be considered by peer-reviewed panels who then choose residents to come for three- to six-week residencies.
Once renovations are complete, the project's six buildings, up to 14 artists will be able to be housed in residencies, said Moure-Reeves. "It's totally their time. They are able to create new projects or work on works in progress. They can do collaborative projects. It's also open to scholars, so if someone is writing or doing research they're able to come and work."
Penzo, who has since died, also donated the old Aurora general store, which has been restored with a West Virginia Commission on the Arts grant. The project makes use of the upper floors for artist and photographers while the Aurora Historical Society rents the ground floor.
Artists will be asked to pay $35 a day for use of the studio spaces, but that's a donation, said Moure-Reeves. "If people are not able to make that, their ability to spend time at the Aurora Project is not dependent on their ability to pay."
When fully up and running, she anticipates the project will have a budget of more than $250,000. Yet tough economic times have made fundraising a challenge, she said. "It's very important the people learn about us and what an important contribution it's going to be to the state and our region."
West Virginia artist Barrie Kaufman was sold on the project after doing a painting residency and workshop there. She promptly offered to serve as an artist's representative on the all-volunteer 14-member Aurora board.
More than $1 million has been put into renovating the buildings so far -- the 19th-century structures needed new foundations, new roofs and other fixes. "The project really can't go forward until all the buildings have been renovated. It's a pretty significant undertaking," she said.
When everything is in place, artists will have access to writing and painting studios, a recording studio and even a traditional wet darkroom, the very equipment used by famed National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel, who used to call the area home. His widow, Viola Wentzel, is president of the Aurora Project board. Charles Hyman, former director of arts books for National Geographic, is also a board member.
When finished, the Aurora Project will offer a world-class locale for creative endeavors in a historic site within a short walk of Cathedral State Park's 300- and 400-year-old trees, the state's largest remaining stand of old-growth trees, Kaufman said.
"It'll provide a place for scholars, writers, composers and artists to go and do their creative work uninterrupted, and I think that's vital for creative persons," she said.
"To be creative you need to have quiet time to think and bring forth new ideas and also to interact with other creators. The idea is you'll have writers, artists and musicians interacting with each other. They'll each have their own studio space, but during meals you'll have a cross-dialogue and interaction that is a dynamic process."
Kaufman hopes the fundraiser and other outreach efforts will bring much-needed statewide attention and added funding to the project.
"We need a little more interest in this area so we can bring this project to fruition and have it really be a shining star for our state. It would be a place anybody would want to come."
Reach Douglas Imbrogno at doug...@cnpapers.com or 304-348-3017.
