The Elk Knob Art and Planning Project
Appalachian State University (ASU) collaborated with The Elk Knob Community Heritage Organization (EKCHO) and other local organizations to develop a sustainability plan that can facilitate independent community development work based on more than a decade of collaboration with ASU. Student researchers administered a sustainable community planning workshop and implemented and updated a public art plan to promote local heritage and encourage area tourism in the communities of Meat Camp, Pottertown, and Sutherland, NC. Between 2012 and 2014, ASU students helped implement EKCHOs art plan by developing community-based art projects that highlight the areas unique heritage. While the Center for Appalachian Studies will continue working with these communities, the 2014 ATP project focused on fostering a stable transition to community-based, community-led planning related to the public art and cultural-environmental heritage assets created through community-university partnerships since 2000.
For 2014-2015, the Center for Appalachian Studies engaged students and the local community to identify and help implement a community development plan that enables local, sustainable decision-making; students also created new collaborative works of art designed to help sustain community life. Connecting these activities, student also helped update the public art plan, which expires in 2015.
Appalachian State's Live Presentation in Washington, D.C.
Contact Information:
Thomas S. Hansell
Center for Appalachian Studies
Appalachian State University
ASU Box 32115
Boone, NC 28608
Telephone: (828) 262-7730
E-Mail: hansellts@appstate.edu