Harlan County, KY
Scroll to learn more about Harlan County’s Arts For EveryBody project
Harlan County, KY
Scroll to learn more about Harlan County’s Arts For EveryBody project
Harlan County, KY
Scroll to learn more about Harlan County’s Arts For EveryBody project
City of Harlan County
On July 27th, MAMAW Fest (Mountains of Appalachia Music Arts and Wellness Festival) took place all day on the streets of downtown Harlan, Kentucky. A celebration of community care, the day featured headlining duo, The Local Honeys, as well as local artists, vendors, musicians, and healthcare providers from around the county, culminating in an evening performance of Angels Unaware, the 10th theater production of arts collective Higher Ground– written, performed, and created by local community members.
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Join Harlan County, Kentucky (pop. 25,000) on July 27, 2024 for MAMAW Fest: Mountains of Appalachia Music Arts and Wellness Festival, presented by Higher Ground, a community-based performance project and part of Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College. MAMAW Fest will bring local artists, vendors, musicians, and healthcare providers together to celebrate arts and wellness in Eastern Kentucky and will feature Higher Ground's tenth play centering how they take care of each other in Harlan County. Partnering with One Nation/One Project, the Cloverfork Clinic, and the Harlan County Fiscal Court, Higher Ground is also working to integrate the arts into rural healthcare delivery through various projects and programming efforts.
Meet The Team
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Robert Gipe
Robert Gipe is the founding producer of Higher Ground, a community performance project based at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College in Harlan County, Kentucky. Gipe is the author of three novels and the retired director of the SKCTC Appalachian Program.
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Kate Handzlik
Kate Handzlik is the Creative Director for Higher Ground in Harlan, a community performance project based at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College in Harlan County, Kentucky. Handzlik also teaches theater and introduction to college classes at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College.
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Nicole Garneau
Nicole Garneau is an interdisciplinary performing artist. Her book Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism was published in print in Spring 2018 by Intellect. In 2022, she narrated and released the audiobook version. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, where she teaches, makes theater, facilitates meetings, and throws parties. She is working with Higher Ground in Harlan as Artist in Residence in 2023-2024. Nicolegarneau.com
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