Where stories became legacy

Keep up with the Mountain Workshops

What began as a class trip in 1976 became a movement in visual storytelling. For nearly five decades, Western Kentucky University’s Mountain Workshops have brought storytellers and communities together to honor everyday life through powerful images, video and words.

Now, with support from the America250 grant and the Kentucky Historical Society, these photographs return home, allowing each community to see its own story reflected, remembered, and shared.


We’re sprucin’ up the archives. Hang tight y’all, some links may wander off.

View the following years here:  2021  |  2022  |  2023  |  2024


The Mountain Archive

Choose a town to explore through stories

2025
2023
2021
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
2024
2022
2020
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976