Podcasts about letcher county culture hub

This episode is Art in a Democracy: Selected Plays of Roadside Theater. Our conversation with editor Ben Fink and contributor Arnaldo J. Lopez. explores Roadside's 50-year history of creative collaboration percolating at the crossroads of art, community, and America's struggle to craft an authentic living democracy. BIO'sBen Fink: Ben Fink worked with the Roadside ensemble from 2015 through 2020, as a member of the Betsy! Scholars' Circle, as the founding organizer of the Letcher County Culture Hub and the Performing Our Future coalition, and as the cofounder of the cross-partisan dialogue project Hands Across the Hills. He has also served as dramaturg on the German premieres of two Broadway musicals, made theater with Turkish and Arab high school students, and chaired a Lutheran faith community in Minnesota. His work in theater, organizing, pedagogy, and economic development has been featured by Salon.com, the Brookings Institution, TDR/The Drama Review, Harvard Law School, Americans for the Arts, PolicyLink, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2020, Ben was recognized by Time magazine as one of “27 People Bridging Divides Across America.” He is the general editor of Art in a Democracy. Arnaldo J Lopez: is a cultural worker with a Ph.D. in Latin/o American Literatures and Cultures from New York University. He first joined Pregones Theater when the company set out to transform a South Bronx warehouse into a vibrant performing arts center, and later helped engineer a merger with the historic Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in Manhattan. Versed in a broad set of creative, community, and nonprofit topics, he works with artists in mapping paths toward joyful and sustainable practice. His background also includes ten years in letterpress and graphic design.Notable MentionsArt in a Democracy, the selected plays of Roadside Theater, volumes 1 and 2: This two-volume anthology tells the story of Roadside Theater's first 45 years and includes nine award-winning original play scripts; ten essays by authors from different disciplines and generations, which explore the plays' social, economic, and political circumstances; and a critical recounting of the theater's history from 1975 through 2020. ArtinAdemocracy.org: The official Art in a Democracy website. New Village Press is Art in a Democracy's publisher. The mission of New Village Press is to promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of issues vital to the development of healthy, creative, and socially just communities. To that end, New Village publishes transdisciplinary books that animate emerging movements in societal transformation. In conjunction, the Press also sponsors lectures, forums, and exhibitions for the public, especially for those communities that are underserved.Junebug Productions emerged from the Free Southern Theater in 1980 with a mission to create and support artistic works that question and confront inequitable conditions that have historically impacted the Black community. "Through interrogation, we challenge ourselves and those aligned with the organization to make greater and deeper contributions towards a just society."John...

In this episode we hear from Angie Hagaman, Operations Director for the ETSU Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment. Angie talks about the current state of the drug epidemic in the region, and describes how the Center works to partner with affected communities to research the epidemic. She also tells us about her own research, through her PhD program, with the Letcher County Culture Hub and some local volunteer fire departments. She says story circles and listening projects might be the missing piece to combating the opioid epidemic, and hopes that by adding more “heart” to the healing process we can start to see a real decline in the epidemic.

What does it take to successfully build the economy of a small community once dependent on coal? Economic diversity. But why are some residents wary of business diversification and the entrepreneurial spirit? Can arts and cultural heritage play a critical role in that economic diversification? WMMT Mountain Talk host Kelli Haywood discusses small town economics with a group of folks reflecting a range of experiences and political opinions: Harry Collins, educator and CANE (Community Agriculture & Nutrition Enterprises) leader; Betsy Whaley from the regional economic development organization MACED; and Ben Fink of Appalshop and the Letcher County Culture Hub.

What role can a community center play in increasing residents’ well being and encouraging efforts to reimagine and revitalize the local economy? That’s the question WMMT Reporter Kelli Haywood was asking when she visited Hemphill, KY, a former coal company town, where a group of volunteers are working to bring people together and add some liveliness into their community. Keeping its doors open in order to serve its mission of providing low cost, family friendly entertainment and educational opportunities to the community has not been easy. But through its participation in the Letcher County Culture Hub, a collaboration led by Appalshop, Hemphill and other community centers, public and private organizations, and local businesses are coming together to strengthen Letcher County’s cultural assets and identify ways to use them to grow the economy.

Can artists, dancers, actors, musicians and creative thinkers of all varieties contribute to the economic rebuilding of our Appalachian communities? WMMT’s Kelli Haywood looked for answers to that question as she visited the 15th annual Cowan Creek Mountain Music School at the Cowan Community Center. The Center is one partner in a creative placemaking effort led by Appalshop called the Letcher County Culture Hub. Organizations and individuals throughout the county are bringing together arts, culture, and business enterprise to establish a more diversified economy and communities that are healthy, happy, and whole.

-Kara Lofton, health reporter for West Virginia Public Radio, speaks with UMWA members and others about the recent rally in Lexington, Kentucky and what the stalemate in Congress surrounding shoring up retirement benefits for miners and their families will mean for their future. -Hear audio recordings of the late balladeer and organizer Sarah Ogan Gunning and those close with her and her family from Mimi Pickering’s 1988 Appalshop Films release – Dreadful Memories. -The Cowan Creek Mountain Music School just ended its 15th year with a record attendance. WMMT reporter Kelli Haywood covers how the music school, Cowan Community Center, and others are exploring a new way of organizing the community for the greater good of all – the Letcher County Culture Hub.

It seems everything in our mountain home is in a state of transition. Change can be hard, but also good. It is a time to take the bull by the horns and stop beating the dead horse — to use some commonplace phrasing. This week on Mountain News & World Report, we are looking at a few of our Traditions in Transition. What traditions are worth putting time, money, and effort toward preserving? What time honored traditions might serve us as we transition into a new economy and which ones should we release in order to make room for new thoughts and ideas? WMMT’s Kelli Haywood begins this episode asking just those questions as she explores the efforts of the Letcher County Culture Hub in introducing squaredancing to a new generation and attempting to reinvigorate the tradition in that generation’s parents and grandparents. What she found might surprise you. Be sure to let us know what you think as well by commenting. In our second story, Benny Becker attends the 4th Annual Appalachian Seed Swap and speaks with Joseph Simcox and Joyce Pinson who participate in the event. Simcox has traveled the world collecting and swapping seeds and along with Pinson believes that Appalachia can be a hub for the revival of small scale, sustainable agriculture. Not only does Simcox share some of the seeds of knowledge he’s collected from his world travels, but puts forward his idea for how Central Appalachia can use agriculture to transform our economy and reclaim our mined lands. And, to end the show, we include the story of Brian Fields as interviewed by Malcolm J. Wilson of Humans of Central Appalachia. Fields works in retraining former miners for a variety of careers. He also comes from a long line of musicians and farmers. His story illustrates how it is just second nature at times to take on tradition as part of your own identity.