Participation Type
Unconference
Session Title
Session 11.14 Development
Presentation #1 Title
Approaches to Community Cultural Development in Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
At a time of generational change within the community-based arts and education fields, the central Appalachian coalfields have experienced a groundswell of community-based arts efforts to confront longstanding economic and community development problems. Teachers and educators, community-based artists, and community organizers--aware that long-term strategies are required for meaningful change--are embracing place and culture as a means of engaging young people and others not otherwise involved in the apparatuses of local democracy, public education, and community development. Appalshop, the multidisciplinary arts & cultural center based in Whitesburg, Kentucky, has been using place-based media making practices to catalyze community cultural development over the past 44 years. Colleges, universities, and other institutions often have the best resources to sustain interdisciplinary discourse that can link economic, political, and cultural realities as a way for communities to create their own analyses together and describe new ways to move forward. In this session, Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute, along with the Southeast Community and Technical College’s Higher Ground storytelling and theater project and others, will model how institutions can make sustained community partnerships that honor local knowledge and culture while encouraging innovative paths toward development. Additionally, we will explore ways that educational and cultural institutions in Appalachia can make broader and more meaningful commitments to “community cultural development” through partnerships with community-based arts, culture, and education initiatives.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Mark W. Kidd is an ensemble member at Roadside Theater, where he facilitates Community Cultural Development residencies, including workshops on low-cost media techniques, grassroots campaigns, and cultural organizing.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Josh May works with Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute and June Appal Recordings, and helps lead regional collaborative development initiatives with the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project and the Alliance for Appalachia.
Approaches to Community Cultural Development in Appalachia
Corbly Hall 243
At a time of generational change within the community-based arts and education fields, the central Appalachian coalfields have experienced a groundswell of community-based arts efforts to confront longstanding economic and community development problems. Teachers and educators, community-based artists, and community organizers--aware that long-term strategies are required for meaningful change--are embracing place and culture as a means of engaging young people and others not otherwise involved in the apparatuses of local democracy, public education, and community development. Appalshop, the multidisciplinary arts & cultural center based in Whitesburg, Kentucky, has been using place-based media making practices to catalyze community cultural development over the past 44 years. Colleges, universities, and other institutions often have the best resources to sustain interdisciplinary discourse that can link economic, political, and cultural realities as a way for communities to create their own analyses together and describe new ways to move forward. In this session, Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute, along with the Southeast Community and Technical College’s Higher Ground storytelling and theater project and others, will model how institutions can make sustained community partnerships that honor local knowledge and culture while encouraging innovative paths toward development. Additionally, we will explore ways that educational and cultural institutions in Appalachia can make broader and more meaningful commitments to “community cultural development” through partnerships with community-based arts, culture, and education initiatives.
