Open call for art! Applications open from April 25 – May 17 THEME: Pride is a time of celebration. However, it is also an important time to reflect on the fight for equal rights and queer liberation. This fight is not over. After a year of historically hateful rhetoric, censorship, and a record number of […]

Photos courtesy of Jeff Fasano Crossovers between musical styles can capture the essence of seemingly disparate worlds and create something new entirely. There’s a vibrant synergy where infectious pop hooks meet the power of rock ‘n’ roll electric guitars, or where the rhythmic beats of hip-hop combine with the narrative storytelling of country music. Other […]

Think back to your childhood. Picture a room in your grandmother’s house, or maybe at another relative’s. Is there a quilt hanging proudly on the wall, lying carefully on a bed or draped over the back of a couch or chair? Chances are, if you’re from Appalachia, the answer is yes. Appalachia has a rich […]

In the southern West Virginia town of Beckley, the state’s only traveling dance company flourishes with a mission to enrich the lives of many through professional dance and educational opportunities across the region. The West Virginia Dance Company (WVDC), founded in 1977 as the Appalachian Dance and Music Ensemble, produces touring programs each year that […]

The first stone is cast when a child expresses artistic aspirations and is met with: “Yes, but what will you do to make money?”  Although these norms shift with each concurrent generation, for many of us, the idea of being a career artist has been synonymous with risk and a desperate hope, bordering on delusion. […]

From printmaking to sculpture to filmmaking, Pittsburgh-based artist Derek Reese connects with his Appalachian heritage to create “anti-art” about mining in the region and abroad. Derek and I met up in his studio, a basement of an old warehouse in a Pittsburgh neighborhood. We planned to talk there until we realized he only had one […]