The regionally celebrated Buckhannon restaurant and market, Fish Hawk Acres, and award-winning textile artist Suzan Ann Morgan will be installing a new piece of public art in Buckhannon on Friday, April 29. The original artwork will overlook downtown from the second story of the Fish Hawk Acres building at the corner of East Main and Kanawha streets.
The five-panel piece is based on Ms. Morgan’s own photographic images of familiar Buckhannon objects including utility poles, fire hydrants, trees and the vehicles found parked on Buckhannon’s busy Main Street. Originally created on fabric by a hand-screening process, it has been reproduced on vinyl and will be permanently mounted. This work joins the wide variety of public artworks mounted on buildings and found all around this art-centric town.
Ms. Morgan has lived in Upshur County since 1988 and in Buckhannon since 2000. She learned to dye, print and screen on fabric at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Davis and Elkins College.
Fish Hawk Acres is a restaurant, grocery and catering enterprise opened in 2008 by Chef Dale Hawkins.
They were inspired by the efforts of ART26201, a Buckhannon arts advocacy organization that has been successful in making the arts accessible to all who live, work and visit the area.
Funds for this project were provided by a generous American Rescue Plan grant from the W.Va. Department of Arts, Culture and History. A reception will be held on April 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Fish Hawk Acres building’s installation site. The public is invited to meet the artist, learn about her process and enjoy refreshments.
