Art in Them Mountains: Critical Discussions on Appalachia, Identity, and Abolition

Abstract: In this article, we explore the work of three Appalachian artists: Jakeli Swimmer ( Cherokee North Carolina ), Lacy Hale ( Whitesburg, Kentucky ) and Vivian Swayne ( East Tennessee ). In subversive stories, each artist reveals contradictions in the mountain South through political art that counters hate, vitriol, and ongoing settler intrusions in the region. Each works in countervisual ways to push against violence produced in and through the region. As movement artists, they challenge how we think about the diversity of land and people, and their work deepens how we understand and relate to mountains, community, and safety. In this way, their art reflects Appalachia’s oldest demands: self-determination, autonomy, and sovereignty in our bodies, our land, and our peoples. These discussions are part of a larger digital archival project, Abolition Now: Images for Study and Struggle , that features interviews with artists, organizers, and curators about the production and contexts of their work.