Inspired by Alderson restaurant, ‘Ugly Women’ exhibit debuts in Nashville

By RealWV Staff (with all photos by Ashleigh Darnell),

NASHVILLE, TN — Ashleigh Darnell is a senior at Belmont University studying Corporate Communications and Photography. Her new exhibit chronicles a place near to her home…and her heart.

Stuart’s, a bar and restaurant just outside Alderson, WV, has an infamous sign along Route 219. It reads, “Cold food. Warm beer. Ugly women.”

Ashleigh drove by the sign many times over the years, when she was growing up in the Greenbrier Valley, and was always curious why the business decided to advertised itself that way. So one day, she decided to go inside and ask.

Owner Stuart Brugh told her, “I’ve had people come up to me since I put it out there telling me that I needed to take it
down because it was offensive, but to that I say, ‘If you can’t see the humor in that, then hit the f***ing road!”

Ashleigh was amused, finding the nature of the establishment to be refreshing. “The people that exist within the walls (of Stuart’s) live within their own world.” She said she was welcomed with open arms by a community inside the building that is supportive of one another through life’s ups and downs.

Her photogrpahy exhibit is meant to be an immersive experience, allowing folks in Nashville to feel as though they are inside Stuart’s when walking through the exhibit. “I want to convey the kindness of West Virginians to the people of Nashville. Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country right now, and it is so important for me to show people that I interact with every single day down here where I came from.”

“Ugly Women” will be open at The Packing Plant Art Gallery in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood this spring.
The show is open April 27th-May 8th from 4pm-9pm daily. Ashleigh will be present on May 1 from 6-8pm to discuss her work with patrons.

“I’d also like to bring this show back home to West Virginia,” she shares. “Appalachia is one of the most underrepresented communities and regions in the nation, so bringing some light to what I know is incredibly important to me.”