From the traditional spot on the porch with friends and family, to going live on social media, there are many different ways to tell stories. In Rockcastle County, one community is working to share their stories through photos.
Bittersweet Photos is an annual initiative of the Rockcastle Arts Association to document the “places and faces” of Rockcastle County. The project is named for the Bittersweet Festival hosted in downtown Mount Vernon every fall and is in its second year.
Throughout Summer 2019, Arts Association board member Carrie Mullins and fellow board member and photographer, Selena Thompson, captured photos and quotes from nearly 100 people in Rockcastle County.
With the City of Mount Vernon firmly in support as a sponsor and enthusiast, the photos were then blown up into life-size portraits and placed in 14 local businesses up and down Main Street for two weeks before the Bittersweet Festival, and for two weeks after.
They visited three places in Rockcastle County to take photos and interviews, including the annual Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve opening in May 2019, Blast in the Valley in July 2019, and two nights at the Brodhead Little World’s Fair in August 2019. In their “Bittersweet Photos” t-shirts, they simply walked around these events and asked folks if they would agree to be featured. For those who agreed, they asked a couple of open-ended questions focused mostly on Rockcastle County, and then took a few photos.
“We wanted to try something different, to involve as many people as possible in an art project, and to look at ourselves and downtown Mount Vernon from a different perspective,” Mullins and Thompson said. “We wanted friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and visitors to enjoy these photos and to start conversations around them.”
Mullins and Thompson said they were inspired by Humans of New York, Louisville Story Program, the street photographer JR, and, of course, the people of Rockcastle County and the buildings of Mount Vernon.
The photos were also compiled into a book, on sale for $30 to benefit the Arts Association.
The Arts Association was established in January 2018 in a space on Main Street donated by Amburgey Law. The all-volunteer organization coordinates many $10 arts workshops throughout the year, such as songwriting, photography and more. The $10 goes toward the purchase of supplies and to pay instructors. They also work on other community arts projects, such as an upcoming murals of Rockcastle project, and their second annual Noel Night Market for craft vendors.
There are many other groups working in Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia to tell stories in unique ways. Here are just a few more to explore:
- Looking at Appalachia
- New Story West Virginia
- Only in Appalachia
- Breaking Beans (Community Farm Alliance’s Community Ambassadors)
- Country Queers
- Podcasts: Weird Appalachia, Dark Holler (Kentucky Old Time Music), Inside Appalachia
- Media Collaboration: 100 Days in Appalachia
About: This is story #41 in the Appalachia’s New Day campaign, a new storytelling effort launched in June 2019 by MACED for Eastern Kentucky communities. We can work with you to help identify, shape and amplify stories about businesses, programs and initiatives in your community that are helping build a new economy. Read more stories here. Contact us or sign up here if you would like more details.
