Baker Exhibit Center

In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from clothing to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular.

Nature’s Blueprints is supported in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, The Laurel of Asheville, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide, and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine.

CUSTOMIZED TOURS:

• A custom half day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is approximately 3.5 hr and can be morning from 9:30-1; or afternoon from 1:30-5.

We will select 2-3 artist studio options in the Asheville or Weaverville areas based on your input and artist availability.  Three studios are standard for this custom half-day option, or two glass studios work well in this time frame (due to glass demo’s taking a bit longer than other mediums).

• A custom full day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is a full day from 9:30a to approximately 4p.

Designed for the serious art lover! Lunch is included, and this tour allows for the possibility of visiting 4 artist studios that are 30-60 minutes away from Asheville: for example in Waynesville, Marshall, Burnsville, Penland or Spruce Pine.  Many of western NC’s professional artists live in these locations, so come explore more of the region with me – your local art insider!

Tour rates per participant: New Glass Plus 1 tour $65/ea. | Custom half day $85/ea. | Custom full day $165/ea.

For custom tours, planning ahead is key.   Art Connections provides tours for couples and small or medium size groups. These tours are based on your interests, your time frame, and which artists are available for a visit.  I know that everyone who considers a tour has different thoughts on what they’d enjoy seeing.  Maximize your visit by planning ahead with me. Having worked for over 30 years with so many of the artists in Western NC, I can accommodate participant interests and find options that are a good fit for each request.

Just use the Contact page and send in an inquiry, we’ll go from there and work out the details.

• Parking Fees
  • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
  • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
  • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
  • Members: Free

  Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

In Ayurveda, the kapha dosha is cold, heavy, wet, thick, and slow, among other things. This dosha tends to be most present in winter and early spring. As a practice, we challenge that in yoga by building heat in the body and releasing excess water, so we can be our strongest and fittest, boosting our immune system and staving off depression.

The Museum recognizes Western North Carolina youth for their original artworks Award winners will be featured in a student exhibition in the Museum’s Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery and Multipurpose Space from January 24–March 25, 2024. All regional award recipients will be honored at a closing reception on March 21. The Asheville Art Museum and the Asheville Area Section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are the Western North Carolina (WNC) regional Affiliate Partners of the National Scholastic Art Awards. This ongoing community partnership has supported the creative talents of our region’s youth for 44 years. The WNC regional program is open to students in grades 7–12, ages 13-18, across 24 counties. “I’m thrilled to witness the incredible talent showcased in the 2024 Western North Carolina Scholastic Art Awards exhibition,” said Susan Hendley, School & Teacher Programs Manager at the Asheville Art Museum.  “This is a celebration of original works by students across the WNC region and highlights the profound impact of arts education.” The regional program is judged in two groups: Group I, grades 7–9 and Group II, grades 10–12. Out of more than 500 total art entries, over 200 works have been recognized by the judges; Gold and Silver Key awards are featured in this exhibition, with select Honorable Mentions displayed digitally. The 2024 regional judges include Victoria Bradbury, Associate Professor and Chair of New Media at UNC Asheville, Andrew Davis, Studio Technician and instructor at Winthrop University, and Jenny Pickens, a native Asheville artist and educator. Those works receiving Gold Keys have been submitted to compete in the 101st Annual National Scholastic Art Awards Program in New York City. Of the Gold Key Award recipients, five students have also been nominated for American Visions, indicating their work is the Best in Show of the regional awards. One of these American Visions Nominees will receive an American Visions Medal at the 2024 National Scholastic Art Awards. Visit the Museum’s website for more information about the student exhibition. Thanks to our sponsors, Jon and Ann Kemske, Russell and Ladene Newton, and Frugal Framer. Download Student Artworks

Images: Left: Minna Wright Citron, Squid Under Pier, 1948, color etching, soft-ground, and engraving on paper, edition 42/50, 15 x 17 7/8 inches, 2010 Collections Circle purchase, Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Minna Citron/Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York. Right: Dorothy Dehner, Woman #2, 1954, watercolor and ink on paper, 22 3/4 x 18”, courtesy of Dolan Maxwell.

The Asheville Art Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition American Art in the Atomic Age: 1940–1960, which explores the groundbreaking contributions of artists who worked at the experimental printmaking studio Atelier 17 in the wake of World War II. Co-curated by Marilyn Laufer and Tom Butler, American Art in the Atomic Age which draws from the holdings of Dolan/Maxwell, the Asheville Art Museum Collection, and private collections will be on view from November 10, 2023–April 29, 2024.

Atelier 17 operated in New York for fifteen years, between 1940 and 1955. The studio’s founder, Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988) established the workshop in Paris but relocated to New York just as the Nazi occupation of Paris began in 1940. Hayter’s new studio attracted European emigrants like André Masson, Yves Tanguy, and Joan Miró, as well as American artists like Dorothy Dehner, Judith Rothschild, and Karl Schrag, allowing for an exchange of artistic ideas and processes between European and American artists.

The Asheville Art Museum will present over 100 works that exemplify the cross-cultural exchange and profound social and political impact of Atelier 17 on American art. Prints made at Atelier 17—including those by Stanley William Hayter, Louise Nevelson, and Perle Fine—will be in conversation with works by European Surrealists who were working at the studio in the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibition will also feature a selection of domestic mid-century objects that exemplify how the ideas and aesthetics of post-war abstraction became a part of everyday life.

Bender Gallery Artists Featured in Asheville Art Museum Exhibition The New Salon: A Contemporary View The Asheville Art Museum will be opening their exhibit, The New Salon: A Contemporary View, on March 8 and it will run until August 19, 2024. The New Salon offers a modern take on the prestigious tradition of the Parisian Salon with the diversity and innovation of today’s art world. Guest-curated by Gabriel Shaffer, the show will include works from Pop Surrealism, Outsider Art, Street Art, and Graffiti genres.   Bender Gallery has been collaborating with the Asheville Art Museum to loan four paintings from three of our artists. The artists are Laine Bachman, Kukula, and Yui Sakamoto. Be sure to check out this special exhibition in downtown Asheville. Learn More Kukula, Impossible Voyage, oil on board, 48 x 24 inches Kukula (b. 1980, Israel) Nataly Abramovitch, better known in the art world as, Kukula, paints imagined worlds filled with elaborately dressed women in fanciful settings. The artist does extensive research on the layouts of paintings from the Renaissance and Rococo periods. Kukula subverts these images by depicting women characters in place of traditionally male positions and settings. Her characters are powerful, commanding, and have an air of indifference. Available Work Yui Sakamoto, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 63 x 63 inches Yui Sakamoto (b. 1981, Japan) Our surrealist artist, Yui Sakamoto, will have two paintings featured including My Soul and Self Portrait. Self Portrait is still available from his recent solo exhibition at Bender Gallery. Standing in front of Self Portrait, one is immersed in the dual-worlds of Sakamoto’s Japanese and Mexican cultures. There is a sense of calm reflected in the repeating rose pattern, mixed with the uneasy realization that the coral, fungi, and otherworldly forms are what makeup the figure. Available Work Laine Bachman, Night Bloomers, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 inches Laine Bachman (b. 1974, USA) Our prolific Magical Realism artist, Laine Bachman, makes a feature in the exhibition with her painting, Night Bloomers. She has been hard at work making 17 new pieces for her solo exhibition at the Canton Art Museum in Canton, Ohio. The Canton show opens on April 28 and continues through to July 28, 2024. Available Work

Celebrate National Wash Your Nose Day with Xlear Inc, a pioneer in natural sinus and oral care products. Regular nasal hygiene is a crucial aspect of your daily hygiene routine. Xlear Inc is committed to educating everyone on the importance and benefits of why keeping your nose clean is just as important, if not more important than washing your hands.

Join us for an informative session about Xlear, featuring real-time demonstrations and an opportunity to receive complimentary products. Participants will be gifted a sample of Xlear Saline Nasal Spray with Xylitol, which has been shown in studies to prevent viruses and bacteria from attaching to nasal tissues, while also moisturizing dry and irritated nasal passages. Clinical studies have also shown that good nasal hygiene opens the airway by as much as 35%. Our 1.5fl oz metered pump spray bottle is the perfect addition to your daily sinus care routine.

Daily nasal hygiene helps maintain a healthy nasal environment, clearing irritants like mucus, bacteria, viruses, and other debris, thus improving breathing and overall nasal health. This proactive approach can help reduce the risk of serious upper respiratory health issues.

We look forward to having you join us for this important event and sharing more about how Xlear can enhance your overall well-being.

To observe the National Wash Your Nose Day, use #NationalWashYourNoseDay.

Jack’s Bluegrass Brunch kicks off every Sunday at 12 noon — with lively bluegrass tunes courtesy of The Jack of the Wood Bluegrass Brunch Boys from 1-3pm. Sip a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or a warm Irish coffee. Tasty brunch specials alongside our regular menu and 18 taps of rotating craft brews! Sláinte, y’all!

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

The Council on Aging will present an informational session on Medicare. Explaining how it works, the enrollment process, how to avoid penalties, and ways to save money.

Who Should Attend?
People new to Medicare, caregivers, people leaving employer health insurance for Medicare, and others who help Medicare beneficiaries.

This program is free. We ask you register for this event so we know how many people to expect.

How to register-
Go to: www.coabc.org/events/ and click on the Events tab at the top, scroll down the page to find this event and register.
You can also call COABC and register by phone. (828) 277-8288

This event is a fundraiser for Rudy Johnston, born with a rare and serious form of MD. We will have an all-day music event with a silent auction and delicious pot luck at the Orange Peel in Asheville on 3/10/2024.

Rudy’s GoFundMe

by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Jason Williams
Fangmeyer Theatre

This gripping tale unfolds the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, an ambitious astronomer working at Harvard University as a human computer. Eager to make astronomical discoveries, Henrietta faces adversity as she strives to contribute to the field while navigating strained relationships with her sister, love interest, and colleagues. Witness the profound impact of Henrietta’s groundbreaking work on Cepheid stars, unveiling a cosmic mystery that will leave you enthralled and inspired by the wonders of the universe and one woman’s inspiring determination.

Suitable for all audiences.