Eastern Kentucky is known for its rich arts and culture. But recent floods have damaged important local archives, destroyed art businesses and left some artists fearing for their lives.
High flood waters ravaged the first floor of the Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman, destroying classroom equipment, kilns, administrative offices and art studios. As of Monday, most of the level had been emptied, thanks to a restoration company that specializes in water damage repair, and a mud-crusted debris piled up outside.
Artistic director Renee Anderson said she felt bad mourning the loss of the newly painted mural and carefully selected art studios “when so many people have lost so much… but it was very emotional to come and see everything completely different from what I was used to. “
“As artists, we’ve put so much thought into the things we use every day, and for it to be completely washed away in one night, it’s really heartbreaking to see,” she said, adding that at least one of their artists also lost a home and was injured during the storm. .
Anderson also coordinates the center’s Culture of Recovery program, which teaches people with opioid addiction artistic skills to help them recover.
Flooding interrupted that programming, and Anderson feels an urgency to restart it.
“Right now the whole region is going through this terrible disaster where ‘recovery culture’ is kind of taking on a different meaning, and we’re trying to recover from this terrible thing that happened to us.”
Flood-damaged mountain dulcimers lie on the floor of the upper level of the Appalachian Artisan Center on August 8, 2022.
In the center is the Museum of the Mountain Cymbal. The flood was so violent that one of the museum’s doors was blown off its hinges and smashed through the front windows, taking away much of the collection.
Douglas Naselroad said he was “too nervous” to visit the museum and assess the damage.
Naselroad co-curated the collection. He also founded the Appalachian School of Luthiery in the center and runs the Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company.
“We had an example of the first hourglass dulcimer ever made,” he said, referring to a special style of dulcimer that was developed in Knott County.
Several instruments have been found, but it is not clear if they are salvageable.
Naselroad also cleaned at a luting school, where people learn how to make and repair stringed instruments.
Naselroad and a colleague spray-painted “we will be back” and “God will make a way” on the outside of the Appalachian School of Luthiery.
A sign outside promises, “We’ll be back,” and Naselroad said he’s determined to keep his employees on the payroll, giving them clean tools and recoverable equipment.
“So my people are beaten for this, but they won’t be beaten for worrying about their jobs. Now it might be spring before we can even pretend to build instruments,” he said. “I do not know. I’ve never been through anything like this before… But in the meantime, it’s better for them to see that some semblance of normality has returned to this mud hole.”
Some cultural institutions have taken huge hits into their archives, like the Appalshop in Whitesburg and the Hindman Settlement School, which has a collection dating back more than a century.
While the archives at Hindman Settlement School were protected from the possibility of fire, the floodwaters soaked them. The school is working to recover and preserve what it can.
“Of course, the human loss is the worst part of it. But those photographs and those letters and diaries, they are evidence of people’s lives in the last century,” said novelist and writer Silas House. “And it’s also a huge loss.”
House grew up in eastern Kentucky and credits the township school with being an important part of his journey to becoming a published writer. The school’s annual Appalachian Writers Workshop, designed to help Appalachian writers tell their own stories or the stories of their homeland, is considered an important contributor not only to Kentucky’s literary heritage, but to American literature as a whole. After the floods, the school provided shelter, food and supplies to the needy.
These collections, artists and arts organizations also highlight a more nuanced representation of the region.
“We’re often not presented in a complex way,” House continued. “In television and movies and comics and commercials and any form of visual media you can think of, we are negated and/or erased. And that’s why it’s really devastating that this accurate, historical record of us is so endangered.”
The Kentucky Arts Council works with cultural groups in affected areas, helps assess damage and connects artists and organizations with local and national resources.
Executive staff adviser Emily Moses said they were able to respond quickly.
“Unfortunately, we learned a lot of our techniques and response methods from our response to the tornado disaster in western Kentucky, which included significant effects on the arts and culture field,” Moses said, adding that they continue to work with artists and arts groups to area. “So during that time we created processes and were able to implement them immediately.”
Douglas Naselroad goes through cases of damaged radio equipment. Naselroad hosted the Knott Downtown Radio Hour.
The Arts Council is coordinating calls between affected artists and the National Emergency Arts Coalition. KAC has also compiled a list of scholarships and resources for artists on its website.
Meeting the needs of people affected by the floods is a priority, Moses said. But he hopes people also see the value in preserving the region’s cultural heritage.
“When we talk about Kentucky, we’re talking about a place where art, culture, and artistic practices are central to our daily lives… If you put [culture] too far down the list, what you’re looking at is a complete and utter waste. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
