COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT projects focusing on fellow artists living and working in South Central Appalachia—including East Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, and Western North Carolina.
EAT/ART space
A pop-up gallery from a dining room in Appalachia featuring emerging regional artists.
VISION: to create opportunities for emerging and established artists to exhibit and sell their work while showcasing local food culture in an innovative alternative venue.
ROLE: Founder / Director / Curator
Timeframe: 2020 - ongoing
# Exhibits: 14 in-person, 10 online
# Artists Featured: 57
Every year since the pandemic, EAT/ART space has created opportunities for artists in a way that adapts to the ever-changing needs of its community.
With an estimated 450+ attendees over the course of its inception, the pop-up gallery is a way to connect and experience art in a relatable, personal environment.
Local Artist Meetup & Newsletter
VISION: Facilitate creative innovation through regular gatherings for creatives of all disciplines to network, connect, promote each other, and share each others’ work in the East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Southwest Virginia area of Appalachia.
ROLE: Founder / Organizer
# COMMUNITY PARTNERS: 10
# GATHERINGS TO DATE: 30
# NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS: 370+
Timeframe
2019 - ongoing
Many thanks to the half-dozen volunteers and all our community partners who have supported this community-based project so far.
Creative Community Survey
VISION: To surface the real needs, barriers, and aspirations of working artists across the Southern Highlands — and translate what they said into actionable insight for organizations, civic leaders, and creative infrastructure builders.
ROLE: Community Organizer / Facilitator / Data Analyst
LEADING ORGANIZATION: Create Appalachia
PROJECT LEAD: Katie Hoffman, Executive Director
PARTNERS: Fischman Gallery, Tennessee Arts Commission
# RESPONDENTS: 150+
TIMEFRAME: Spring - Summer 2025
The in-person listening session at Fischman Gallery, with special guests from each of the Tri-Cities: Kingsport, Bristol, and Johnson City.
In 2025, Create Appalachia asked regional creatives critical questions about what it means to work in Appalachia. I helped design, promote, and facilitate the listening effort, which combined an in-person session at Fischman Gallery in Johnson City with a broader digital survey.
The findings were clear and interconnected: artists across East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Western North Carolina asked for infrastructure to support their creative work — affordable workspace, shared equipment, exhibition access, professional development, and the community that forms when those things exist together in one place.
We’ve given artists a voice. This is feedback from living and working artists that connects to connect to the civic and economic frameworks of our region. This is data decision-makers can act on.