Discover how Trillium Project and other Appalachian arts organizations are using creativity, public art and community partnerships to strengthen Ohio communities.

One of the most valuable parts of CreativeOhio’s Advocacy Leadership Institute is visiting the many Ohio communities where arts and culture are shaping the future.

During this year’s visit to Southeast Ohio in July, our cohort met with inspiring leaders from Passion Works Studio, The Dairy Barn Arts Center, and Rural Action—all based in Athens—and the Trillium Project, an entirely volunteer-led Appalachian artist collective based in Portsmouth, Ohio. Through public art, creative placemaking and community partnerships, the Trillium Project is helping to redefine economic and cultural development in a region that has long experienced outside, extractive industries. By using a community-focused approach, Trillium is listening, responding to, and working with the people who call Appalachia home.

Photography by Steve Weinik

Monument to the Opioid Crisis

Supported through the Monument Lab, Trillium is working with community members to memorialize the lasting impact of the opioid crisis in and around Portsmouth. The project is part of the Monument Lab’s Re:Generation initiative, which emphasizes field building through creative representation and interpretation of erased, suppressed, or threatened stories and histories. Rather than commemorating a single person or event, the project honors collective memory, resilience and healing while expanding the traditional idea of what a monument can be.

River Giants Puppet Parade

The River Giants Puppet Parade transforms streets into celebrations of Appalachian creativity. Portsmouth residents help design and build giant puppets before taking part in a colorful community procession that blends art, storytelling and local pride.

The Hollow

The Hollow is Trillium’s vision for a permanent creative campus where artists, makers, entrepreneurs and neighbors can gather, learn and build together. Planned spaces include studios, workshops, markets and community gathering areas designed to strengthen both Appalachian culture and the local economy.

A Different Model for Development

For generations, much of Appalachia has been shaped by extractive practices that took resources and opportunity out of the region. Trillium represents a different approach—one that is community-led, built from within and focused on bringing people along rather than building around them.

For Advocacy Leadership Institute participants, the visit was a reminder that arts advocacy extends far beyond supporting artists. It is also about supporting communities, preserving culture and creating places where people have the opportunity to shape their own future.