by Derrick Meads & Sarah Geegan

An exhibit titled “Interwoven: Rural Traditions, Modern Ties ~ Baskets from Appalachia and the Andes” will showcase more than 100 pieces of basketry from Ecuador and Appalachia at the Lexington Public Library’s Central Gallery.

The wide-ranging exhibit of baskets opened Nov. 3, and spans from Nov. 12-16. A reception will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, at the gallery, during the final day of UK’s "International Education Week.”

The Ecuadorian work ranges from baskets made by Huaorani and Kichwa indigenous groups in the Amazon Basin and Andean highland, to modern pieces collected in major cities. The Appalachian exhibited works also span across white oak baskets to modern contemporary craft.

In early 2012 the U.S. Embassy in Quito, Ecuador, invited

by Lea Mann and Whitney Hale

Fans of folk music and the dulcimer should check out the next two concerts in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series. The first concert will feature Si Kahn, a chart-topping folk music player, at noon Friday, Oct. 26, in the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The following week, Don Pedi, an accomplished dulcimer player, will perform at noon Friday, Nov. 2. Both concerts are free and open to the public.

Folk Musician and Activist to Play at Niles Gallery

Si Kahn has performed at concerts and festivals all over the world, including events in

By Sarah Geegan & Ann Kingsolver

The UK Appalachian Center  and the Appalachian Studies Program will host scholars, artists and NGO representatives from mountain regions all over the world on Oct. 25-27. This Global Mountain Regions conference, free and open to the public, will be focused on comparing notes across mountain regions on several continents as residents of those regions look to the future.

Each day, Thursday-Saturday, 8-5 p.m.  in the William T. Young Library auditorium, presenters from Appalachia and from other mountain regions in Indonesia, Ecuador, Wales, India, Mexico, Italy, China, Sri Lanka, Mali, Canada, the U.

by Whitney Hale 

The Thomas D. Clark Foundation and the University Press of Kentucky will host a symposium to honor the life and literary legacy of James Still. The Thomas D. Clark Medallion Symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West Second St.

The symposium will celebrate Still’s posthumous collection of short stories, "The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still," winner of the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award.

In November, the James W. Stuckert Career Center assembled a UK team to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program through which university students propose solutions to the world's humanitarian problems. While each of the students came from different backgrounds, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the 

By Sarah Geegan, Amanda Osborn

Imagine being a University of Kentucky student in Lexington, but sharing a "global classroom" with students in China, France or India.  In collaboration with the associate provost for International Affairs and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the UK College of Arts and Sciences recently established a program called Global Classroom Connections that will promote international learning and experiences through the use of contemporary technology.

As university graduates increasingly require international perspectives, skills and knowledge to succeed in the multicultural and interconnected world, Global Classroom

By Sarah Geegan

The Appalachian Center and the University Press of Kentucky are hosting three events Friday, April 20, to celebrate Appalachia-related books published during this academic year.

The events, which will take place both at Memorial Hall and the Appalachian Center, honor books that contribute to the understanding of the Appalachian region and were published by UK faculty or by the University Press of Kentucky during this academic year.

Helen Lewis and Judi Jennings will give an Appalachian forum based on their new book, "Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in Appalachia," at 3:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall.

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will present the Distinguished Professor Lecture, featuring History Professor Ron Eller at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 12 in the William T. Young Library auditorium.

Eller's lecture, "Seeking the Good Life in America: Lessons From the Appalachian Past," will discuss what the future holds for Appalachia, using the history of the region as a foundation.

Eller, a professor in the Department of History, is originally from West Virginia. Having  spent more than 40 years teaching and writing about the Appalachian region, he also served as the director for the UK Appalachian Center for 16 years. Eller has also served as chairman of the Governor’s Kentucky

By Sarah Geegan

The UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will host the author, director, full cast and technical crew of Silas House's new play, "This is My Heart For You," fresh from its world premiere at Berea College. The cast will do a staged reading, accompanied by projected images of the world premiere event, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in Memorial Hall.

House, a Kentucky author whose novels have attained major prizes and spanned across national best-seller lists, sold out the first three performances of his play on the night of the world premiere.

"This is My Heart for You

Dr. Ann Kingsolver, director of the UK Appalachian Center and professor of Anthropology has won the 2011 SAW Book Prize. Co-author Nandini Gunewardena and Kingsolver were awarded the prize at the American Anthropological Association's annual meeting in Montreal this past February for their book, The Gender of Globalization: Women Navigating Cultural and Economic Marginalities. Read more here. The prize represents the best book in the anthropology of work published within the last five years and is awarded annually. Congratulations Dr. Kingsolver!
 

By Ann Kingsolver, Sarah Geegan

Author bell hooks will give the final lecture in the "Place Matters" series, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program. The lecture, "Reclaiming Place: Making Home," will take place from 3:30-5 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, in the Worsham Theater, with a reception following at the Appalachian Center (624 Maxwelton Court).

Writing as bell hooks, Kentucky-born Gloria Jean Watkins received her doctorate in literature from the University of California Santa Cruz and has taught at a number of universities across the country. She has published more than 30 books; her forthcoming book of poetry, "Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place," will be released by the University Press

English Department Colloquium presents Gurney Norman reading "Spoken Stories"

Friday, April 6

3 p.m.

211 Student Center

Refreshments Served

As part of the Department of Sociology's Colloquium Series, Dr. Shaunna Scott to present, "The Martin County Coal Waste Disaster: A Sociologist's Reflections on Researching Disaster Impacts."  The lecture will take place in room 205, UK New Student Center on Friday, April 6, from 3-5pm.

Listen to the podcast here. Produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

The Appalachian Forum on Home Food Preservation will take place on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 7 p.m. in room 206 of the UK Student Center.

Please visit our Video page to watch the forum on Hydraulic Fracturing that took place February 23, 2012.

Founders Lecture Series presents 

Tammy Horn, award-winning author of Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation and the recently published, Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market is well-known for her work with bees and plants in Appalachian regions. Dr. Horn, born in Harlan County, Kentucky is a graduate of Berea College and continued her schooling with a M.A. degree from Fort Hays State and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Alabama. After teaching for three years at the University of West Alabama, she returned to Kentucky to help her grandfather with his bees and to teach at Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College. Her primary research and outreach activity involves collaboration with coal companies to reclaim surface mine sites with pollinator for- age and habitat. The goal is to create a three-season bloom, in

Here are some ways you can help:

The University of Kentucky Geographical Society is partnering with St. Vincent Mission in David, KY., to provide school supplies to students in Magoffin County. You may drop off donations at the UK Appalachian Center by March 26. A drop box for donations has also been placed in the Geography Department mailroom and will be collected through March 23rd. Donations will be delivered to St. Vincent’s Mission on March 27th.

Magoffin County suffered a significant amount of tornado damage. Schools & homes in the area were hit particularly hard and students are now in need of the following materials:

Notebook paper
Notebooks
Crayons
Pencils
Pens
Markers
Folders
Rulers
Erasers
Pencil Pouches

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jon Finnie,

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will feature a panel discussion about hydraulic fracturing (or “fracing”) as a way of extracting natural gas in Kentucky. The event, part of the Appalachian Forum series, will take place from 7-9 p.m Thursday, Feb. 23, in Room 106 of UK's White Hall Classroom Building.

Panelists at the event will represent a variety of relevant areas of expertise, and after brief introductory remarks by each panelist, Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural

By Sarah Geegan

Rich Kirby and John Haywood will present the second lecture in the Appalachian Studies Program’s Place Matters lecture series on Friday, Feb. 17.

The lecture, “Somewheres on the Track: Place, Art and Music in Eastern Kentucky,” will demonstrate Kirby and Haywood's experience with all three – place, art, and music – from Appalachian Kentucky. Their multimedia presentation will take place  from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Center Theater, University of Kentucky Student Center.

Rich Kirby is a musician who founded June Appal Recordings in 1974. For over 30 years – from vinyl to iTunes – June Appal has

By Sarah Geegan

What is Reggabilly?  “It’s music and stories from Southern Appalachia inspired by the heartbeat of Rastafari,” says Red Pepper recording artist Ras Alan about his blend of reggae music and mountain traditions.

Ras Alan, a Grammy Award nominee, has released four albums, performed at the National Mall in Washington D.C., and has three albums archived in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute. His next stop — the University of Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies Program, UK Student Government Association and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community are co-sponsoring Ras Alan's