Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center Presents Changing Appalachia: Custom Edge

March 19, 2014 - PRLog -- The Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center will present a free opening of its newest exhibit Changing Appalachia: Custom to Cutting Edge featuring original tools, art and crafts from collections from the Appalachian regions with a reception on Friday, April 4, 2014 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Through programs offered throughout the three-month exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a range of workshops and presentations that introduce Appalachian music, food, authors, artists and their crafts. To coincide with the Appalachian theme the reception will include live performances in the Courtyard by the Celtibillies, & Good Foot Dance, featuring traditional Celtic and Old-Time Appalachian music and song accompanied by Appalachian clogging, Irish Step and Scottish Highland Dance.  The First Friday project is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Thomas FamilyTrust of Minnesota, the National Endowment for the Arts, and PortsEvents.

On First Saturday, April 5, 2014 from 10:00 a. m. – 5:00 p.m. PACC will offer free admission to exhibits and at 2:00 p.m. the Commodore Theatre will host Saturday Stories & Songs: Appalachian Ballards and Ballard Books, including a book-signing by award-winning southern author, Ms. Sharyn McCrumb.  Ballard scholar, Dr. Katie Hoffman  and Mr. Jack Hinselwood, executive director of The Crocked Road will provide music presentations as well.Lunch at the Commodore can be purchased from 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. for those seated in the dining area.  Advanced tickets for seating can be purchased at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center Gallery Shop. Ticket pricing for the balcony is $5 for museum members or $10 for non-members and the dining area is $10 for museum members or $15 for non-members. A valid museum membership card and I.D. must be presented at the time of purchase. For more information about the programs call 757-393-8543 or visit www.portsmouthartcenter.com


The goals of the exhibition and public programming are to help diminish and balance the negative stereotypes by introducing participants to the realities and riches of Appalachian life.  It will help viewers understand the many ways in which the region has been defined over the years by utilizing maps and texts, photos of landscapes, rural and urban areas, early settlements and new scientific centers. As described by Dr. Jean Haskell ,“The region’s cultural traditions can be used as a lens for changing perceptions about the region, a jumping-off place for allowing those who hold stereotypical notions about it to begin to develop a deeper understanding of how Appalachia, though it honors its heritage, exists, in many ways, on the cutting edge.”

For more information on Ms. McCrumb visit http://www.sharynmccrumb.com

For more information on The Celtibillies visit www.celtibillies.com

For more information on the Crooked Road visit https://www.myswva.org/tcr

About the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center

The Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, housed in the 1846 Courthouse, is devoted to offering quality educational, cultural and aesthetic experiences in the arts through rotating visual art exhibits, lectures, classes and performances.

Museum Hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. First Friday of each month: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Closed Mondays, except holiday Mondays.  Admission: $3/adults, $2/ages 2 – 17 years; AAA, military and senior discounts available. www.portsmouthartcenter.com