Haywood Arts Council to request COVID relief funds
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serve more than seven arts organizations and hundreds of artists countywide. The arts in Haywood County enrich the lives of county residents, educate our children, and reach our disenfranchised. What’s more they have both healing and inspirational effects.” The letter asks for $160,000 of Haywood County’s $2,473,363 in CARES Act funding. If granted, the HCAC would be responsible for distributing funds to artists in need. Making sure the money is distributed quickly is vital. The longer an organization stays closed, the harder it is to reopen. “All funds will be distributed by December 31, 2020,” wrote Forrester. “Time is not our friend here.” In the meantime, the HCAC will continue moving forward under the new normal. Community members are strongly encouraged to support the arts safely, and to give generously. “We need your support if the Haywood County Arts Council is to survive this year,” said Forrester. A calendar of their upcoming events is available at www.haywoodarts.org/events.
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Hear Yourself Relaxing... Frank and Mattie Fry with two of their children, from the Fry Collection at WCU.
September 2-8, 2020
WCU library expands historic Swain photo collection
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of Special and Digital Collections. “They also offer the only views of the village of Hewitt, in Swain County, that I have ever seen, which makes the collection very exciting. “We are so fortunate to be able to share these fascinating images and owe a debt of gratitude to both their donor, Mrs. Jean Douthit, and to the Friends of the Bryson City Cemetery, who helped facilitate the donation and identified people and places in the photographs,” Brady said. The collection can be viewed at digitalcollections.wcu.edu. For more information, contact Hunter Library’s Special and Digital Collections at 828.227.7474 or specialcollections@wcu.edu.
Smoky Mountain News
Western Carolina University has obtained a rare photographic glimpse of Bryson City and Swain County in the early 1900s, thanks to a recent donation to Hunter Library’s renowned Special and Digital Collections. The nearly 100 images from early 20thcentury Swain County were taken by Frank Emmett Fry, a mining superintendent and later hotel operator who lived from 1877 to 1939. The black and white photos come from glass plate negatives and have been digitized for online viewing. The collection was donated to Hunter Library by Jean Sandlin Douthit, a granddaughter of Fry. Douthit also is a member of the Friends of the Bryson City Cemetery, a nonprofit group that helped facilitate the donation. The photos taken by Fry include his family, friends and neighbors; the unincorporated community of Hewitt, where he was superintendent of the North Carolina Talc and Mining Company; and the county seat of Bryson City, where he and his wife, Martha “Mattie” Pender Fry, later owned and operated the Entella Hotel, as well as mountain landscapes and agricultural scenes. “Frank Fry’s photographs have lovely composition, are expertly executed, and remain in near-perfect condition after well over a century of existence, which makes them quite rare and of great value to researchers,” said Jason Brady, interim chief
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BY BOYD ALLSBROOK CONTRIBUTING WRITER uring the Haywood County Arts Council’s annual meeting, Executive Director Leigh Forrester recently outlined the extensive losses the art community has suffered due to COVID-19. “We find ourselves in the red,” said Forrester during the Zoom meeting. Limited funding from the Tourism Development Authority, canceled events and gallery closings have contributed to especially tough times for artists in Haywood County. A midAugust survey of nine Haywood County arts and culture organizations showed $973,000 lost for pandemic reasons. Even more devastating — more than 365 artists had contracts terminated in recent months. These losses prompted the HCAC to pen a letter to the Haywood County Board of Commissioners requesting CARES Act funding. “The arts develop and supply a creative workforce that is essential to Haywood County’s economy, employing 365 people. This sector is too vital to lose,” Forrester wrote in the letter. “On your behalf we
ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
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