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40th Anniversary Celebration
Appalshop continues its two-year celebration of its 40th birthday, which occurred early in October 2009. The first 40th anniversary events took place during the fall of last year. The precise date Appalshop cannot be determined, but records indicate that Bill and Josephine Richardson returned to Whitesburg on September 28, 1969 to begin establishing the Community Film Workshop here.
Appalshop at 40 focuses on supporting partner initiated events ranging from house parties created by individual supporters to academic conferences. This reflects the broad range of Appalshop's many individual and institutional supporters. We hope to touch as many people as possible during the course of the two year celebration, reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and getting Appalshop’s work out in as many venues as possible.
Appalshop at 40 events began September 2008 with the Letcher County Film Festival during Whitesburg Day of the Mountain Heritage Festival. The festival screened early Appalshop films free for the public. In October 2008 the American Folklore Society, meeting in Louisville, presented three screenings of Appalshop films that deal with cultural topics and a seminar exploring our work. A month later Appalshop at 40 moved to the South Bronx when longtime collaborators Roadside Theater and Teatro Pregones presented a restaging of their joint effort, "Betsy." Thanks to the efforts of a robust host committee chaired by Anna Richardson, proceeds from that gala presentation of “ Betsy,” an Appalachian-Puerto Rican love story spanning centuries, benefited Appalshop.
During February 2009 the celebration moved to Memphis, where the Folk Alliance International Conference offered a panel on cultural organizations of a certain age facilitated by Appalshop Director Art Menius as well as a session about the “Voices from the Cultural Battlefront” effort in which Roadside Theater director Dudley Cocke has been involved for more than 20 years. Five weeks later in Portsmouth, Ohio the Appalachian Studies Conference included a standing room only audience for an oral history of Appalshop featuring Jack Wright, Herb E. Smith, Mimi Pickering, Rick Kirby, and Dr. Bill Turner.
June 2009 brought Appalshop at 40 back to Whitesburg for Appalshop's Seedtime on the Cumberland festival. Musical programming stressed old friends of Appalshop and June Appal Recordings, while the Appalshop Archive presented an extraordinary exhibit of materials from Appalshop's early years of filmmaking. August found Appalshop at 40 intertwined with Senator Kennedy's funeral in Boston during the NAMAC Conference. The conference, which was held in Whitesburg back in 1984, included an opening reception at the MIT Museum in Cambridge that celebrated Appalshop’s forty years. NAMAC's website lists Appalshop as the beginning of the media arts center movement.
September saw multiple Appalshop at 40 events happen including a screening of Appalshop music films during Whitesburg Day. Berea College's Appalachian Center began a series of monthly screenings of both Appalshop and AMI films that will run through April 2010. Meanwhile, Appalachian State University in Boone, NC held the first of several Appalshop at 40 events crafted by Tom Hansell. Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC brought down filmmakers Tony Slone, Nick Szuberla, and Shawn Lind for screenings as well.
On October 17, 2009 Appalshop had the great honor to be the featured Saturday night program for the Oral History Association Annual Meeting in Louisville. Appalshop artists offered a fast-paced, multimedia exploration of how Appalshop has used oral history resources in its work. A week earlier, Appalshop at 40 returned to Whitesburg for String Band Day presented by the Alltech Fortnight Festival. Some 200 people enjoyed the workshops, concerts, and dance at Appalshop.
The months ahead promise a wealth of Appalshop at 40 events, including some continuing activities mentioned above and new ones under development. When the National Performance Networkmeets in Knoxville in December 2009, a bus junket to Appalshop will be offered as an option to attendees. February will bring another splash at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Memphis. March and April will bring major events at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, including an humanities symposium focusing on our work and its meaning.
We are also talking with Virginia Tech about Appalshop at 40 events there in 2010 and with the “Woodsongs Radio Hour,” now available on nearly 1000 radio stations worldwide for an Appalshop at 40 themed program. Seedtime on the Cumberland 2010 will again feature our rich history.
Check www.appalshop.org/about/40 to keep up with Appalshop at 40 events as they get scheduled.
Plus, we can take a direct, active, personal role in celebrating Appalshop at 40. You can mobilize support for our work by organizing an Appalshop at 40 event in your community. It can be as simple or elaborate as you desire, but regardless of scale, you will be making a difference for Appalshop, Appalachia, and rural America. Please contact Appalshop Director Art Menius at art@appalshop.org or 606-633-0108.