WVU Libraries

What do you imagine is in the future for Appalachia? West Virginia University Libraries is developing an interdisciplinary exhibit for 2019-20 themed around “Appalachian Futures.”

The WVU Libraries’ Arts in the Libraries Committee is seeking content from scholars, artists, community groups and practitioners from a range of fields to integrate into a curated exhibition that will be designed and installed in WVU’s Downtown Campus Library in the spring and summer of 2019, and potentially travel throughout the state.

“This collaborative, multidisciplinary exhibit and programming will address the dominant contemporary narratives about Appalachia in a new way – how the people of Appalachia have worked and will work to rewrite their own narrative and transcend limiting definitions of what it means to be Appalachian,” said Sally Deskins, exhibits and programs coordinator for WVU Libraries.

Submissions should fit into one or more of the exhibit’s four themes: Growth of Diverse Ethnic Populations; Science, Education and Industries; The Future of Appalachian Traditions; and Speculative Futures/Futurism.

The exhibit will use scholarship and creations to tell stories about the broader ideas and relationships amongst the various Appalachian identities, past present and into the future. It will also explore often overlooked communities, such as “Affrilachian” (African-American Appalachia) and queer Appalachia.

“Appalachian Futures” will initially be installed in the Downtown Campus Library’s first floor, up through the main spiral staircase, with extensions in the Atrium and potentially satellite pieces in the Evansdale and/or Health Sciences libraries. A plan for preparing the exhibition to travel regionally will be developed, as well.

Submission deadline is Jan. 31, 2019. The Art in the Libraries and Exhibit Committee will review all submissions and alert those with selected entries via email by March 1, 2019.

For more information contact Deskins at sbdeskins@mail.wvu.edu or 304.293.0369.