Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Mountain Punks and Radical Hillbillies: Arts & Creative Resistance in Appalachia
Session Abstract or Summary
This panel aims to encourage a discussion concerning social change and resistance through the creative arts, with examples in food, music, and online media in or close to Appalachia, and examine their past, present, and future significance.
Our panel crosses disciplines and state lines to address questions including: What is the heritage of creative resistance in Appalachia? Does creative resistance set a new standard for performing Appalachian identity? Does creative resistance create their own communities and a tradition of sharing space and values? What current groups, individuals, and organizations are continuing this legacy? Do creative arts resistance movements share common motivations or results?
Presentation #1 Title
Affective Politics in Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will profile the use of local food systems and hip hop as tools for social change in Appalachia. This research will show how music can be used as tools to mitigate political stratification and develop social capital.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Willard C. Watson III, holds a MA in Appalachian Studies with a concentration on Sustainability from Appalachian State University (2015). His research focuses on community development through the creative arts.
Presentation #2 Title
DIY, Punk, and the Internet
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will explore how social and other online media acts as a backbone to a network of musicians, artists and activists; the presentation aims to address the challenges of substandard internet access in this context.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Megan Osborne is an upcoming graduate of Marshall University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications and a former Appalachian Studies Association intern. She works as a freelance multimedia journalist with a focus on music, culture, and social issues.
Presentation #3 Title
VTArtWorks: Digital technology for coordination and cooperation among regional arts organizations
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
VTArtWorks in an interdisciplinary, IMLS funded project at Virginia Tech that seeks to better connect, document, and broadcast the work of those working in the field of Community Cultural Development through research and development of an innovative web platform (which will partially replace the communication gap left by the now-defunct Community Arts Network website).
This presentation describes potential uses of the VTArtWorks platform for existing regional CCD organizations and highlights the importance for coordination and cooperation among regional arts organizations in Appalachia. VTArtWorks research involves in depth interviews with arts leaders from nationally known CCD organizations, including Roadside Theater. The results of this research present potential pathways for cooperation on a future web platform and suggests productive strategies for coordination via existing technology today.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Devon Johnson is MA candidate in both Material Culture and Communication at Virginia Tech. She is a curatorial graduate assistant at Moss Arts Center, a former CMS advisor at VTArtWorks, and an alumni of the John C. Campbell Host program. Her research focuses on the visual rhetoric of rural stereotypes and applications of digital technology for community based non-profits.
Affective Politics in Appalachia
This presentation will profile the use of local food systems and hip hop as tools for social change in Appalachia. This research will show how music can be used as tools to mitigate political stratification and develop social capital.
