Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
Don’t Tear Up Our World: Using Art and Activism to Engage the Youth of Appalachia
Session Abstract or Summary
This round table discussion will focus on using art, activism, and activism through art to engage and support the youth of Appalachia. Too many of our young people leave the region after (or before) college graduation, taking with them the skills, knowledge, and energy to make this a better place to live and work. The “brain drain” has been especially detrimental in West Virginia--the only state in the country to lose population instead of gain it--and Kentucky.
The panel would include Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline and director of Higher Ground theater; Natalie Sypolt, writer and coordinator of the high school portion of the West Virginia Writers Workshop; Renee Nicholson, writer who also teaches ballet to the youth of WV and engages students through dance; and Rachael Meads, Director of Student Activities and Leadership and director of the Performing Arts series at Shepherd University.
Our essential question is: How can the arts, activism, or activism through the arts be used to engage the young people of Appalachia and therefore encourage them to stay in the region, as well as improve the region? We would use our personal examples of working with students (children through college students) in creative writing, dance, theatre, and music. We also hope to bring young people from our various programs who will be attending the conference into the discussion, though they will not be listed as official presenters.
Presentation #1 Title
Don’t Tear Up Our World: Using Art and Activism to Engage the Youth of Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This round table discussion will focus on using art, activism, and activism through art to engage and support the youth of Appalachia. Too many of our young people leave the region after (or before) college graduation, taking with them the skills, knowledge, and energy to make this a better place to live and work. The “brain drain” has been especially impactful in West Virginia--the only state in the country to lose population instead of gain it--and Kentucky. The panel would include Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline and director of Higher Ground theater; Natalie Sypolt, writer and coordinator of the high school portion of the West Virginia Writers Workshop; Renee Nicholson, writer who also teaches ballet to the youth of WV and engages students through dance; and Rachael Meads, Director of Student Activities and Leadership and director of the Performing Arts series at Shepherd University. Our essential question is: How can the arts, activism, or activism through the arts be used to engage the young people of Appalachia and therefore encourage them to stay in the region, as well as improve the region? We would use our personal examples of working with students (children through college students) in creative writing, dance, theatre, and music. We also hope to bring young people from our various programs who will be attending the conference into the discussion, though they will not be listed as official presenters.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Natalie Sypolt is an Assistant Professor of English at Pierpont Community & Technical College in Fairmont, WV. She has an MFA in Fiction from West Virginia University and her publications include Glimmer Train, Appalachian Heritage, Kenyon Review Online, Willow Springs Review, and Still: The Journal, among other fine journals. Natalie serves on the Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence board at Shepherd University, is an editor of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, and is on the selection committee for the Weatherford Award in Fiction. Natalie is also the high school workshop leader at the West Virginia Writers Workshop.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Robert Gipe is the author of Trampoline: An Illustrated Novel, winner of the 2016 Weatherford Award in Fiction. He is the director of the Appalachian Program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and co-creator/producer of the Higher Ground community theater, a series of community musical dramas based on oral histories and grounded in discussion of local issues. He is also a faculty coordinator of the Crawdad student arts series.. His fiction has appeared in the journals Appalachian Heritage and Still.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
A former professional dancer whose career was cut short by the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, Renée K. Nicholson lives in Morgantown, WV, splitting her artistic pursuits between writing and dance. She is an assistant professor in the Programs in Multi- and Interdisciplinary Studies at West Virginia University and is an American Ballet Theatre certified teacher. Renée was the 2011 Emerging Writer-in-Residence at Penn State-Altoona. She is a member of both the Dance Critics Association and the National Book Critics Circle. She has been Assistant to the Director of the West Virginia Writers’ Workshop since 2007.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Rachel Meads is the Assistant Director of the Student Center, Director of Student Activities and Leadership, PASS and Student Clubs and Organizations at Shepherd University. Rachael is also the Director of the Performing Arts Series at Shepherd.
Don’t Tear Up Our World: Using Art and Activism to Engage the Youth of Appalachia
This round table discussion will focus on using art, activism, and activism through art to engage and support the youth of Appalachia. Too many of our young people leave the region after (or before) college graduation, taking with them the skills, knowledge, and energy to make this a better place to live and work. The “brain drain” has been especially impactful in West Virginia--the only state in the country to lose population instead of gain it--and Kentucky. The panel would include Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline and director of Higher Ground theater; Natalie Sypolt, writer and coordinator of the high school portion of the West Virginia Writers Workshop; Renee Nicholson, writer who also teaches ballet to the youth of WV and engages students through dance; and Rachael Meads, Director of Student Activities and Leadership and director of the Performing Arts series at Shepherd University. Our essential question is: How can the arts, activism, or activism through the arts be used to engage the young people of Appalachia and therefore encourage them to stay in the region, as well as improve the region? We would use our personal examples of working with students (children through college students) in creative writing, dance, theatre, and music. We also hope to bring young people from our various programs who will be attending the conference into the discussion, though they will not be listed as official presenters.
