22 Steps

Each season, a new poem is selected for display on the staircase leading from the Grand Lobby to the Francis T. Eck Exhibition Corridor, creating a unique installation that presents poetry as a spatial and visual experience unleashed from the confines of the printed page.

Rendered in text on the Moss Arts Center's stairs is a pertinent statement by Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis (1940-2020) from Across That Brigde: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change, paying attention to and reflecting our country's ongoing struggle for social justice.

22 Steps is a recurring installation that began in 2015 as a collaboration between Meggin Hicklin, exhibition program manager of the Moss Arts Center, and Matthew Vollmer, associate professor in Virginia Tech's Department of English. The inaugural poem featured on the stairs, Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni, prominent writer and University Distinguished Professor of English, was part of Unleashed, a unique exhibition that presented the written word as visual, spatial, and dimensional experiences throughout the Moss Arts Center. Since its inception 22 Steps has featured poetry by Virginia Tech faculty, local P-12 students, and notable writers in the New River Valley and beyond. New poems are selected and installed each semester to coincide with the seasons, current events, or events in the Moss Arts Center.

For more information about 22 Steps, please contact Meggin Hicklin at megh79@vt.edu.