Appalachian State University / The Arts and Humanities

App State has returned to pre-pandemic operations for the Fall 2021 semester, with safety precautions in place. There are no current plans to move in-person classes online. All students, faculty and staff should get vaccinated against COVID-19. Face coverings are required in all indoor campus locations for students, faculty, staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Read the latest updates

Art for Life

The Arts and Humanities at Appalachian

Appalachian presents vibrant arts and humanities programs that enrich the cultural and intellectual climate of the campus and region. Join us for an event, performance, exhibition or workshop — you can find one almost every day of the year, for nearly every age level and interest.

By the numbers

600+

arts and humanities events on campus annually
6

free student workshops each week at the Turchin Center
10

departments offer degree tracks in arts or humanities
14

exhibition and performance venues on campus
9,000+

children in grades K-12 attend free and low-cost school matinees each year
20+

countries recently featured in arts and humanities programming, including Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Brazil, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Israel, Chile, Spain, Russia, Poland, South Africa and France
80

students are employed annually within the arts and humanities
30+

Arts and Education Outreach Programs connect university arts resources to a diverse audience of community arts patrons, teachers and learners

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

Venues, programs and publications

Art Galleries and Special Collections
Cultural Centers and Programs
Music and Stage
Lecture Series
- The Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
- Turchin Center Art Talks and Lunch & Learn
- Martin & Doris Rosen Summer Symposium
- Civil War Speaker Series
- DLLC Annual International Speaker Series
- Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies Lecture Series
Community Connections
Publications and Partnerships

Upcoming events

Sep
24
to
26
First Year Showcase: In Our Bubbles...
Department of Theatre and Dance
September 24 - 26, 2021
The First Year Showcase — the annual season opener for the Department of Theatre and Dance — will utilize outdoor campus spaces to create site specific performance works. Audience members will enjoy guided walks departing from the I.G. Greer Studio Theatre to view each of the dances and theatre vignettes in various locations around campus.
Sep
26
National Hispanic Heritage Month Concert, Program 1
Hayes School of Music
September 26, 2021
4:00 pm
The Hayes School of Music is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, which traditionally celebrates the history and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans, by presenting a series of concerts. Composers highlighted in program 1 include Ernesto Lecuona, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Andrés Martín, Enrique Granados, Alberto Ginastera, Francisco Mignone and Astor Piazzolla.
Sep
28
Film: Crazy Money (2020)
Fall Sustainability Film Series
September 28, 2021
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
What is possible when we have guaranteed money to meet our basic needs? No requirements. No stipulations. No paybacks. We look to the village of Busibi to discover what’s possible when we give money directly to people. No strings attached. The answer lies in the residents’ personal stories. Their successes and tribulations illustrate the impact of one of the most daring projects in contemporary development cooperation. Presented virtually.
Sep
30
Ashleigh Bryant Phillips – Craft Talk: “On Becoming a Writer”
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
September 30, 2021
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Ashleigh Bryant Phillips’ debut collection, “Sleepovers,” won the 2019 C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize and was longlisted for The Story Prize. It is forthcoming in Italian in 2022. Phillips’ stories have appeared in The Paris Review, The Oxford American and others, and her essays have appeared in Our State and Lit Hub. Phillips, who is from rural Woodland, NC, teaches fiction in West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA program and is an editor for Joyland Magazine.

Exhibitions and ongoing events

Sep
15
to
Nov
10
Sequoyah Lecture Series
Gadugi Partnership
Sep 15 - Nov 10, 2021
12:00 am
Appalachian State University’s Gadugi Partnership (housed in the Reich College of Education), Honors College and Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home are hosting three speakers as part of the Celebrating Sequoyah event. The series of lectures are part of the celebration of Sequoyah and learning about the battle to preserve the Cherokee language.
Sep
3
to
Feb
5
Matters of the Heart (and Other Abnormalities): Shawn Morin
Sep 3, 2021 - Feb 5, 2022
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
“It seems to me that since 9/11 and Y2K, there has been a fundamental shift in the way many humans act, react and navigate the world. Add to that the current worldwide pandemic and proliferation of clinical depression, especially amongst our youth, and it is easy to perceive that the world has changed dramatically. Consequently, some humans are now far kinder and more loving than they once were, while others have grown desperate, indifferent, angry, and resentful.” — Shawn Morin
Jul
2
to
Feb
5
98.6 – A Creative Commonality
Jul 2, 2021 - Feb 5, 2022
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
This exhibition features works created by chimpanzees at Zoo Knoxville, an AZA-accredited institution in Knoxville, Tennessee that works closely with the SSP. Reflecting on the concept of 98.6%, our shared DNA, and the vast number of similarities between humans and chimpanzees, we celebrate our likeness.
Sep
26
to
Oct
3
National Hispanic Heritage Month Concerts
Hayes School of Music
Sep 26 - Oct 3, 2021
The Hayes School of Music is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, which traditionally celebrates the history and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans, by presenting a series of concerts. From Spanish Romantic composers of the nineteenth century to living composers from Spain, Argentina and Mexico, faculty performers bring a great variety of styles to the concert stage for your enjoyment.

View more arts and humanities events

News

App State and Cone Estate connection spans 100-plus years, yields academic and engagement opportunities
August 6, 2021
App State’s location in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina opens avenues of academic and civic engagement particular to the area. The university’s partnership with the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock — spanning more than a century — is a good example.
App State students design and produce award-winning wine labels — cheers!
July 26, 2021
A new family of wines developed by App State students and faculty has an award-winning look, with labels designed and printed by students in the graphic communications management program. The labels won second place in the 2021 Phoenix Challenge — a college competition between graphic communications students across North America.
Alumna, professor and award-winning poet shares her Mountaineer journey
June 30, 2021
App State alumna and Allegheny College professor Dr. M. Soledad Caballero ’95 shares how her Appalachian Experience prepared her for a career in academia — and a lifetime love of literature. She is the author of the award-winning debut poetry collection “I Was a Bell.”
Schaffels commit to $1 million matching gift for An Appalachian Summer Festival
January 22, 2021
Nancy and Neil Schaffel and the Murar Foundation have made a $1 million matching gift to the endowment for Appalachian State University’s An Appalachian Summer Festival. The gift will support the festival’s music, dance, theater, film and visual arts programming.