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Where: Union Church, 200 Prospect Street in Berea, Kentucky
When: Sunday, May 1st from 3 to 4:30 pm
Admission: Free and open to the public
Voices from the Mountains features four eastern Kentucky artists, musicians
and activists telling stories of the destruction of their communities – and
of our state’s cultural and natural heritage – by strip-mining.
Presenters will share their perspectives on the struggle against
mountaintop removal. Using art, poetry, music and stories they aim
to deepen Kentuckians understanding of what is happening in our Appalachian
mountains and awaken a moral response.
The program features Letcher County artist Jeff Chapman-Crane who
will present his remarkable sculpture, The Agony of Gaia. The life-sized
piece depicts a mountain being mined as the body of a woman being broken
and carved away. “I wanted to portray the earth as a living thing,
not just something for us to exploit for our own use,” Chapman-Crane
explains. “This piece isn’t just about mountaintop removal.
It is about all of the related issues – clear cutting, valley
fills, mudslides, sludge – and I tried to compress all of these
into one piece of work. That’s a lot to say for a piece that
measures six feet by 2 feet by 30 inches.”
Joining him are Randy Wilson a musician and storyteller from Clay
County. Wilson is a folk artist in residence in eastern Kentucky schools,
who uses storytelling, dance and music. He produces a weekly children’s
radio show on WMMT in Whitesburg. He and is wife Suzanne are long time
members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and activists for a better
future beyond coal.
Presenters also include Mickey and Nina McCoy, teachers and activists
from Martin County, and Daymon Morgan, a retired autoworker and KFTC
leader from Leslie County. The McCoys have been outspoken in the aftermath
of the 2000 Martin County sludge pond disaster. Using stories and poetry,
they provide an unvarnished view of the destructive power of the coal
industry and feeble actions of regulatory agencies charged with protecting
human health and the environment. Morgan is a past chairperson of Kentuckians
For The Commonwealth and was recently featured in stories about mountaintop
removal mining in the Lexington Herald Leader and the April edition
of Harper’s magazine.
The event is sponsored by the Madison County Chapter of Kentuckians
For The Commonwealth and numerous local organizations, including Union
Church, St. Clare Catholic Church, First Christian Church, Berea College
Appalachian Center, Berea College Sustainability and Environmental
Studies Program and Berea College Center for Excellence in Learning
Through Service.
PHOTO:
“
The Agony of Gaia,” sculpture by Jeff Chapman-Crane
(Photo courtesy of the artist)
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