2025-26 Climate Stories Showcase
April 17, 2026, 6-8:30 pm
Solarium, Plemmons Student Union
We’re trying out a new approach for this year’s showcase. Rather than hosting an exhibition as we have in the past, this year the showcase will be a pop-up festival-style tabling event taking place in the Plemmons Student Union Solarium the evening of Friday, April 17. Featuring presentations of student visual projects set up on tables, along with performances on the main stage of the solarium, the showcase will focus on climate themed creative projects made in the context of course-based learning experiences during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Faculty, let us know that you want your class(es) to participate by filling out this Showcase Participation Form, by Monday, March 2. See more details on the showcase schedule below.
For this year’s showcase, classes sharing visually based 2-D, 3-D, and audio-visual projects will be given a 6’ table to present their work on, and some basic materials to support a table-based display of their projects, which the class will be responsible for setting up and for sharing with visitors during the event. How many works your class decides to present and how you arrange and display this work on your table is up to you.
Faculty members leading participating classes will be responsible for organizing their classes’ contribution and determining the set up and presentation of student work with their students for the event. We are encouraging students to stand with their projects and talk with audience members about their work, in addition to checking out what other participating classes and students have made.
With the new format, we believe that we can accommodate up to twelve classes for visual project tables and two 20-25 minute acts worth of student performances for the event. Class participation in the visual art portion of the showcase will be determined on a first come, first serve basis, with a final determination of class participation by Friday, March 6 at the latest.
Student created performance-based works (music, literary readings, short theatrical works, etc.) will be organized by Derek Davidson of the Climate Stories team, who will review submissions and work with faculty and students to create a curated set of performances that are presented during the event.
2025-26 Climate Stories Showcase Schedule and Deadlines
February 15 | Priority deadline for Class Intent to Participate in the showcase. We will do our best to guarantee that all classes who submit an intent to participate by this deadline are featured in the showcase.
March 01 | Final submission deadline for Class Intent to Participate Due; Any remaining tables and performance slots not reserved by classes by the priority deadline will be allocated.
March 06 | Confirmation of participation and tabling materials that can be provided by CS will be sent to faculty by the Climate Stories organizing team.
April 01 | Finalized program information due from faculty for each class (this information includes names of students and the title of the work, along with a brief description of the project).
March 06- April 01 | Faculty work with their participating class to finalize which projects they will share during the event, to prepare any needed materials for their projects, and determine who will be involved with setting up/breaking down/ and presenting work.
April 17 | Showcase night at the Solarium in the Student Union!
4-5:30pm | Faculty and students arrive and set up tables for display of visual projects.
6-8:30 pm | Showcase event. Students and faculty share their projects at tables through informal conversation and audience interaction, as well as through performances. Time to mingle, dialog, and explore projects made by students in other classes.
8:30-9pm | At the end of the event, classes with tables break down their displays and take climate stories projects with them. Students with performance materials break down and take materials with them.
For more information about the showcase and ways to get involved contact: Dr Lorraine Affourtit, affourtitlj@appstate.edu; Jennie Carlisle, carlislejk@appstate.edu or Derek Davidson, davidsonds@appstate.edu.
Banner image above features a mural created for Earth Day 2019 on the side of Wey Hall by students Lelia Connor, Katelyn Joseph and Kristin Barta.