Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (MAAV) seeks and supports collaborations with community organizations, artists, researchers, educators, government officials, advocates, activists, memory keepers, and others who share an interest in constructing and reconstructing public narratives. Our mission is to reclaim, amplify, imagine, reinterpret, document, and display histories and experiences that highlight collective struggles for the vitality of Appalachian people and our shared environment, led by and for people whose stories have been silenced, denied, or excluded.

From 2023-2026, MAAV is working with nine community groups across Appalachian Virginia and Eastern Siouan lands to: 

• Inspire people to see themselves as capable of reshaping our physical landscapes
  
• Uplift histories that have potential to reshape public memory
  
• Center communities that have been chronically underrepresented and under resourced
  
• Form new coalitions and networks that promote community well being and set in motion new ways of collaborating
  
• Reimagine what a monument can be, beyond conventional statues or murals
  
• Create artistic expressions and spaces for reflection that go beyond the delivery of information
  

We offer technical support to build the capacity of Appalachian community leaders and organizations to employ participatory arts and commemoration as tools for storytelling, organizing, and social change.