YNST Magazine

06/02/2025

Only 4 more days to submit your work for consideration in our spring issue! 🤝🎨

Like this outstanding piece, “exit wound” created by Kentucky digital artist Nic Salyers featured in Issue 06, you can get your work featured in print or online!

We can’t wait to see what you do for this issue, and all year long as our open call continues to run 😎🩷 ynstmagazine.com/submissions

03/02/2025

Last night Beyoncé made history as she won album of the year and best country album for “Cowboy Carter” at the Grammys.

This marks the first time a Black woman has won a Grammy in country music in nearly 50 years. And, its a signal of a larger trend: country music is at a crossroads.

Just as “Cowboy Carter” critiques the notion of putting artists (and music) in boxes, a new wave of musicians are doing the same. From the Appalachian authenticity of Tyler Childers and Sierra Ferrell (another huge winner at the 2025 Grammys) to the genre-bending albums of Post Malone or Shaboozey, country music is dismantling the walls that once defined its borders.

Check out the full breakdown of the shift in country music by online or when you grab a copy of YNST Issue 06 ! 🪕🤠

22/01/2025

Stacy Kranitz grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, and now lives in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Tennessee. Though she’s lived in the region for nearly a decade and photographed there for even longer, she pushes back on the idea that she gains some sort of specific credibility from insider status.

“Ideally, my work can tell these stories in a way that’s both inside and outside. I want to undo these ideas of insider and outsider. In a way, I am an outsider. I was born only a few counties away from what’s considered Appalachia, but does that give me the right to tell these stories? I actually don’t think that it does. People assume I’m Appalachian because I now live there. I find that conversation around identity to be … well, I almost wonder if we’re asking the right questions. We need both insiders and outsiders.”

One of her most famous projects, As It Was Give(n) to Me, is a study of Appalachian life. It is not moralistic or voyeuristic — if anything, it resists gawking, because it’s both hard to look away from and at times confusing, making the spaces depicted feel both familiar and strange. In the accompanying statement Stacy writes: “Rather than reinforcing conventional views of Appalachia as a poverty-ridden region, or by selectively dwelling on positive aspects of the place and its people to offset problematic stereotypes, this work insists that each of these options are equally problematic ways of looking at place.”

People don’t always respond kindly to that. But, despite any pushback, Stacy will continue to document the region & its stories. “My work is contentious. I make things to start conversations.” 📸

Read the full conversation with Stacy Kranitz online or when you grab a copy of YNST Issue 06!

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14/01/2025

CALLING ALL APPALACHIAN CREATIVES! 📣 New year, means new content!

YNST is by and for Appalachians, and always free to submit. 🪄🌄 We are primarily seeking art, creative writing and fashion designers, but we are always after photographers and writers too. We want to see your work and publish it online and in print!

Already submitted but created something new? We want to see that too! Link in bio to submit your samples or pitch your story. 🎨✍️ Or simply visit our website ynstmagazine.com/submissions

09/01/2025

Award-winning West Virginia director Justin Harris admits he didn’t mean to become a filmmaker.

An avid outdoor enthusiast, skier and whitewater kayaker, Justin lives among the highest concentration of whitewater in the country, in Canaan Valley, WV, which inspired him and some friends to create a YouTube channel to showcase the rare creeks that can be challenging for kayakers to catch. 🚣‍♂️

Before he knew it, and thanks to an abundance of extra rainfall, he had all the footage he needed for a full educational documentary called “The Red Creek Sessions.” He published it online, and immediately was told that his work was better suited for film festivals. Justin explained: “At the time, I had no idea what a film festival even was.”

That was in July 2022, and by the next year, The Red Creek Sessions had won 47 awards from festivals nationwide. 🎥

Now Justin continues to channel his passion into impactful films about community, conservation and the magical thrill of outdoor recreation. Read the full story on Justin’s rapid ascent from adventure ju**ie to award-winning filmmaker when you pick up YNST Issue 06! 🏞️🙂‍↕️

✍️: Amanda Larch Hinchman

07/01/2025

Paintings to warm your soul on this snowy Tuesday by accomplished artist & educator Joel Dugan ❄️

A Fairmont, WV leader — Joel’s work blends, the representational, imaginative and surreal to explore the perception over plain reality. 🎈

Check out his work for yourself in community murals plastered across the region, or when you grab a copy of YNST Issue 06!

17/12/2024

Brian Serway has mastered the art of all things folk and fantasy. 🌌🐺

Teetering between the Virginia and Tennessee border, Brian’s work weaves together his love for folklore, the cosmos and wildlife into a personal artistic mythology that taps into the ancient, otherworldly and mysteriously magical atmosphere of Appalachia.

He describes that mythology as a subjective, ephemeral tapestry woven in his mind, where life and memory connect back to the earth and cosmos in his work. “There’s so much we don’t understand about our seemingly infinite universe, and that ‘not knowing’ stirs up a sense of cosmic mystery — a kind of Lovecraftian horror that’s both strangely intoxicating and terrifying.”

Get the full story on the dark art of Brian Serway when you preorder Issue 06 or subscribe. Or, grab a copy when they arrive in Brian’s shop HollerHouse very soon! 🔜 🔜🔜

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16/12/2024

Meet more of the incredible artists from the Creative Entrepreneur 2024 fellowship! 🧑‍🎨 If you want to be next, APPLY by 1/13/25!

Fellows receive a $2,500 award and participate in expert-led programming to master the business side of their art practice. Programming covers goal-setting, financial literacy, networking, marketing, presenting your work, and building long-term business sustainability.

Meet the full cohort of 2024 fellows by checking out the article on our website now, and apply for yourself by JANUARY 13th!

📷: Braiden Maddox

13/12/2024

ISSUE 06 is HERE! ⛷️🥶🌄🎨👻🩷

Explore the fantastical folk illustration of Brian Serway, and the shared art language of siblings Bryn, Sage and Max Perrott. Then, go behind the lens with accomplished photographer Stacy Kranitz.

Brace for the cold, and discover stories of transformation: how an outdoor adventure ju**ie became an award-winning filmmaker, how a fashion designer up-cycles forgotten quilts into wearable masterpieces, and how one innovative group creates an Appalachian and Latino cultural fusion. Plus, do a deep dive into the evolution of country music! 👁️‍🗨️

Every page is overflowing with impactful writing, vibrant photography and dozens of unique visual artists for you to enjoy. 📬 Preorder or subscribe to get your copy!

Cover 🎨:

03/12/2024

Meet 3 of the artists selected for creative entrepreneur fellowship 👀🎨 YOU could be next - APPLY NOW!

Selected recipients will receive a $2,500 award and participate in expert-led programming that covers goal-setting, financial literacy, networking, marketing, presenting your work, and building long-term business sustainability.

Meet the full cohort of 2024 fellows on our website now, and apply for yourself by 1/13/25!

📷: Braiden Maddox

30/11/2024

Support our small business! 🎁 Everything in our shop is on sale for the next 2 days, PLUS we have exclusive stickers perfect for stuffing stockings!

ynstmagazine.com/shop

P.S. Every mag is full of dozens of artists to also support this holiday season. They/we could use your support a heck of a lot more than Amazon… and I’m sure it’d be cuter anyways!

22/11/2024

Today is the day! Emily Calandrelli is blasting off, set to become the 100th woman and first from West Virginia to go to space 🚀

Follow along with the live stream on her social media, and read about the journey that has led up to this monumental moment in Issue 05! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

12/11/2024

Art can often be a solitary process—the artist alone in their studio huddled over a canvas for hours. 🧑‍🎨

But, Nichole “Coco” Westfall’s approach is different. Her art supplies too often include cranes, ladders, scaffolding and dozens of community members yielding the paintbrush too.

Her larger-than-life nature murals stretch across the region and invite the community to breathe new life into once ignored spaces. 🎨

Discover the art of thinking big from the accomplished muralist when you snag a copy of YNST Issue 05 online or in stores!

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📷: Courtesy of Garrett Adkins & provided

06/11/2024

Kevin Clancy is an artist and curator in Bethany, WV whose vexilloid art explores political narratives using the American flag and its code as an investigation of social, cultural and ethical systems.

Pictured is one of many of Kevin’s many striking works, “ #33 (State of the Union)” that felt apt for today. 🇺🇸

“The object is very quiet and somber compared to many of the other works I’d created up to that point, but interestingly was still very violent.” Kevin described. “The process of embroidery leaves behind hundreds of holes in the union of the flag and, even after being cut away, close inspection of the fabric reveals the missing material in ghostly absence.”

Check out more of his work online at americannibalism.com

28/10/2024