Like so many small and medium-sized university art centers, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts relies on the generosity of donors to support the permanent collection which is enjoyed both on and off-campus by students, alumni, staff, and faculty as well as visitors to the center’s galleries. Works from the Permanent Collection: Celebrating the Generosity of Donors showcases both a recent donation by Julia Rothschild Gidney in honor of her parents, Dr. Judith Rice Rothschild and Dr. Gerard Harry Rothschild, as well as the ongoing generosity of long-time donors Peter and Joni Webb Petschauer.

In 2024, Master Printer, Bill Lagattuta generously made a significant donation of his professional artwork to Appalachian State University, his undergraduate alma mater. Thirty of Lagattuta’s fine art prints, created in collaboration with such well-known artists as Suzi Davidoff, Lesley Dill, Jim Dine, Tony Fitzpatrick, Tom Joyce, Louise Nevelson, Lilianna Porter, Johnnie Winona Ross, May Stevens, and Hollis Sigler, amoung others, are now part of the permanent collection at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts.

The AMPC is an annual program of App State’s Outdoor Programs in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. This competition provides both amateur and professional photographers the opportunity to showcase their interpretation of the unique character, people, places and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians. This year’s exhibition will be juried by Frances Bukovsky and Susan Patrice of Kinship Photography Collective, who chose “Making Kin: Belonging & Longing in Appalachia” as the theme.