JEN CLANCEY, Special to the Denisonian–
The Denison Art Museum’s spring exhibit, Appalachia in Focus, is a display of the diversity of mediums, styles and voices in Appalachian art and expression.
Appalachia stretches from Southern New York down through Pennsylvania, Southeastern Ohio, West Virginia and all the way to Alabama and Mississippi. Licking County is not considered a part of Appalachia, but the influence is still felt –– just east is Muskingum County, home to Zanesville.
“There’s a lot of connecting points in the show,” Meghan Hancock, the museum curator, said. The exhibit doesn’t only address the stereotypes of Appalachia, it’s “talking about climate change, talking about health, talking about memory, community, land, beauty, gender and it’s talking about place.”
The show was put together in collaboration with Denison’s Journalism Department. Upon entering, there is a row of articles on display for visitors to flip through, giving a view of the art of reporting on stories in Appalachia. Next, there is a Black in Appalachia documentary piece on display. Photography, creative videography, paintings and drawings pull audiences along.
Work from Denison’s own visiting professor Doug Swift, on Muskingum’s The Wilds, shows his documentary work and features stories written by Denison students. The museum is open to anyone who is interested.
“There’s a diverse range of classes that are coming to connect with the work,” Hancock says.
One of the classes that had just left the museum was Dr. Thomas Henshaw’s Planetary Health course.
“They are exploring these works as they think about how the land affects health,” Hancock said.
Academy-Award nominated and Emmy winning filmmaker Curren Sheldon’s photography is displayed on the right wall. It’s a documentation of the West Virginia Tough Man Contest, an amateur boxing competition that occurs each year. Sheldon grew up in West Virginia and noted that in a state that has no professional football teams, statewide events like Tough Man are a big deal.
“When Tough Man comes to town, people show up,” Sheldon said. It’s an “unforgiving region, they have this reputation of harder manual labor, and a focus on working the hardest jobs the country has to offer in the timber and coal industries.”
Like other pieces in the exhibit, there are more layers to the Tough Man story. In his documentarian and photography work with Appalachian professional and amateur boxers, Sheldon has found a thread of resilience in these narratives.
“Boxing gave them something to strive for and push towards,” Sheldon said, describing the background of addiction that some of the people he’s met have. “It represents more than entertainment.” There is a sense of “togetherness and brotherhood and sisterhood” in the arena.
The Appalachia in Focus exhibit is open to Denison students, and the museum hours are 12:00-4:00 pm during weekdays. Advanced tickets are not requires, and appointments can be scheduled for weekends.