MidMountain is pleased to host the opening reception of Art is a Natural Bridge, an upcoming juried art exhibition and film festival at MidMountain Retreat (338 Arnolds Valley Rd, Natural Bridge Station, VA) in the Blue Ridge Mountains on April 13, 2024. 

Join us for an Open Art Day starting at 10am, a community potluck starting at noon, and a reception for artists from 3-6pm. The MidMountain Really Free Market will be open throughout for mutual aid gifting and redistribution!

This show will highlight works related to the constant connection between our natural world and the choices we must make to protect it, locally and globally. Artists working in 2-D, 3-D, and film/video media were invited to interpret that theme broadly through an open call and we will announce Best in Show across all categories as well as People’s Choice at the reception. 

We are also excited to share Denali’s first solo show with MidMountain. “Underwater Rainbow” explores the expressive power of Appalachian mountain defenders in vibrant colors and intimate gaze. In the context of increasing state violence against environmental activists, Denali conveys their power through portraiture, a medium usually restricted to the rich and powerful. Denali’s pieces will be for sale at a pay-what-you-can rate, with all proceeds to the artist. 

RSVP here to let us know you're coming! 

Art is a Natural Bridge is a benefit for Protect Our Water Heritage and Rights (POWHR), Artivism VA, and MidMountain. 

Past

Join us for an open house with MidMountain's Spring Fellowship cohort, featuring free workshops, a really free market, a potluck, art creation opportunities, a ritual reflecting on the property's history,  and a concert from the Laurel Hells Ramblers and The Timber Bridges!

• 10am-1pm: Restorative Writing Workshop with  Rachel Feltman & Amy Fuchshofen. Pay what you want, no minimum donation, but reserve a spot at midmountain.org/workshop!

• 1-5pm: Potluck and Really Free Market 1-5pm in the Post Office Community Center. Coordinate with river@midmountain.org to donate from March 1-March 9! More information at midmountain.org/rfm.

• 2pm: Storytelling in Organizing workshop with John Henry Williams

• 3pm: Reflection Ritual led alexis sāga

• 5pm: Concert featuring the Lauren Hells Ramblers and The Timber Bridges, $10 suggested donation, no one turned away due to lack of funds

January 21, 2024: Open Art Day at MidMountain. 

Join us for an open art afternoon on Sunday, January 21st from 2-5pm! We’ll have spaces for painting, print-making, collage, jamming, and more! Plus, information about upcoming actions protesting the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

December 8-10: #DefundMVP puppet-making workshop. This is a FREE workshop for regional artists in WV, VA, and NC hosted by POWHR. The workshop will take place from the afternoon of Friday 12/8 to the afternoon of Sunday 12/10 at MidMountain in Natural Bridge, VA (338 Arnolds Valley Rd, Natural Bridge Station, Va 24579).

This workshop is for regional activists who want to learn puppet-making skills and bring the skills they learn home to their community to organize art builds and puppet-making workshops of their own. Especially for artists committed to stopping the MVP and making art for actions.

This is an application only because we have limited spots! We will confirm via email that your spot is secured. Link for application is here.

Puppeteer Jan Burger will help us create puppets for spring actions in our #DefundMVP campaign. No puppet making experience is required but art-making enthusiasm is requested! Lodging at Mid Mountain is free and meals will be provided for a maximum of 15 attendees. Not everyone will be able to sleep alone on a bed (we will contact you about particulars). We request attendees be able to attend at least two days of the workshop - ideally all three.  

December 10, 2-4pm: Sweet & Song Swap: Join us for an afternoon of music and sugar at MidMountain to celebrate a year of art and agricultural community growth.

Folks from POWHR and Paperhand will be with us to share new puppetry works created on site for protests against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Timothy Bailey will host us for seasonal music, with acoustic contributions welcome!

We’ll have several cookies on hand and encourage you to bring a few dozen of your own favorite recipe to share! A sign up sheet is linked here on the MidMountain website to coordinate sweet swapping. But don’t worry if you need to come empty handed: this is a free event where we are happy to share!

When: 2-4pm, December 10, 2023

Where: MidMountain, 338 Arnolds Valley Rd, Natural Bridge Station, Va 24578

November 5, 2023: Linocut workshop at MidMountain: Art Opposing the Mountain Valley Pipeline

Join us for an afternoon of print-making to stop the disastrous Mountain Valley Pipeline!

We will provide tools, cutting medium, ink, and paper to print on. Bring your own clothing or textiles to print on! This will be a great day of creation and community building with folks from POWHR and Artivism!

We ask for a $5-15 donation to cover material costs, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. RSVP to river@midmountain.org so we know how many blocks to have on hand to cut!

September 6: Høly River, doors and potluck at 6pm, show at 7pm. 

The music of Høly River carries the message of humanity’s need for reconnection with the earth. Mystically political and wholeheartedly grassroots this DIY band finds themselves playing on large festival stages as well as backyard fire pits of intentional communities around the world. Doors and potluck at 6pm, show with opening set by the MidMountain All Trans House Band at 7pm, $10-30 suggested donation//no one turned away for lack of funds.

August 5 2023, 2-6pm: MidMountain Open House

Join us for FREE Sounds, Sights & Stories from our August residency crew including Requiem, AnaMarie King and Eve Ettinger, plus a garden produce giveaway!

Artist bios:

SOUNDS

Requiem is a DC-based audiovisual arts group founded by guitarist Tristan Welch, composer Doug Kallmeyer, and visual artist Monica Stork. Known for their immersive, cinematic and hypnotic multimedia experiences, Requiem’s sound is characterized by heavy soundscapes, deep synthetic bass, and musical percussion, imbued with emotional depth.

SIGHTS

AnaMarie King is a self-taught multimedia artist whose work aims to illustrate her inner struggle with all that she cannot control. Often working with found objects, they allow the materials to influence them and let them take new form. Their work looks at notions of society through a lens of chance and chaos. Through subjects such as race, age roles, and gender roles, they expose and mock the rigidness enforced by social norms.

STORIES

Eve Ettinger is a writer, editor, and educator in Alexandria, Virginia. They edited creative non-fiction features for The Rumpus 2019-2023, and have an MFA in creative writing from Hollins University. They're working on a memoir/collection of linked essays about trauma recovery and healing, and co-host a podcast about the intersection of Christian fundamentalism and current events called Kitchen Table Cult. As a teacher and editor, Eve is passionate about trauma-informed narrative processes and helping others learn how to craft stories which subvert existing structures of power under late-stage capitalism. 

April 25, 2022 9PM ET/6PM PT

Join us online for a Twitter Space hosted by MidMountain to discuss the challenge and power of imagining better futures in our current moment, featuring Cory Doctorow, Edward Ongweso, Jr, Erin Taylor, and Andy *River" Peterson.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently Radicalized and Walkaway, science fiction for adults; How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; In Real Life a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer. His latest book is Attack Surface, a standalone adult sequel to Little Brother; his next nonfiction book is Chokepoint Capitalism, with Rebecca Giblin, about monopoly and fairness in the creative arts labor market, (Beacon Press, 2022). In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Edward Ongweso, Jr is a New York City-based reporter covering labor and technology for Motherboard, VICE News’s technology section whose work has focused on app-based gig labor platforms, antitrust and antimonopoly law, labor movements, capital markets, and surveillance technologies. Ongewso also co-hosts a weekly podcast on technology and political economy: This Machine Kills.

Erin Taylor is a writer and editor living in New York City. They’re the author of the poetry collection Bimboland. They edit Observer Arts, and can be found @erinisaway.

Andy "River" Peterson is a human who is trying. They are a longtime journalist covering the intersection of people and technology who spent years on staff at the Washington Post and doing deep drive investigations at national nonprofits. They are also an intersectional artist and the founder of MidMountain—the arts space and the band.