Since 2014, Arts Alliance Mountain Empire has hosted an annual speaker series, featuring local, regional and national artists, art educators and advocates of the arts. Visual artists, musicians, composers, directors, playwrights, actors and supporters of the arts have spoken or performed in a variety of venues in downtown Bristol Tennessee/Virginia. With an emphasis on the Appalachian Highlands region, the AAME Speaker Series has provided a forum for local artists to present their work to the community, as well as to discuss the process of their craft. All talks and performances are free to the public.