Belonging to Place: The Creative Community and Artistic Legacy of Bell Hooks (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781985905573)

Writer, activist, and cultural critic bell hooks cultivated a sense of belonging in Appalachia through her writing, creative community, and spiritual connection. hooks intentionally and subversively situated the bell hooks Institute in Berea, Kentucky, to bridge theory and practice, promote critical conversations, and encourage people to visit the place where she herself experienced belonging. Here, she established a gallery to house her collection of contemporary Black art, increasing access to the arts and liberatory possibilities.

Inspired by hooks's scholarship on feminism, pedagogy, and visual politics, editors Greenlee and caldwell have expanded upon her work related to art and placemaking. belonging to place is a curated project that uplifts Appalachian art. This assemblage includes select images and an annotated catalog of bell hooks's art collection--including work by Emma Amos, Lorna Simpson, and Elizabeth Catlett, among others, as well as rarely seen artworks created by hooks herself. The work of sixteen additional contributing artists form a visual language that explores belonging and hooks's influence. This visual archive extends hooks's legacy and gives testament to her significance as an Appalachian artist and curator.

A much-needed documentation of contemporary Black and Appalachian art, especially by women and nonbinary individuals, belonging to place calls readers to nourish their community, connection to place, and their creative practice to foster change in their own corners of the world.