Established by Martin and Doris Rosen, this nationally recognized juried competition has long served as a point of pride for Appalachian State University. Presented annually by An Appalachian Summer Festival and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, 10 sculptures are selected for installation in outdoor public settings across campus. Cash prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place and Best in Show. Rosen Award winners are selected by the invited juror and are announced at the Annual Sculpture Walk in July.

In Belonging: A Culture of Place (1990), Black feminist writer, activist and cultural critic bell hooks writes, “…it was my flight from Kentucky, my traveling all the way to the west coast, to California, that revealed to me the extent to which my sense and sensibility was deeply informed by the geography of place.”

“Stitching the Natural World” invites viewers on an immersive journey into the heart of the natural environment through the eyes and hands of fiber artist Nancy Hershberger. With a passion for interpreting the natural world in fabric and thread, the artist transforms landscapes into vivid textile pieces. Her process, rooted in raw edge appliqué, incorporates inks and paints to create detail, while intricate free-motion quilting brings movement and depth to each scene.