The Appalachian Photographers Project will hold its inaugural exhibition at ETSU’s Reece Museum from Oct. 12 through Jan. 13, 2011. The free public exhibit is sponsored by ETSU’s Mary B. Martin School of the Arts and the Reece Museum, and includes an artists’ reception on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The Appalachian Photographers Project (APP) showcases the work of emerging and established photographers who work or live in the area and have created a significant, focused body of work. The APP region encompasses nine states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The APP was developed by Tammy Mercure and is a partnership between ETSU’s Department of Art and Design, Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, Now & Then magazine, the Reece Museum, and the Martin School of the Arts. It is a sister project to the Midwest Photographers Project, which is housed at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. More information on the APP is available at www.appalachianphoto.org.

Curated by Mercure, the exhibition includes photographs by Ken Abbott, Ron Amberg, Alice Anthony, Eric Baden, Gideon Barnett, Shawne Brown, Maury Gortemiller, Cathryn Griffin, Frank Hunter, Builder Levy, Jeff Rich, Mike Smith, David M. Spear, Mark Steinmetz, Mary Tortorici, Angela West, Jeff Whetstone, Mark Wood, Susan Worsham and Mercure.

Regular museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Three special parking spaces at the east end of the Reece Museum are designated for patrons of the museum and the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, a Tennessee Center of Excellence of which the museum is a division. To receive a temporary permit to park in these spaces, patrons should visit the ETSU Parking Office, 908 W. Maple St., or call 423-439-5636 or e-mail parking@etsu.edu.

For more information or special assistance for those with disabilities, call the museum at 423-439-4392.