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The Arts at Appalachian

The Russian National Ballet on the stage of the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. Photo: Troy Tuttle

Art for Life: All across our campus, Appalachian presents diverse and vibrant arts programs that enrich the cultural and intellectual climate of the campus and region.

Arts Events & Venues

Join us for an event or exhibition — you can find one nearly every day of the year, for nearly every age level and interest.

Arts as Curriculum

The arts offer innovative ways to learn about the world. Appalachian's academic arts programs are varied and diverse, and students have many opportunities to experience, interpret, understand, record and shape culture through the arts at Appalachian.

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Arts Calendar

Find out about upcoming arts and cultural events at Appalachian.

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Tier 2000
by Ann Melanie
From the Rosen Outdoor Scuplture Exhibition

Find your Art at the Turchin Center

Bale Folclorico comes to App and watch what happens!

Arts Calendar

Apr
22
Appalachian Symphony Band: “Images, Visions, Dreams”
April 22, 2018
2:00 pm
The Symphony Band is conducted by Kevin Gray Richardson. The program includes "Across the Halpipe" by Samuel Hazo, "Of Sailors and Whales" by W. Francis McBeth, "Down a Country Lane" by Aaron Copland, "At Dawn They Slept" by Jay Bocook and "Unter dem Doppeladler" by Josef Franz Wagner.
Apr
22
Appalachian Musical Theatre Club: “Miscast”
April 22, 2018
2:00 pm
“Miscast” is a variety show featuring actors who sing dream roles from musicals in which they would never be cast due to their unsuitability for a given part. For example, genders may be swapped or unconventional costumes and voices may be employed. The show puts aside stereotypes and allows students the opportunity to do something the world might say they can’t.
Apr
22
Duo Piano Recital, Melissa Lesbines and Rodney Reynerson
April 22, 2018
4:00 pm
The Hayes School of Music presents Duo Piano Recital featuring faculty members Melissa Lesbines and Rodney Reynerson with James Douthit and Bair Shagdaron. The program includes works by Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Gabriel Fauré and John Philip Sousa.
Apr
22
Trash Fashion Show
April 22, 2018
Kids' creative activities begin at 4:30. Fashion shows at 5:30 and 6:30. Afterparty at the Local.
Trash Fashion is a community movement that values the invention of fashionable products created out of goods deemed useless, unwanted, imperfect, or disposable.
Apr
22
Appalachian Musical Theatre Club: “Miscast”
April 22, 2018
5:00 pm
“Miscast” is a variety show featuring actors who sing dream roles from musicals in which they would never be cast due to their unsuitability for a given part. For example, genders may be swapped or unconventional costumes and voices may be employed. The show puts aside stereotypes and allows students the opportunity to do something the world might say they can’t.
Apr
23
Solar Vehicle Team - “Runnin’ on Shine”
April 23, 2018
Join Team Sunergy for a screening of the new documentary video “Runnin’ on Shine,” which chronicles the recent history of Appalachian State University’s solar vehicle team. A panel discussion with team members will also be held.
Apr
23
Appalachian Wind Ensemble: “Wind Dances, A Multi-Media Event!”
April 23, 2018
8:00 pm
The program features Juwan Alston from the Charlotte Ballet, Visual Artists Carolyn Crocker Rue and Abigail Arnett and Ariel Shores, Appalachian Wind Ensemble Concerto winner.
Apr
24
STEAM Expo 2018
April 24, 2018
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
For the seventh time, Appalachian will host the annual STEAM Expo in conjunction with the North Carolina Science Festival. Over 26 schools with students from grades 6 through 12 will be attending this free event over 2500 students currently registered to attend. The North Carolina Science Festival is an annual statewide celebration of STEM that occurs every April across North Carolina.
Apr
25
Anthony Oliver-Smith and Elizabeth Marino: Community, Culture & Climate Justice
April 25, 2018
5:30 pm
Public seminar by two scholars whose work addresses climate displacement and other climate injustices faced by communities around the world. Dr. Anthony Oliver-Smith has a long record of award-winning research, publications and consultation on issues relating to disasters and displacement in Peru, Honduras, India, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Japan, and the United States. Dr. Elizabeth Marino’s research explores the relationships among climate change, vulnerability, slow and rapid onset disasters, human migration, and sense of place.
Apr
25
CANCELED: Conservation and Recreation: Finding “middle ground” in the High Country and beyond
April 25, 2018
6:00 pm
This event has been canceled. The moderator is attempting to reschedule it. Andrew (Drew) Jenkins, M.S., Lecturer and Curator of the I.W. Carpenter Jr Herbarium at Appalachian State University will serve as moderator for this panel discussion that explores a multidiscipline approach to address the science and policies for balancing recreation and conservation in imperiled natural areas.
Apr
25
TCVA Open Studio: Creative Wednesday
April 25, 2018
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Turchin Center will open its studio space Wednesday and Thursday to Appalachian students. All supplies provided and no experience necessary. Explore the world of texture, color and design. Play with paint, collage, pastels and pen and ink. Open Studio is free and open to Appalachian students only.
Apr
25
Film: Brother Bear (2003)
April 25, 2018
7:00 pm
When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
Apr
26
Linda Hogan – Craft Talk: “Intuition: The Inner Voice”
April 26, 2018
3:30 pm
Linda Hogan is a former faculty member at the Indian Arts Institute, Writer in Residence for the Chickasaw Nation, and Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado. Recent volumes include “DARK. SWEET. New and Selected Poems”; “Indios”; “Rounding the Human Corners”; and “People of the Whale.” She is also the author of “Mean Spirit,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Book sales and signing will follow.
Apr
26
TCVA Open Studio: Aha Thursday!
April 26, 2018
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Turchin Center will open its studio space Wednesday and Thursday to Appalachian students. All supplies provided and no experience necessary. Explore the world of texture, color and design. Play with paint, collage, pastels and pen and ink. Open Studio is free and open to Appalachian students only.
Apr
26
Linda Hogan
April 26, 2018
7:30 pm
Linda Hogan is a former faculty member at the Indian Arts Institute, Writer in Residence for the Chickasaw Nation, and Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado. Recent volumes include “DARK. SWEET. New and Selected Poems”; “Indios”; “Rounding the Human Corners”; and “People of the Whale.” She is also the author of “Mean Spirit,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Book sales and signing will follow.
Apr
27
The Ruse of Medusa: A surrealist play
April 27, 2018
6:00 pm
“The Ruse of Medusa,” a surrealist play by French composer and pianist Erik Satie, was translated into English by M.C. Richards — a poet, potter, essayist, translator and painter who taught at Black Mountain College in the late 1940s. The performance will be given by Dr. Christina Sornito's class, BMCS Fellows and the Department of Anthropology. Refreshments begin at 6 p.m. and the performance begins at 7 p.m.
Apr
27
Film: Brother Bear (2003)
April 27, 2018
7:00 pm
When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
Apr
28
Blurred Boundaries: Our Own Stories
April 28, 2018
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
On this, our final meeting, participants will share their own stories of the experience of war and are encouraged to create their stories through a variety of written and/or visual media.
Apr
28
Spring 2018 Fashion Showcase
April 28, 2018
4:00 pm
Each April, the Apparel Design and Merchandising Program hosts an open fashion showcase featuring student and faculty creations. The student collections are judged by a panel of industry experts, and family, friends, faculty and the community are invited to attend this capstone event honoring the achievements of seniors.
Apr
30
Paint Night for Appalachian Students
April 30, 2018
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Unleash your creative spirit with a step-by-step paint class! Follow along with our instructor to create your own little masterpiece.
Apr
30
Steely Pan Steel Band
April 30, 2018
8:00 pm
The concert will feature traditional Trinidad-style compositions such as Under the Sea, as well as those in other styles, including Cantina Band (Star Wars) and Danny Boy. All age groups will enjoy the variety of music and high energy performance by the Appalachian students.
May
4
15th Anniversary Celebration — First Friday at the Turchin Center
May 4, 2018
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The community is invited to join in the celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. This festive evening will include live music by Boone’s favorite classic jazz band, The Lucky Strikes. In addition to the refreshments, cash bar and incredible art, interpretive dancers, birthday cake and other special activities will make this anniversary extra-special.
May
17
TAC Talk — Jeffery Beam presents “Jonathan Williams: Lord of Orchards”
May 17, 2018
6:00 pm
Join poet Jeffery Beam as he discusses poet Jonathan Williams, one of the last students at Black Mountain College. Williams was an early and sometimes first-time publisher for many of the writers who became known as the Black Mountain Poets. Eventually his press championed scores of other avant-garde and ignored writers and artists of the 20th century.
Jul
6
to
Jan
12
The Elephantine in the Anthropocene: Kelsey Merreck Wagner
Jul 6, 2018 - Jan 12, 2019
“The Elephantine in the Anthropocene” will explore historic hunting practices in African countries as linked to the ivory trade in Asia, and how modern conservation is working to save the species.
Jul
6
to
Jan
12
The Persistence of Weeds: Hannah Cole
Jul 6, 2018 - Jan 12, 2019
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts welcomes Hannah Cole: “My paintings are at once rooted in the unique experiences of my own life, and in conversation with the larger history of American painting.”
Jul
6
to
Nov
3
Sustained Ingrain: Contemporary Woodcuts from East to West
Jul 6 - Nov 3, 2018
The Turchin Center announces “Sustained Ingrain,” featuring twelve artists from China, and twelve artists from North America. Diverse in its range of cultural context, creative vision, and innovative process, each artist works extensively in the enduring, wild and wonderful medium of woodcut.
Aug
20
Black and Gold Convocation
August 20, 2018
10:00 am
Judy Shepard, mother of the late Matthew Shepard and president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, will speak at Appalachian’s Black and Gold Convocation. Appalachian’s Common Reading Program selection “The Laramie Project” by Moisés Kaufman is a play about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, who was a gay student at the University of Wyoming.
Sep
17
Moisés Kaufman: Theater in 2018 - The Vicinity of Hope
September 17, 2018
7:00 pm
Moisés Kaufman is the founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated director and playwright, and a 2015 recipient of the National Medal of Arts. His play “The Laramie Project” is about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, who was a gay student at the University of Wyoming. The murder, which was denounced as a hate crime, sparked a national debate.
Sep
18
Reading and book signing with ‘The Laramie Project’ author Moisés Kaufman
September 18, 2018
9:30 am
Moisés Kaufman — playwright, director and author of the 2018-19 common reading book selection, “The Laramie Project” — will read from his work and sign copies of the play.

News

Inside the World of “Sweeney Todd”
April 6, 2018
A team of student dramaturgs, working under the tutelage of Dr. Derek Davidson, assistant professor of theatre arts, has been hard at work for more than a year leading up to the production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
Appalachian’s Zack Vernon co-edits new collection of essays on Ron Rash
March 21, 2018
“Summoning the Dead: Essays on Ron Rash” is the first book-length collection of scholarship on professor and award-winning author Ron Rash. The volume was co-edited by Appalachian professor Zack Vernon.
Appalachian professors co-author book about contemporary perspectives on war
March 15, 2018
Appalachian sociology professors Cameron Lippard and Pavel Osinsky, along with Lon Strauss, co-authored “War: Contemporary Perspectives on Armed Conflicts around the World,” a new textbook examining interdisciplinary perspectives on war.
Appalachian’s Common Reading Program announces 2018-19 selection
February 16, 2018
“The Laramie Project,” a play about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, following the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, is Appalachian’s 2018-19 Common Reading Program selection for first-year students.