Featured Artists

Marie T Cochran, has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from University of Georgia. She is the founder of the Affrilachian Artist Project and a scholar in African American art. Through exhibitions, events and dialogue, the Affrilachian Artist Project explores the unique perspective of people of color in Appalachia. The goal is to create an inter-generational and interdisciplinary collective of socially active individuals and organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable network of support in the region. Ms. Cochran has curated numerous exhibitions throughout the Appalachian region on behalf the Affrilachian Artist Project, most recently she curated the exhibition adVANCE! Modernism, Black Liberation + Black Mountain College at BMC+AC in Asheville. Ms. Cochran is currently the Lehman Brady Visiting Professor at Duke University through the Center for Documentary Studies and UNC-Chapel Hill through their Department of American Studies, where she is teaching the course “Arts & Culture of Black Appalachia: Race, Place, Community and Resilience.” Ms. Cochran will serve on the curatorial committee and use her expertise as founder and curator of the Affrilachian Artist Project to curate the craft component of the exhibition.