1804

$65.00

1804 continues Rich-Joseph Facun’s exploration of life in the Appalachian foothills of Southeast Ohio.

The work examines the relationship between a rural community and its local university, an institution deeply intertwined with the region’s economic, cultural, and social life. Facun looks at how that relationship shapes the character and daily life of the area.

In Athens, Appalachian culture and university life intersect in distinctive ways. The university is deeply embedded in local life, while also functioning as a major employer, economic engine, and cultural force—a presence that can resemble a modern-day company town.

That relationship is mutually sustaining, but also precarious. The university depends on the community, while the community depends on the university. Financial pressures, staff reductions, changing patterns in college enrollment, broader demographic shifts, and changes to state and federal funding are creating new uncertainties for both.

1804 considers what happens when an institution so central to a rural community begins to change. More broadly, it examines the role anchor institutions play in rural communities, the cultures and dependencies that develop around them, and what happens when those relationships become strained.

1804 continues Rich-Joseph Facun’s exploration of life in the Appalachian foothills of Southeast Ohio.

The work examines the relationship between a rural community and its local university, an institution deeply intertwined with the region’s economic, cultural, and social life. Facun looks at how that relationship shapes the character and daily life of the area.

In Athens, Appalachian culture and university life intersect in distinctive ways. The university is deeply embedded in local life, while also functioning as a major employer, economic engine, and cultural force—a presence that can resemble a modern-day company town.

That relationship is mutually sustaining, but also precarious. The university depends on the community, while the community depends on the university. Financial pressures, staff reductions, changing patterns in college enrollment, broader demographic shifts, and changes to state and federal funding are creating new uncertainties for both.

1804 considers what happens when an institution so central to a rural community begins to change. More broadly, it examines the role anchor institutions play in rural communities, the cultures and dependencies that develop around them, and what happens when those relationships become strained.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Rich-Joseph Facun is an Otomí and Pinoy storyteller, photographer, and bookmaker presently based in the Appalachian Foothills of southeast Ohio. His work aims to offer an authentic look into ways in which individual identity is influenced by the economic, geographic, and community norms of a given landscape. The exploration of place and cultural identity present themselves as a common denominator in both his life and his photographic endeavors.

DETAILS

9 x 11 inch | 23 x 28.2 cm, Hardcover

Debossed, Foil Stamp, Smyth Sewn, Case Bound

116 pages with 62 color plates

Essay by Rich-Joseph Facun

Design Direction: Caleb Cain Marcus, Luminosity Lab

ISBN 979-8-218-61402-7

Edition of 500

Published February 2026

By Liars Corner

PRESS

“Facun’s photographs drift between portraiture and landscape, between observation and implication.”