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The former Belk’s location in downtown Harlan has been mostly dormant for many years, possibly since Belk’s left downtown Harlan for the Village Center Mall in the 1980s. Now, the building is close to a new incarnation as a site with multiple uses through Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College’s Higher Ground Program.
Liv Taylor, Artistic Director for the walk-in mural project to be located in the Belk building, shed some light on the current status of the downtown location during a recent interview.
According to Taylor, the building is intended to be used by and for the community.
“It’s going to be a community center, pretty much,” Taylor said. “They have a stage for community theater, they have an upstairs which they’re planning on doing something with that could be studio apartments or classrooms, they have a place for a store and another section which could be for a coffee shop/bakery, and they have an art gallery. A huge one. It’s an open floor plan so there’s a lot of potential to start showcasing some local artwork.”
Higher Ground is responsible for the work being done on the building, Taylor said.
“Higher Ground is the foundation that is responsible for the grants, everything,” Taylor said. “They wanted to bring everyone together.”
She explained a poem titled “I’m From” has become part of the atmosphere for the building.
“George Ella Lyon, who was the poet laureate for Kentucky, wrote the poem,” Taylor said. “We made an 828 square foot mural with words from her poem and submissions from people who live in Harlan County.”
Taylor pointed out Lyon used phrases such as “I’m from cornbread” to illustrate where she was from rather than simply stating a place or location.
“As soon as you walk in the door, it hits you,” Taylor said. “You’re surrounded by words like ‘I’m from cornbread,’ ‘I’m from Pine Mountain’, ‘I’m from soup beans’ ‘I’m from straight out of Pathfork.’”
Taylor noted crews are working hard to get the location ready to open to the public.
“We are working 14 hours a day trying to bring this together,” Taylor said. “The end result is we want people to have a place to get together, to have their events, do community theater, do art classes, have a restaurant where they can come and have coffee, etc.”
The project is nearing completion, with only one aspect remaining undone.
“If we had more funding to get the sprinkler system squared away, we could be open to the public as soon as it’s done,” Taylor said. “That’s the only thing holding us up.”
Taylor noted the project has relied heavily on grants, beginning with a large grant which allowed the project to get underway.
“Now that has run out, and that’s the only roadblock,” Taylor said. “Of course, with the grants they are applying for, they have to find another one that fits within the scope.”
The project has been in the works for some time, and is expected to have a positive impact on the downtown area.
“We’ve been working on this for about five or six years,” Taylor said. “If we can just keep continuing to get people in here – even if it’s just for classroom instruction – there’s a possibility that we can get more entrepreneurship where people have a chance to create the downtown atmosphere they’ve been dreaming of.”
For more information, go to the Higher Ground Facebook page or the Higher Ground website at https://www.highergroundinharlan.com/community-engagement.html. Anybody wishing to donate should call 606-909-9211.