The Affrilachia Summit

We are thrilled to announce a project that has been in the works for several years: the first-ever Affrilachia Summit on Black Arts & Culture in Central Appalachia! This national convening seeks to celebrate, codify, and uplift the under-represented voices of rural Black artists from Central Appalachia.

This free two-day event is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans for the Arts, Terra Foundation for American Art, Berea College Appalachian Fund, and Race Forward. The Summit will be held at the Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and will provide a platform for the Black artist-activists in our wider region to showcase their work, gain visibility, and connect with other Black creatives & activists in Appalachia.

By bringing together a diverse cross-section of the public, as well as artists, musicians, scholars, academics, and researchers, the summit aims to create a space for critical dialogue and inquiry that will help to shape the future of the Affrilachian experience as it pertains to racial justice through creative means.

The Affrilachia Summit represents an exciting opportunity to celebrate the diversity and richness of our region's Black creatives and activists, and to forge new connections and collaborations within this dynamic field within a region where Black folks are too often othered and live much of their lives in the shadows of a predominantly white area. This event will reach local citizen-artists and non-artists alike, and will renew a collective spirit for racial justice and art-centered activism in our region.