Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 5.05 Folklore and Folkways
Presentation #1 Title
“Nostalgia for the Future:" The Evolution of Folk Arts Programming at the Augusta Heritage Center
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Since 1973, the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College (West Virginia) has organized traditional arts workshops, produced events (including festivals, concerts, dances, lectures, documentary films, and audio recordings), sponsored community projects, developed an extensive archive, and nurtured an Appalachian Studies program. This paper traces the history of the Augusta Heritage Center from its founding as a craft workshop through its transformation into the multifaceted Center that exists today.
Recently, the Folk Alliance International honored Augusta with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Center is connected to larger social movements including folk revivals and the back-to-the-land movement. Despite the Center’s wide-reaching impact over the past forty years, there has been little research documenting its importance and its contributions to Appalachian Studies. In this research, interviews with Augusta staff and students were combined with archival research to establish a narrative of Augusta’s history. The evolution of Augusta’s programming is compared to changing staff accounts of goals and ambitions for the Center. This paper evaluates Augusta’s past and present, including the Center's relationship with Davis & Elkins College, to formulate recommendations for the future. This is part of a two-year study for a master’s thesis.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Brittany R. Hicks is a West Virginia native. She completed a self-designed B.A. in Appalachian Studies at Davis & Elkins College in 2007 and is currently a masters candidate at Appalachian State University (Boone, NC).
“Nostalgia for the Future:" The Evolution of Folk Arts Programming at the Augusta Heritage Center
Smith Hall 108
Since 1973, the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College (West Virginia) has organized traditional arts workshops, produced events (including festivals, concerts, dances, lectures, documentary films, and audio recordings), sponsored community projects, developed an extensive archive, and nurtured an Appalachian Studies program. This paper traces the history of the Augusta Heritage Center from its founding as a craft workshop through its transformation into the multifaceted Center that exists today.
Recently, the Folk Alliance International honored Augusta with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Center is connected to larger social movements including folk revivals and the back-to-the-land movement. Despite the Center’s wide-reaching impact over the past forty years, there has been little research documenting its importance and its contributions to Appalachian Studies. In this research, interviews with Augusta staff and students were combined with archival research to establish a narrative of Augusta’s history. The evolution of Augusta’s programming is compared to changing staff accounts of goals and ambitions for the Center. This paper evaluates Augusta’s past and present, including the Center's relationship with Davis & Elkins College, to formulate recommendations for the future. This is part of a two-year study for a master’s thesis.
