Facilitated by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition (UACC) and the Originary Arts Initiative (OAI), Place Keepers is a series of programs and opportunities for young adults to express their creativity and curiosity in a cultivating and supportive environment. Place Keepers includes both in-person and virtual open mics, environmental projects, showcases, writing contests and much more!
Reach out to directly [email protected] to learn more about workshops, retreats, and community-based eco-arts opportunities.
Place Keepers Wide Open Mic
Free program offered in a seasonal, virtual format. This relaxed and creative gathering highlights the talent of writers and artists in their teens and twenties. Share in a variety of genres, including poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, music, and visual art. Anyone can join as an audience member, and we also include some established local/regional artists in this event. Zoom link is available below.
Appalachian Flow Homecoming
Creative Nature Escape: An Eco Arts Pop-Up Retreat
On July 20, 2024, UACC Place Keepers offered their second annual Eco Arts Escape Pop Up Retreat on the beautiful, historical grounds of the University of Cincinnati Biology Department’s Field Center. UACC Core member and teaching artist Sherry Cook Stanforth joined talented young adult apprentices Matt Farley, Froggie Leman, Aaliyah Mann, and Katie Nichols in designing a day of creative renewal and interchange inspired by themes of “branching” in nature and culture. Together, this group offered retreat attendees creative writing prompts, art-making activities, a guided nature meditation, and optional field excursions through the meadows, streams, and woodlands surrounding the Shaker buildings and barns. Earlier Native cultures also once lived in this area, echoing the diverse stories of migration shaping Greater Cincinnati’s history.
Stanforth described this day of “escape” as a chance to experience personal creative time, explore unique natural settings, and share projects and reflections in a supportive circle. “Intergenerational collaborations that weave together writers, visual artists, ecologists, and musicians promote new forms of place keeping wisdom and storytelling,” Stanforth shared. “I am so inspired by the unique vision that Place Keepers apprentices are cultivating through their creative leadership. They’re expanding the texture of artistic expression and community storytelling in Greater Cincinnati.”
Spirit of Song: Lyric Writing Workshop & Community Sing-Out
Greater Cincinnati songwriters and music fans gathered for Spirit of Song Lyric Writing Workshop and Community Sing-Out at the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum on Friday, June 28, 2024, to glean songwriting tips from regional musicians Sherry Cook Stanforth, Dale Farmer, and Roberta Schultz, followed by a lively concert with Tangled Roots, The Farmer & The Crow, and Raison D’Etre.
UACC Core member and program designer Sherry Cook Stanforth said the seed for Spirit of Song sprouted from mutual friendships among the musicians and their ongoing involvement in community storytelling and heritage sharing. “Appalachian songwriters create impactful responses in listeners, bringing lyrics to life through vivid images, honest interpretations of experience, and memorable settings,” noted Stanforth. “The audience feels invited to personally connect to creative portrayals about where people come from, where they’ve gone, and the diverse ways that they experience life’s small moments and big journeys.”
This gathering brought high enthusiasm and people across generations and Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods. UACC Place Keepers apprenticing artist Froggy Leman lent great support for this event, taking many of the photographs/videos, and engaging with attendees. Stanforth hopes Spirit of Song (a collaboration between the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, Originary Arts Initiative, and the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum) will become an annual tradition.
The Story of Flow – An Eco-Arts Escape for Educators
UACC Teams Up with Collaborators to Create “The Story of Flow Eco Arts Escape” to Celebrate Home Places: Area teachers and nonprofit leaders gathered on the morning of June 25th for The Story of Flow–An Eco-Arts Escape for Educators. Held at the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning and co-sponsored by UACC, Originary Arts Initiative, and the Cincinnati Art Museum, this half-day writing and art retreat introduced a creative spin on the themes of migration and home connections. UACC Core member/writer Sherry Cook Stanforth teamed up with visual artist Jody Knoop and Place Keepers apprentices Rachel Kazee and Jaden (Froggie) Leman to bring unique experience to attendees that included a “Postcards from Home” and “Dear Body of Water” project, a memory-inspired nonette writing activity, an urban block eco-tour, and a food foragers tasting table that included honey and white clover cookies, blackberry peach cobbler, apple fritters, and stinging nettle tea. For the final project, attendees joined a Nine Patch quilting circle that featured personal word-images designs and then engaged in a Nine Patch community quilt sharing session. Stanforth and Knoop (who are part of Tangled Roots band) also performed a centuries-old Scots origin tune in order to set the journey and connection theme.
This creative day brimmed with high energy sharing and personal reflection. Program developer Sherry Cook Stanforth hopes to create regular events that emphasize “authentic communication” and “lifelong curiosity for the stories carried by our neighbors,” saying “This was a moment in time where people truly listened and shared with curiosity and respect for each others’ presence in the Greater Cincinnati community. I left feeling woven into something very powerful, realizing that what people can make together through honest storytelling is downright sacred.”
Some of the comments offered by attendees included: “…people need connection like this on so many levels,” “loved the workshop and getting to know other community members in creative ways and celebrating Appalachia,” and “amazingly good vibes.” Cincinnati Art Museum’s Associate Director of School-Based Learning Sam Gaier also joined the festivities, distributing take-home art supplies and resources to every attendee. This community-building experience promotes a dynamic portrait of Appalachian heritage held by UACC’s mission to cultivate meaningful, creative story-sharing and story-listening experiences inspired by our home place values.
(Photos taken by UACC Place Keepers apprenticing artist, Froggie Leman.)
Recap of the “I Remember” Story Exchange
The Carnegie Event Center of Columbia Tusculum came alive with UACC’s first “I-Remember” Story Exchange. People of all ages and backgrounds gathered to share their reflections and expressions! Much thanks to those who attended and/or supported this event on May 24, 2024 at the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum.
Recap of Appalachian Flow: A Creative Community Showcase
Much thanks to those who attended the first Place Keepers showcase! Check out this Spectrum News article that recaps the event: https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/cleveland/news/2023/09/02/a-celebration-of-appalachian-artists-and-their-stories-
Want to learn more about future programming? Email [email protected] for more information.
Place Keepers Writing & Art Contest Awards
Thank you to those who submitted pieces for the first Place Keepers Writing & Art Contest! This contest was juried by a large panel of judges and they shared highly positive remarks about the artists’ expressive translations of the place keeping theme. Award winners will receive over $800 in stipends, collectively, and will also be invited to share in the Appalachian Flow Showcase set for the evening of September 1st, 2023 at the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum. Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour — along with various other established (and apprenticing) authors, artists and musicians — will be part of this showcase.
On behalf of Urban Appalachian Community Coalition and Originary Arts Initiative, we are pleased to announce the following awarded writers and artists:
Category — Overall Best of Contest Awards
- “Innermost Circle” by Michael Thompson (painting), Hamilton County, Ohio
- “My Green House” by Emily Tromans (poem), Butler County, Ohio
Category – Age 19-29 writers
First Place Award in Writing
- “Seeing Anew” by Tommy Ballard (Prose, Fiction), Hamilton County, Ohio
Second Place Award in Writing
- “Paradise” by A. Riel Regan (Poem), Campbell County, Kentucky
Category – Age 13-18 writers
First Place Award in Writing
- My Green House by Emily Tromans (Poem), Butler County, Ohio
Second Place Award in Writing
- Bridging the Gap (Between Transcendentalism and Teenagerism by Hailey Hartman (Poem), Warren County, Ohio
Category – Age 19-29 artists
First Place Award in Art
- Innermost Circle by Michael Thompson (Painting), Hamilton County, Ohio
Second Place Award in Art
- Untitled B&W Sign by Ethan Kohl (Photography), Kenton County, Kentucky
Category – Age 13-18 artists
First Place Award in Art
- Guitar Stance by Adam Hale (charcoal?), Clermont County, Ohio
Second Place Award in Art
- Elephant by Rachel Panko (pastel? Ink?), Boone County, Kentucky
Place Keepers Contest Honorable Mentions
- “Portraits of Home” by A. Riel Regan (Prose Poem), Campbell County, Kentucky
- “Outside the Cave” by Michael Thompson (Painting), Hamilton County, Ohio
Place Keepers Open Mic (In-Person Events)
Stay tuned for live Place Keeper events like this open mic at Roebling Books & Coffee (Newport, KY)! Be sure to check back for other live events and opportunities like workshops and retreats.