“There is so much potential here,” Vicki Queen says. “And I’m not talking about just for Bluefield or just for southern West Virginia. We have the potential to become an art center that everyone in the nation will come and see.”
There, there’s a tribute to Princeton’s former restaurant by day, gay bar by night, the Shamrock. The Shamrock was well-known across the eastern U.S. for its weekend drag shows, which operated for nearly 40 years beginning in the 1960s. You’ll find the bat that proprietor Miss Helen Compton kept behind the bar, a recreation of the performance stage and its original disco ball, and a crown worn by the winner of an annual drag contest. The crown jewel of the tribute hides behind a hinged painting: a behind-the-scenes look at the dressing room of a drag performer. Drag isn’t the only performance you’ll see highlighted at the One Thin Dime Museum. Bluefield was the birthplace of a number of Black musicians, such as Ezekiel Carey, a founding member of the Flamingos. One of his performance costumes is on display at the museum, along with an upright piano played by Duke Ellington at Bluefield State College’s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Art, History, Magic, Mystery Gary Bowling’s House of Art is not, as Bowling would say, highfalutin or smug. Bowling himself does, after all, live in a converted classroom in The Ramsey. Admission to The House of Art is free, and Volunteer Coordinator Donna Whitehead says all it takes to volunteer is the ability to swing a hammer. Gary Bowling’s House of Art not only brings Appalachian artists together, but also brings art to Appalachians. “A lot of times when you walk into a gallery, you stand and you don’t touch anything. You’re not sure you’re smart enough, or rich enough, or creative enough to be in that space,” Vicki Queen says. But at Gary Bowling’s House of Art, equitable access to art for everyone is the main attraction. “We call it The House of Art,” Bowling says, “but when you come here, you’re what makes it a home.” 300 Ramsey Street, Bluefield, 304.324.4242, gbharamseyschool.org, @houseofart22 on Facebook
96 wvl • fall 2020
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