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.

The Mountain Archive

Choose a town to explore through stories.

View Past Participants & Coaches
Jump to Decade

2020's

Photo by Mountain Workshops
Maysville | Mason County | 2025

Maysville | Mason County
Oct 21 - Oct 25 | Gateway to Kentucky

View 79 stories
2025

Williamsburg | Whitley County
Oct 22 - Oct 26 | Feels Like Home

2024

Paris | Bourbon County
Oct 24 - Oct 28 | Horses. History. Hospitality.

2023

Leitchfield | Grayson County
Oct 18 - Oct 22 | A Community Devoted

2022

Remote | Nation Wide
Oct 19 - Oct 23 | Storytelling Across America

2021

COVID | Remote Lecture Series
Sep 12 - Sep 12 | Mountain Sessions

2020

2010's

Photo by Alejandro Meter
Cynthiana | Harrison County | 2019

Cynthiana | Harrison County
Oct 29 - Nov 2 | We Know Our Neighbors

View 68 stories
2019

Mt. Sterling | Montgomery County
Oct 23 - Oct 28 | Gateway to the Heart

View 69 stories
2018

Morehead | Rowan County
Oct 23 - Oct 29 | Discovering the Spirit

View 79 stories
2017

Paducah | McCracken County
Oct 18 - Oct 22 | Rooted But Always Reinventing

View 70 stories
2016

Frankfort | Franklin County
Oct 19 - Oct 24 | A Kentucky Welcome

View 70 stories
2015

Berea
Oct 21 - Oct 26 | Crafting a meaningful life

View 66 stories
2014

Owensboro
Oct 15 - Oct 19 | Rich in Life and Legend

View 61 stories
2013

Henderson
Oct 16 - Oct 20 | Where the South Begins

View 55 stories
2012

Somerset
Oct 18 - Oct 22 | Rooted in Beauty

View 57 stories
2011

Elizabethtown
Oct 19 - Oct 23 | At Home in the Heartland

View 69 stories
2010

2000's

Photo by Mountain Workshops
Murray | 2009

Murray
Oct 1 - Oct 9 | A Place Apart

View 32 stories
2009

Mayfield
Oct 1 - Oct 9 | Pearl of the Purchase

View 46 stories
2008

Danville
Oct 1 - Oct 9 | Heart of Kentucky

View 46 stories
2007

Madisonville
Oct 1 - Oct 10 | A Welcoming Place

View 49 stories
2006

Lawrenceburg
Oct 1 - Oct 1 | Between Town and Country

View 45 stories
2005

Lebanon
Oct 1 - Oct 10 | An Easy Goin’ Place

View 53 stories
2004

Bardstown
Oct 1 - Oct 10 | Old Kentucky Home

View 51 stories
2003

Cave City
Oct 1 - Oct 11 | Cave Country

View 47 stories
2002

Hopkinsville
Oct 1 - Oct 7 | Hoptown’s Hoppin’

View 1 story
2001

Bowling Green | Warren County
Oct 1 - Oct 27 | Kentucky Lucky

View 2 stories
2000

1990's

Central City
Where Paradise Lay

1999

Franklin
tbd

1998

Russellville
Oct 7 - Oct 11 | tbd

1997

Campbellsville
TBD

1996

Smithville, Tennessee
TBD

1995

Glasgow
TBD

1994

Jamestown, Tennessee
TBD

1993

Columbia
Sep 30 - Oct 3 | TBD

1992

Lafayette, Tennessee
Oct 2 - Oct 5 | tbd

1991

Monticello
Oct 3 - Oct 6 | People's Better Here

1990

1980's

Photo by Unknown Photographer
Russell Springs | 1988

Albany
Sep 19 - Sep 23 | Everyone Knows Everyone Else

1989

Russell Springs
Oct 6 - Oct 8 | On the Shores of Change

View 26 stories
1988

Liberty
Oct 7 - Oct 10 | One of the Best Little Towns

View 23 stories
1987

Scottsville
Oct 9 - Oct 11 | Where Life is More Laid Back

View 25 stories
1986

Edmonton
Sep 26 - Sep 28 | The Next Best Thing to Heaven

View 23 stories
1985

Celina, Tennessee
Oct 18 - Oct 20 | Just a Quiet Little Town

View 20 stories
1984

Morgantown
Sep 22 - Sep 24 | tbd

View 16 stories
1983

Tompkinsville
Sep 23 - Sep 27 | We're the People

View 15 stories
1982

Burkesville | Cumberland County
Sep 17 - Sep 20 | Closest Thing to Heaven

View 17 stories
1981

Burkesville | Cumberland County
Oct 2 - Oct 4 | Closest Thing to Heaven

View 1 story
1980

1970's

Photo by Unknown Photographer
Clairfield, Tenn. | Claiborne County | 1979

Clairfield, Tenn. | Claiborne County
Oct 1 - Oct 13 | Rural Life

View 12 stories
1979

Land Between the Lakes
Oct 1 - Oct 15 | Vacationland

View 4 stories
1978

Bowling Green | Warren County
Mar 1 - Apr 1 | Down on Main Street

View 11 stories
1977

One Room School House
Mar 8 - Mar 13 | Rural Classrooms Remembered

View 4 stories
1976