Fayetteville Creates turns winter tourism space into a home for artists and community connection

By Hannah Yost, RealWV

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — In Fayetteville, vacation rentals are usually associated with visitors, adventure, and weekends spent exploring the New River Gorge.

But this past winter, seven local vacation rentals became something different: temporary homes for artists, musicians, writers, and creatives who spent the month of January creating work, connecting with the community, and offering free public workshops.

The program, called Fayetteville Creates, is a community-wide creative residency designed to support artists while also bringing free arts programming to Fayetteville during one of the slowest months of the year.

For Amy McLaughlin, owner of Lafayette Flats Boutique Vacation Rentals, the idea felt like a natural extension of work she and Shawn Means had already been doing for years.

“When we opened Lafayette Flats, a huge part of what we wanted to do was showcase art and display West Virginia artists,” McLaughlin said.

Lafayette Flats, located in a historic building in Fayetteville, has long featured original art and has hosted creative residents for years. McLaughlin said the original idea began during the first year Lafayette Flats opened, about 14 years ago, before the New River Gorge received its national park designation.

At the time, Fayetteville was quieter in the winter, and McLaughlin and Means began thinking about how they could use their space during the slow season to support the arts.

“We have this cool old building, filled with original art, sitting empty in the winter,” McLaughlin said. “How can we use this to support our goal of supporting the arts?”

That question eventually led to the New River Gorge Creative Residency at Lafayette Flats. In the beginning, the residency was three months long and open only to writers. Over the years, it expanded to include different types of creatives, with Lafayette Flats hosting more residents annually.

McLaughlin said Lafayette Flats has now hosted 15 or 16 creative residents through its own residency program.

“It’s one of the most rewarding things we’ve done in our lives,” she said. “It’s been a really wonderful experience.”

Fayetteville Creates expanded this idea across the town.

The project began with seed money from the West Virginia Creative Network, which invited community members to develop a creative project. McLaughlin said people from Fayetteville’s arts community came together to brainstorm how to use the funding in a way that reflected the town’s strengths.

The idea that rose to the top was a town-wide artist residency.

“We wanted to capitalize on Fayetteville’s strengths,” McLaughlin said. “We wanted to make it good for the community.”

That community focus became central to the program. Artists would not only stay in Fayetteville and work on their own creative projects; they would also share something with local residents.

This past January, seven vacation rentals donated space for an entire month. A committee of volunteers recruited artists from West Virginia and beyond, welcoming creatives from multiple disciplines. Each artist was housed in a donated vacation rental and asked to provide a free workshop, class, demonstration, or community event.

The workshops were free to the public, and supplies were covered.

During the month, community members attended seven free, hands-on workshops led by the visiting artists. There were also several public meetups at local businesses, where residents and artists could gather, talk, make art, and build connections. The month ended with a closing party where musicians performed.

“It was off the charts,” McLaughlin said.

The program was made possible through a mix of funding, volunteer work, community support, and donated lodging. McLaughlin said the Fayette County Community Foundation served as the fiscal agent, Visit Fayetteville also supported the effort, and a small group of key volunteers helped plan and carry out the program.

When organizers put out the call for artists, they did not limit the residency to one discipline or one location. Instead, they looked for a strong mix of creatives and placed major emphasis on how each applicant planned to engage with the community.

The application required artists to show examples of their work, provide references, and propose a workshop or event. McLaughlin said that community component was one of the most important parts of the selection process.

“We wanted it to be a mix,” she said.

Organizers reviewed applications, checked references, completed phone interviews, and evaluated applicants as a group. McLaughlin said the committee had to make difficult decisions because the response was strong, with applications from across the country.

The final group included artists working in music, textiles, painting, writing, illustration, mixed media, and other creative fields.

One resident, Becks Lipshultz, is a West Virginia native and musician with a master’s-level background in Appalachian music. During Becks’ workshop, participants learned about songwriting and then created their own songs using the methods shared in the session.

“It was the coolest,” McLaughlin said.

Another resident, Amy Pabst, a textile artist from Huntington, presented a quilt program that brought together people from many different age groups and backgrounds. McLaughlin said the room included teenagers, seniors, traditional quilters, and young artists.

“It was a true community event,” she said. “It was really impressive.”

McLaughlin said those moments showed why the residency mattered. In the middle of winter, Fayetteville residents had opportunities to gather, learn something new, and connect with artists and neighbors.

“It couldn’t have worked out better,” she said.

In follow-up meetings after the residency, McLaughlin said organizers were amazed by the response and the connections that grew from the project.

“This always happens when something good takes place,” she said. “There were a lot of little magical connections and growth from the projects.”

For McLaughlin, one of the most meaningful parts of Fayetteville Creates was the local guide program.

Because Fayetteville is a town with a long history of outdoor recreation, many residents are familiar with the idea of guides — whitewater guides, climbing guides, and tour guides. Fayetteville Creates applied that same idea to the arts.

Each visiting creative was paired with a local “art guide,” who served as the artist’s contact person, helped answer questions, supported workshops, and helped connect the artist to the community. Guides received a stipend for their work.

McLaughlin said that part of the program turned out to be one of its strongest components.

“Most of them are still good friends with their artists,” she said.

The guide program helped ensure that visiting creatives did not simply stay in town and leave. Instead, they had a direct relationship with someone from the community, making the residency more personal and connected.

For the vacation rental owners who donated space, the project was also a way to use tourism assets for local benefit.

McLaughlin said Lafayette Flats has been doing this kind of residency work for years with positive results, and other rental owners quickly stepped up when asked to participate in Fayetteville Creates.

“These are people who are very community minded,” McLaughlin said.

Many of the participating rental owners have long supported Fayetteville’s arts and community efforts. Some attended every event during the residency.

“Fayetteville is a tight-knit community,” McLaughlin said. “When someone volunteers for something, it becomes a big deal.”

The program also showed how vacation rentals can be part of the community beyond tourism. By offering lodging during slower winter months, rental owners helped bring artists into town, supported local businesses, and created free arts experiences for residents.

McLaughlin said Fayetteville’s tourism economy gives the community a chance to think creatively about how existing spaces can be used.

“Think about how many people can do that with the tourism we have,” she said. “Vacation rentals can make it more interesting and promote the arts and being engaged in the community.”

Although this was the first year for Fayetteville Creates, McLaughlin said organizers expect it to continue as an annual winter offering. Several new people have already stepped into leadership roles, including some of this year’s local guides.

McLaughlin said she wants the leadership to stay fresh and continue to involve new voices from the community.

For her, the program reflects much of what makes Fayetteville special: creativity, collaboration, generosity, and a willingness to try something new.

“It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been involved in,” McLaughlin said. “And it’s going to continue next year.”

For Fayetteville, Fayetteville Creates did more than bring artists to town. It turned a slow winter month into a season of workshops, music, stories, quilting, songwriting, public gatherings, and new relationships.

It also showed how a small West Virginia town can use what it already has — creative people, community-minded business owners, local gathering spaces, and a strong sense of place — to build something that benefits both residents and visitors.

What began as a residency became something larger: a reminder that art can fill empty rooms, bring people together, and help a community see itself in a new way.

For more information, visit the Fayetteville Creates WV website.