Our Connected Culture

Arnolds Valley Through the Ages: Archeology, oral history, and beyond

Welcome to another season of our connected culture, this one focused on unmasking the past to imagine better futures. I’m MidMountain Curator Andy “River Peterson inviting you to join us in the coming days and weeks to explore how we can learn from hard human history while growing the community we need to grow a kinder world together.  Today we are going even more local in our history, exploring the history of Rockbridge County, our holler of Arnolds Valley, and even aspects of this specific property.  Also, speaking of community: if you’re listening to this as it’s being released you can join us in person for our MidMountain Masquerade on October 25 from 2pm through 10pm! There'll be opportunities to make your own masks and marionettes, a harvest potluck to share meals, a masquerade with costume contest, live music, and more. Find out more at midmountain.org/masquerade [http://midmountain.org/masquerade]. As a reminder, Our Connected Culture is a production of MidMountain, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, arts collective, and agricultural project operating out of MidMountain Retreat, a five acre riverfront arts space in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Natural Bridge, Virginia. You can check our community calendar for upcoming events or other opportunities to visit, like residencies where we offer discounted stays for folks who want to work on creative projects. Plus, MidMountain Retreat is also available for rent out on Airbnb and VRBO for non-art stays!

Documenting the hard truths of history with filmmaker Frederick Murphy

Welcome to another season of our connected culture, this one focused on unmasking the past to imagine better futures. Join us in the coming days and weeks to explore how we can learn from hard human history while growing the community we need to grow a kinder world together.  We are again returning to Rockbridge Regional Libraries, which joined us in hosting a screening of documentary the indelible Appalachians and a virtual conversion with filmmaker Frederick Murphy. The film explores the history, present, and future of Black identity in Appalachia – and we’re sharing our conversation with Murphy where we explore both the content of the film and his experience as a creative documenting difficult history related to slavery in the American South.  That fellowship cohort included author Paul Park – who listeners may remember from our first season as a peer and close friend of the late Terry Bisson – who helped us with the future and fiction-focused elements of the conversation. Plus, the fellows were also joined by local black history scholar Dr. Nneka Dennie – an expert on abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a key figure in the MidMountain produced folk opera “Save from Oblivion” that we’ll discuss more at length later in this season.  Also, speaking of community: if you’re listening to this as it’s being released you can join us in person for our MidMountain Masquerade on October 25 from 2pm through 10pm! There'll be opportunities to make your own masks and marionettes, a harvest potluck to share meals, a masquerade with costume contest, live music, and more. Find out more at midmountain.org/masquerade [http://midmountain.org/masquerade].  As a reminder, Our Connected Culture is a production of MidMountain, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, arts collective, and agricultural project operating out of MidMountain Retreat, a five acre riverfront arts space in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Natural Bridge, Virginia. You can check our community calendar for upcoming events or other opportunities to visit, like residencies where we offer discounted stays for folks who want to work on creative projects. Plus, MidMountain Retreat is also available for rent out on Airbnb and VRBO for non-art stays!

Imagining a Better American Future: From Abolition to Science Fiction, and beyond

Welcome to another season of our connected culture, this one focused on unmasking the past to imagine better futures. Join us in the coming days and weeks to explore how we can learn from hard human history while growing the community we need to grow a kinder world together.  We are kicking off this season with audio from “Imagining a Better American Future: From Abolition to Science Fiction, and beyond,” an event we hosted with Rockbridge Regional Libraries on March 13, 2025 that featured many of our Spring fellows.  That fellowship cohort included author Paul Park – who listeners may remember from our first season as a peer and close friend of the late Terry Bisson – who helped us with the future and fiction-focused elements of the conversation. Plus, the fellows were also joined by local black history scholar Dr. Nneka Dennie – an expert on abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a key figure in the MidMountain produced folk opera “Save from Oblivion” that we’ll discuss more at length later in this season.  Also, speaking of community: if you’re listening to this as it’s being released you can join us in person for our MidMountain Masquerade on October 25 from 2pm through 10pm! There'll be opportunities to make your own masks and marionettes, a harvest potluck to share meals, a masquerade with costume contest, live music, and more. Find out more at midmountain.org/masquerade.  As a reminder, Our Connected Culture is a production of MidMountain, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, arts collective, and agricultural project operating out of MidMountain Retreat, a five acre riverfront arts space in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Natural Bridge, Virginia. You can check our community calendar for upcoming events or other opportunities to visit, like residencies where we offer discounted stays for folks who want to work on creative projects. Plus, MidMountain Retreat is also available for rent out on Airbnb and VRBO for non-art stays!

Murder, She Sang: Using Creativity to Process Grief from Murder Ballads to Helene Mutual Aid

Two threads that wove through all of last year for us: coming together in creative community in the face of looming climate disaster and reclaiming Appalachian murder ballads. Those might seem like radically different subjects, but the overlap – for us, at least – was using art to grow resilience in the face of grief. Especially with the climate disaster that was Helene hitting so many of our neighbors. This episode features interviews with musician Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses), artist and climate organizer Denali Nalamalapu, Jason Duncan from the Wilkes County Historical Museum, and discussions with MidMountain Fellows Heather Adams, Sarah Gill, Katherine Fahey, Dan Van Allen, Becky Poole, Miriam Juliana, Elsa Howell, and Marie Anderson. This episode also featured a clip of the Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley" and instrumentals from Betsy Podsiadlo's performance in Fatal Femme Agency during MidMountain Fest in October of 2024. This episode was produced with support from Mid Atlantic Arts' Central Appalachian Living Traditions Program.

Murder, She Sang: Murder Ballads, Southern Gothic Horror, and Reclaiming Haunted Regional History

The Murder Ballads, Southern Gothic Horror, and Reclaiming Haunted Regional History Panel was originally hosted at Rockbridge Regional Library Glasgow with moderation by Debi Ratcliff in October 2024. The panel included MidMountain co-curator and creator of the Fatal Femme Agency musical history show Andy “River” Peterson; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill PhD candidate focused on gothic horror and colonization narratives Anna Blackburn; musician and creator of The Ballad of Dena & Andrea [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ballad-of-dena-andrea/id1763680709]podcast+album Becky Poole; regional balladeer Elsa Howell, multimedia artist Marie Anderson, and writer Sarah Gill.  You can view the video for "It'll just Take the One" here [https://www.instagram.com/kansasalps/reel/DDh-ZG3yqWt/].  This episode also featured clips from Elizabeth LaPrelle, Andy "River" Peterson, and Betsy Podsiadlo performing during MidMountain Fest in October of 2024, as well as a clip from the Ballad of Dena & Andrea by Becky Poole. This episode was produced with support from Mid Atlantic Arts' Central Appalachian Living Traditions Program.