|
Fund-Raiser Seeks Enough To Finish Restoration Of Downtown Jewel |
 |
The lovely old ltalianate structure known as The Prizery, built about 1906, is depending an a love of the arts to help raise funds for its complete restoration. Already partially finished, the Downtown showcase will host a week-long, 30-artist art show October 12-17 with an eye toward acquiring enough money to complete the task. On tap are musical evenings, lectures, a flower show, tours for schoolchildren and a free Sunday afternoon reception. It might as well be called "art for architecture's sake." That is, 30 artists from five states have been invited to show and sell their work. People are encouraged to look - and buy - their creations. All proceeds go to fix up the fabulous old Italianate building known as The Prizery, the cornerstone of South Boston's snappy-comeback Downtown. 
Mark the calendar: October 12 - 17. Drop by most any time for a gander. Need an excuse? A free reception for the public will be held Sunday afternoon, October 12. Civic clubs will be meeting there throughout the week. Gospel and bluegrass concerts are on tap. Garden clubs will create flower arrangements to interpret the art. Lecturers will speak. Schoolchildren will be bused in."All the community should know they're invited," says Cynthia Haugh, who co-chairs the event with Carol Ray. The Prizery is going to be hoppin'. Even with its incomplete restoration, wrapped up a few months ago, "the building starts to create a pull," says Prizery executive director Chris Jones. "There starts to be a groundswell." People stop by throughout the day, and they don't want to leave. "They ask, 'Can I sit here and answer the phone for you? " Can I sweep the floor?... Jones says. "I want people to come away saying, 'What a wonderful place!' " The Prizery itself probably needs no introduction at this point: It's the turn-of-the-century tobacco-pressing plant (circa 1906) on the South Boston riverfront, next to the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (speaking of terrific restorations). Its five-story, red-brick tower stands as a sentinel to all who enter the town from the south. Previous Prizery art shows and grants have brought in thousands of public and private dollars already - and thousands of dollars have been spent already in Phase I of its rehabilitation. But the rehab, while stabilizing the building overall, actually restored only a fraction of The Prizery's useable space. The structure boasts 14-inch-thick brick walls, leaded glass windows, huge bared beams and richly colored floors imported from the old cotton mill. "You can't replace those things," Jones says. The distinctive structure isn't only an integral part of the community's past, it's a beautifully modernized accommodation: a gritty old workplace transformed into a snazzy artspace with ambience and presence. Now comes the time to finish the rest of The Prizery. The whole thing. By early 2005. And that takes funding. 
What will these three floors of space be used for? As a hub for arts and culture. Art classes and drama workshops already have been held at The Prizery. The Halifax County Little Theatre will perform there in a 300-seat theater. The county's official Welcome Center will hope to make a good first repression there on tourists passing through - whether antiquers or racing fans. Several civic and arts groups will more or less call The Prizery home. Public schools will partner with the place. There'll be a catering kitchen and a banquet hall to seat 400.
A permanent display will showcase the history and culture of brightleaf tobacco. For the outdoorsy types, The Prizery will be connected to Berry Hill mansion, the Dan River and Riverstone Technology Park by recreation trails. 
Jones says The Prizery will not only make life nicer for those who live in Halifax County, it'll help enhance our industrial prospects. After all, what titan of industry (or the titan's spouse or kids) wants to live in a ho-hum place where there's noth- ing to do, no culture, no fun, no history?The Prizery, it's hoped, will be counted among the area's drawing cards. Money needs to be raised for the rest of the job, and Prizery art show planners hope seeing is believing: If folks aren't thrilled by what they read and hear about the building, for sure they'll be convinced once they're inside. Previous Prizery art shows - fun as they were - were held in The Prizery "as is" - in all its shabby glory. This year, patrons will be able to check out the restoration that's already complete. Says Carol Ray, the co-chairman: "The art show as a fund-raiser is very important because not only does it help raise some of the much-needed money for the completion of The Prizery as a community arts center, but it is an excellent opportunity to get many people into the building to see Phase I and to get them as excited about the completion of the project as we are." . Jones says the aim is to raise tens of thousands of dollars that week: "A large chunk of change." The show is being generously underwritten by McDannald Construction, Inc., Elliott Electric, Inc., CCI Systems, Inc., and Southeast Painting Company. Sales of artwork - a full 30 percent of anything purchased - will go straight to The Prizery. Walls already full? Make a tax-deductible donation and feel good about contributing something of lasting value to the community. Not the type to dash off a check,? Look around, while you're there, and think of ways to contribute your time and services. The staff there is very small, and they can always use help as docents for the welcome center or in doing office tasks. But art. The art. The whole reason to set aside everything that week in October and head Downtown. The Prizery has invited 30 artists to exhibit their work, and something in the show is sure to be a transcendental experience for someone. "Frances Harrell has done an excellent job," says Ray of the art-procurement chairman. Local artists are always hugely popular. And if you're not lucky enough to know one well enough to sashay into her studio, you have to wait until events like this to check out the latest inspiration: 
Bob Cage, one of the last remaining gainfully employed tobacco auctioneers, will display his always intriguing, moody work, as will teacher Betty Caldwell, whose sought-after pieces have been known to sell out at past Prizery shows. Hap Hagood is a Scottsburg sculptor of national renown. Major Holt, who depicts African-American life in Southside, has recently enjoyed sales success in South Carolina galleries. Nellyy Zamora Jones' delightful work has the elusive quality known as looseness. Sally Lambrecht deftly captures her fascination with light and shadow in watermedia.Phil Ramsey, celebrated for his murals and classical portraits, will have other pieces for sale. Carol Ray, doing Herculean double duty as co-chairman and artist, is another best-seller. Donna Swanson, known for her flattering portrait work, will display her professional photographs. Robbie Wooding's abstract pieces have a cool, post-industrial presence to them. Prizery show newcomer Krista Skelton's snowy landscapes are always evocative of rural, bygone era. Grand dame Karen Shelton will of course return with a series of oversized, realistic watercolors - flowers and fruit drenched in color and sunlight that leave her patrons swooning. And those are just the ones with Halifax County addresses. Mary Bagwell and Jay Adams (from Washington, D.C., and Richmond, respectively) grew up here. From elsewhere, The Prizery has: Celeste Hicks of Wicomico, Emma Lou Martin of Richmond, Jay McCracken of Chesapeake, William Ward Moseley of Ebony, Sandra Rhodes of Delaware, James Underwood of Bedford, Ellen Elmes of Jewel Ridge. The South Carolina contingent is considerable, both in size and talent: photographer Amey Warder, and painters Jo Jeffers, Mark Woodham and Nita Yancey. From Danville: Bob Jones, Linda Gourley and Lynne Bjarensen. There's also potter Garry Childs of Rougemont, N.C., and Jennifer Lea of Dryburg, who works in pyrography - details to come on that particular art form. Artists say they love The Prizery show, some because their works sell like hotcakes, some because it's a really good time. Karen Shelton, whose pieces are the focal point of many a carefully appointed living room, says she always supports The Prizery because of its greater missions. "I have sold fairly well there" in past Prizery shows, says Shelton, who paints full-time. "But for me, that's the lesser part. I'm very interested in educating the children. ... Most children around here have no chance to see any art of consequence except in pictures." Culture. Education. Industry. Tourism. History. Jones calls it The New Economy. And Southside is indeed having to reinvent itself, transitioning away from textiles and tobacco toward something new, something else. Is capitalizing on arts and history the way to survive?. Jones thinks so. But come see for yourself October 12-17. Donations and purchases are appreciated, but your presence is required! Restoration of The Prizery is thanks to years of effort by the Parsons-Bruce Art Association, the South Boston Junior Women's Club, the Halifax County-South Boston Historical Society and the Halifax Woman's Club, who work under the umbrella of the Community Arts Center Foundation. |