Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Friday, June 2, 2023
2023 Toe River Arts Studio Tour
Jun 2 all-day
Mitchell and Yancey Counties

The art is as diverse as the artists with the tour featuring the work of glassblowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, fiber artists, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, and woodworkers.

Mark your calendars for the 2023 Toe River Arts Spring Studio Tour, happening June 2 – June 4, 2023.

This driving tour through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the talented studio artists and galleries participating.

Please have a look at the tour website to begin planning your visit.

Asheville Art Museum 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund
Jun 2 all-day
online w/ Asheville Art Museum

Celebrate with us by contributing to the future of the arts in Western North Carolina.

 

Make your 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund donation today!

! The Diamond Anniversary is a time to honor our rich heritage and—more importantly—envision our future as the premier visual arts organization in this vibrant, creative region.

 

Founded in 1948 by a group of local artists to showcase the scope and depth of creativity in Western North Carolina (WNC), the Museum brings art of international significance to the region and encourages lively, diverse dialogue.

 

The Museum’s original home was a modest, unheated, three-room building on Charlotte Street in the former sales office of Dr. E.W. Grove. The building was designed by Richard Sharp Smith and provided to the Museum by the City of Asheville. Exhibitions by local painters and sculptors could only be staged in warmer weather, and Sunday afternoon receptions gave the community an opportunity to view original art and to listen to artists talk about their work. By the 1950s, the Museum had become an invaluable part of Asheville’s cultural life. It also began acquiring artworks for its Collection.

 

Three quarters of a century later, the Museum has evolved into the preeminent cultural and educational hub for WNC—welcoming tens of thousands of visitors annually, hosting several major exhibitions each year, holding scores of special programs, and housing its Collection of more than 7,500 works in its state-of-the-art Pack Square location. From its humble beginnings on Charlotte Street to its breathtaking permanent home in the heart of downtown Asheville, the Museum has remained dedicated to Its mission to engage, enlighten, and inspire individuals and enrich the community through dynamic experiences in American art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

 

The Asheville Art Museum was built, cherished, and supported by the community throughout the past 75 years. Our anniversary celebration will give back through community partnerships and special programs, and by creating new reasons to visit or become a Member. We hope you’ll join us at one (or all) of our Diamond Anniversary special events: the 2023 Gala on June 17th, the 75th Anniversary Community Day Celebration in August, and the 75th Anniversary Dance Party in November!

 

Asheville Regional Airport: art exhibit highlighting local artists
Jun 2 all-day
Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)

Edge, the newest exhibit showing in the airport art gallery, is open to the public now through July 21, 2022. The local art is unique, bold and is sure to capture the imaginations of its viewers.

The local artists’ work featured in this exhibit consist of many different mediums. Diane Bronstein creates complex and mesmerizing pieces with photographs, embroidery floss and other materials. Susan Devitt uses bold colors and vivid details to capture the beauty and possibilities of nature with her acrylic paintings. Jen Pacicci crafts peaceful and majestic collages of landscapes using watercolor and torn paper. Kurt Ross designs clay vessels of varying materials and glazes that are each unique in their thoughtful and clean design. Paul Silverman presents ceramic figures of various tools and vintage items that trick the eye in their realistic appearance and awe with their attention to detail.

 

“The Edge exhibit welcomes travelers and residents to Asheville with a vibrant and unique display this spring at AVL,” said Alexandra Ingle, Brand and Experience Designer at AVL and curator of the gallery. “We are excited at each gallery opening to bring a fresh taste of our talented WNC art community into the airport.”

 

Artwork can be purchased from the gallery by emailing [email protected]. Details about the program and how to apply can be found on the airport’s website at flyavl.com.

AVL’s Arts Build Community Grant
Jun 2 all-day
online

Since 2018, the Arts Build Community grant supports innovative, arts-based projects that inspire diverse groups of participants to be more active, involved, and civically-engaged by creating together. Grants range from $1,000-2,500.

Arts and culture are a fundamental part of our community. They help us connect with one another and better understand history, people, and new ideas. When people become involved in the design, creation, and upkeep of places, they develop a vested interest in using and maintaining these spaces. When neighbors have a true sense of “ownership” or connection to the places they frequent, the community becomes a better place to live, work, and visit.

Description & Eligibility

Organizations must have been in operation for at least one year and be physically located in Buncombe County. Priority is given to projects based in low-income neighborhoods and communities in need.

The arts must be centered in the proposed project. Funds may be used to cover expenses such as art supplies, professional artists’ fees and travel, space rental, advertising, marketing and publicity, website and electronic media, scripts, costumes, sets, props, music and equipment rental.

Funds are for projects taking place from July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024. This can be a reimbursement for projects occurring during this funding period that have already taken place or for projects that have not yet occurred. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2024.

Tryon Fine Arts Center Summer Art Camps Registration Open
Jun 2 all-day
Tryon Fine Arts Center
Summer Art Series for Youth (SASY) Camp
Summer Art Series for Youth (SASY) 2023
June 19 – 23
Our Summer Arts Camp is a one-week encounter with visual as well as performing arts. Our campers will be given the flexibility to choose their own art experience. They may want to dabble in the performing arts or take part in the visual arts or perhaps do a bit of both.
Ages 5 – 12 years. Cost: $180 – $225
PacJAM Camp
PacJAM Camp 2023
June 26 -30
Students will experience group lessons, jams, music theory, traditional art, songs, stories, and dancing, with an impressive lineup of regular and guest artists. Scholarships and instrument rentals are available.
Ages 6 year and up. Cost: $150
Theater Camp
Theater Camp 2023
July 31 – August 5
Presented in collaboration with Tryon Little Theater, the annual Summer Theater Camp allows students to put on a fully-staged production in just one week! Students learn about the ins and outs of theater-from auditions Monday morning to a fully-staged public show with lights, sound, sets,
props & costumes on Saturday!
Cost: $180 – $225
Saturday, June 3, 2023
2023 Toe River Arts Studio Tour
Jun 3 all-day
Mitchell and Yancey Counties

The art is as diverse as the artists with the tour featuring the work of glassblowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, fiber artists, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, and woodworkers.

Mark your calendars for the 2023 Toe River Arts Spring Studio Tour, happening June 2 – June 4, 2023.

This driving tour through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the talented studio artists and galleries participating.

Please have a look at the tour website to begin planning your visit.

Asheville Art Museum 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund
Jun 3 all-day
online w/ Asheville Art Museum

Celebrate with us by contributing to the future of the arts in Western North Carolina.

 

Make your 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund donation today!

! The Diamond Anniversary is a time to honor our rich heritage and—more importantly—envision our future as the premier visual arts organization in this vibrant, creative region.

 

Founded in 1948 by a group of local artists to showcase the scope and depth of creativity in Western North Carolina (WNC), the Museum brings art of international significance to the region and encourages lively, diverse dialogue.

 

The Museum’s original home was a modest, unheated, three-room building on Charlotte Street in the former sales office of Dr. E.W. Grove. The building was designed by Richard Sharp Smith and provided to the Museum by the City of Asheville. Exhibitions by local painters and sculptors could only be staged in warmer weather, and Sunday afternoon receptions gave the community an opportunity to view original art and to listen to artists talk about their work. By the 1950s, the Museum had become an invaluable part of Asheville’s cultural life. It also began acquiring artworks for its Collection.

 

Three quarters of a century later, the Museum has evolved into the preeminent cultural and educational hub for WNC—welcoming tens of thousands of visitors annually, hosting several major exhibitions each year, holding scores of special programs, and housing its Collection of more than 7,500 works in its state-of-the-art Pack Square location. From its humble beginnings on Charlotte Street to its breathtaking permanent home in the heart of downtown Asheville, the Museum has remained dedicated to Its mission to engage, enlighten, and inspire individuals and enrich the community through dynamic experiences in American art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

 

The Asheville Art Museum was built, cherished, and supported by the community throughout the past 75 years. Our anniversary celebration will give back through community partnerships and special programs, and by creating new reasons to visit or become a Member. We hope you’ll join us at one (or all) of our Diamond Anniversary special events: the 2023 Gala on June 17th, the 75th Anniversary Community Day Celebration in August, and the 75th Anniversary Dance Party in November!

 

Asheville Regional Airport: art exhibit highlighting local artists
Jun 3 all-day
Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)

Edge, the newest exhibit showing in the airport art gallery, is open to the public now through July 21, 2022. The local art is unique, bold and is sure to capture the imaginations of its viewers.

The local artists’ work featured in this exhibit consist of many different mediums. Diane Bronstein creates complex and mesmerizing pieces with photographs, embroidery floss and other materials. Susan Devitt uses bold colors and vivid details to capture the beauty and possibilities of nature with her acrylic paintings. Jen Pacicci crafts peaceful and majestic collages of landscapes using watercolor and torn paper. Kurt Ross designs clay vessels of varying materials and glazes that are each unique in their thoughtful and clean design. Paul Silverman presents ceramic figures of various tools and vintage items that trick the eye in their realistic appearance and awe with their attention to detail.

 

“The Edge exhibit welcomes travelers and residents to Asheville with a vibrant and unique display this spring at AVL,” said Alexandra Ingle, Brand and Experience Designer at AVL and curator of the gallery. “We are excited at each gallery opening to bring a fresh taste of our talented WNC art community into the airport.”

 

Artwork can be purchased from the gallery by emailing [email protected]. Details about the program and how to apply can be found on the airport’s website at flyavl.com.

AVL’s Arts Build Community Grant
Jun 3 all-day
online

Since 2018, the Arts Build Community grant supports innovative, arts-based projects that inspire diverse groups of participants to be more active, involved, and civically-engaged by creating together. Grants range from $1,000-2,500.

Arts and culture are a fundamental part of our community. They help us connect with one another and better understand history, people, and new ideas. When people become involved in the design, creation, and upkeep of places, they develop a vested interest in using and maintaining these spaces. When neighbors have a true sense of “ownership” or connection to the places they frequent, the community becomes a better place to live, work, and visit.

Description & Eligibility

Organizations must have been in operation for at least one year and be physically located in Buncombe County. Priority is given to projects based in low-income neighborhoods and communities in need.

The arts must be centered in the proposed project. Funds may be used to cover expenses such as art supplies, professional artists’ fees and travel, space rental, advertising, marketing and publicity, website and electronic media, scripts, costumes, sets, props, music and equipment rental.

Funds are for projects taking place from July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024. This can be a reimbursement for projects occurring during this funding period that have already taken place or for projects that have not yet occurred. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2024.

Tryon Fine Arts Center Summer Art Camps Registration Open
Jun 3 all-day
Tryon Fine Arts Center
Summer Art Series for Youth (SASY) Camp
Summer Art Series for Youth (SASY) 2023
June 19 – 23
Our Summer Arts Camp is a one-week encounter with visual as well as performing arts. Our campers will be given the flexibility to choose their own art experience. They may want to dabble in the performing arts or take part in the visual arts or perhaps do a bit of both.
Ages 5 – 12 years. Cost: $180 – $225
PacJAM Camp
PacJAM Camp 2023
June 26 -30
Students will experience group lessons, jams, music theory, traditional art, songs, stories, and dancing, with an impressive lineup of regular and guest artists. Scholarships and instrument rentals are available.
Ages 6 year and up. Cost: $150
Theater Camp
Theater Camp 2023
July 31 – August 5
Presented in collaboration with Tryon Little Theater, the annual Summer Theater Camp allows students to put on a fully-staged production in just one week! Students learn about the ins and outs of theater-from auditions Monday morning to a fully-staged public show with lights, sound, sets,
props & costumes on Saturday!
Cost: $180 – $225
Run for Life 5K
Jun 3 @ 8:15 am – 10:45 am
The Park at Flat Rock

Join us for this 5K Run for Life event hosted by Open Arms Pregnancy Center to help support women and teens facing unplanned pregnancies. This will be a run/walk-timed event to be held at The Park at Flat Rock located at 55 Highland Golf Drive, Flat Rock, NC US 28731 June 3,2023 with a start time of 8:30 AM.
Runners should register by May 14 to secure a T-shirt for the race.
Sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/FlatRock/Run4for5k
Those interested in sponsoring the event should contact Open Arms Pregnancy Center by May 15th to learn more. (Marlies Zerressen at [email protected] or Lydia Bright at 864-921-5770)
Open Arms’ ministry is love, our aim: to support and guide, our purpose: to serve God and preserve life. We provide a safe and supportive place for pregnancy related needs with ultrasounds, material and emotional support for those facing difficult circumstances or perhaps the loss of a child.
All are services are Free and Confidential.

Biltmore Estate: Ciao! From Italy Sculptural Postcard Display
Jun 3 @ 8:30 am
Biltmore Estate

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

2023 Toe River Arts Spring Studio Tour Preview Exhibition 
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Kokol Gallery

Spring Studio Tour Preview Exhibition 

May 13 – June 4

This exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to have a glimpse into each studio and plan their route. It’s also a great place to begin the tour or take a break from a day of non-stop art and artists.

This driving tour through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the talented studio artists and galleries participating.

Please have a look at the tour website to begin planning your visit.

Exhibition: NEO MINERALIA
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

Sae Honda. Courtesy of the Artist.

NEO MINERALIA suggests that recent rock formations no longer fit within the traditional groups: Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary. Instead, the Anthropocene, the era of human influence on the climate and environment, has introduced two post-natural rocks: Synthetic and Digital.

NEO MINERALIA presents a selection of new geological specimens crafted by ten international artists exploring rocks as reflections of our effects on human and nonhuman ecologies. By embedding synthetic materials (plastics, e-waste) and layers of data points (critical, financial, social) into the craftsmanship of these artifacts, the artists transgress the definition of rocks, turning them from passive aggregates of minerals into metaphorical aggregates of data. Within their apparent “rockness” we can decode hopes, warnings, and speculative future scenarios.

The featured works stemming from places as varied as Mexico, Japan, Poland, and Australia (including a curated artists’ books library), collectively signal a new era of planetary and geological consciousness where we are asked to read, feel, and listen to rocks in new ways.

Exhibition: Something earned, Something left behind
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

J Diamond, “Pony II,” 2022. Courtesy of the Artist

Something earned, Something left behind is an exhibition of objecthood; a critical analysis of the transactional and political languages of everyday and culturally significant objects. This exhibition challenges a history of exclusion and inclusion of People of Color (POC) and their narratives from the canon of craft based on subject matter. It dissects this history’s origins and precedent as an economic transaction to gain access to white spaces.

Racial and ethnic identity influences the way individuals perceive themselves, the way others perceive them, and the way they choose to behave. For this reason, People of Color are expected to perform certain roles in order to fit into hegemonic institutions. These roles can be an active shrinking of themselves and the racialized part of them, or a personal exploitation of their racialized selves. This exhibition addresses and redresses the ways narrowed populations have been included, and the ways in which they have been asked to participate.

Together, this work creates space for and legitimizes POC narratives with depth and care. The exhibiting artists’ practices work against institutionalized expectations of POC work, expanding discourse and inserting new subjectivity into the canon of craft art. It engages with a community hungry for the revitalization and resuscitation of non-Western voices within art spaces. This exhibition challenges the expectations of art from artists of marginalized backgrounds and embraces a new subjectivity of interrogating one’s inherited experiences.

Exhibition: Crafting Denim
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

Photograph by Bowery Blue Makers

Jeans – with their standardized pockets, rivets, and denim – are so much a part of everyday wardrobes that they are easy to overlook. Yet, in workshops across the nation, independent makers are reevaluating the garment and creating jeans by hand, using antiquated equipment and denim woven on midcentury looms. Crafting Denim explores how and why jeans have come to exist at the intersections of industry and craft, modernity, and tradition.

A product of industrial factory production for over a century, jeans are being recast by a new cohort of small-scale makers including craftspeople like Ryan Martin of W.H. Ranch Dungarees, Takayuki Echigoya of Bowery Blue Makers, and Sarah Yarborough and Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Denim, who favor choice materials and small-batch fabrication. The jeans they make merge craft traditions with industry and extend the conversation between hand and machine.

Each maker creates a distinctive product but shares a deep appreciation for materials, tools, history, and denim. These jeans are in dialogue with the past and in line with contemporary interests in sustainability. The small workshops featured here are sites of innovation and preservation, and visitors are invited to take a close look at an everyday item and imagine alternative contexts for making and living in our own clothes.

Italian Renaissance Alive
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am
Biltmore Estate

Explore Biltmore House with an Audio Guide that introduces you to the Vanderbilt family and their magnificent home’s history, architecture, and collections of fine art and furnishings.

PLUS: Immersive, multi-sensory Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition created by Grande Experiences

PLUS: FREE next-day access to Biltmore’s Gardens and Grounds

This visit includes access to:

  • Italian Renaissance Alive at Amherst at Deerpark®
  • 8,000 Acres of Gardens and Grounds for two consecutive days
  • Antler Hill Village & Winery
  • Complimentary Wine Tastings at the Winery
  • Tastings require a Day-of-Visit Reservation, which can be made by:
    • Scanning the QR Code found in your Estate Guide
    • Visiting any Guest Services location
  • Complimentary parking

Art Exhibition: Italian Renaissance Alive

This fascinating experience takes you on a spellbinding tour of Italy, fully immersing you in the beauty and brilliance of iconic masterworks from the greatest artistic period in history

Pop-up Mini Fair at the Folk Art Center
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Folk Art Center
Gatherings of Artists + Writers Coffee
Jun 3 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center

TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community.

The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am.

No RSVP needed, just drop by!

Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Curators’ Talk
Jun 3 @ 11:00 am
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

Curators’ Talk with Eric Baden, David Miranda, and Diana Stoll, with special guests, visiting artists Lake Verea (Francisca Rivero-Lake Cortina and Carla Verea Hernández)

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition, Publication, and Public Programming

Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a small but remarkably influential liberal arts school in rural North Carolina, had important links to Mexico that until now have been little investigated. A crucible of twentieth-century creativity, BMC galvanized and inspired artists and intellectuals from around the world, while Mexico’s innovations and age-old traditions—in fine and applied arts, architecture, poetry, music, performance, and more—dovetailed with, and indeed drove, global impulses toward modernism and beyond. Among the many key BMC figures whose lives were importantly touched by experiences in Mexico were Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Jean Charlot, Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Carlos Mérida, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, Clara Porset, M.C. Richards, and Aaron Siskind. In turn, engagements with BMC and its legacy have played a significant role in shaping contemporary approaches to art in Mexico, evident in the works of Jorge Méndez Blake, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jose Dávila, Gerda Gruber, Lake Verea, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega, among others.

The exhibition BMC/MX features works by these and other prominent contemporary Mexican artists alongside a selection of historic works by BMC artists, highlighting the ways in which ideas and modalities are translated across materials, space, and time.

Related programming, planned in collaboration with Mexican artists, features a series of public events, including a performance by artist (and BMC/MX co-curator) David Miranda to take place at Different Wrld; an exhibition visit (in Spanish and English) with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden; and a series of experiential art events in the BMCM+AC library.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Black Mountain College and Mexico (forthcoming late summer 2023), which investigates the people, ideas, and practices linking BMC and Mexico during the life of the school, as well as resonances between BMC and the work of contemporary Mexican artists. With contributions by BMC/MX’s curators, as well as by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, design scholar Ana Elena Mallet, and author and activist Margaret Randall, this fully illustrated volume brings new light to this complex and underexplored subject.

BMC/MX is an investigation into modes of communication—the arenas in which new ideas and alliances may come to be—between Black Mountain College and Mexico, between past and present, between form and idea.

About the Curators

BMC/MX’s Project Director Eric Baden is a photographer and from 1994 to 2022 was professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is the founding director of photo+, a multidisciplinary arts event held in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist and educator David Miranda is curator at the Museo Experimental El Eco (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), and teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

Diana Stoll is an editor, writer and curator who works with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has served as an editor at Aperture and Artforum magazines, and contributes writings to prominent arts publications.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition
Jun 3 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition, Publication, and Public Programming

Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a small but remarkably influential liberal arts school in rural North Carolina, had important links to Mexico that until now have been little investigated. A crucible of twentieth-century creativity, BMC galvanized and inspired artists and intellectuals from around the world, while Mexico’s innovations and age-old traditions—in fine and applied arts, architecture, poetry, music, performance, and more—dovetailed with, and indeed drove, global impulses toward modernism and beyond. Among the many key BMC figures whose lives were importantly touched by experiences in Mexico were Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Jean Charlot, Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Carlos Mérida, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, Clara Porset, M.C. Richards, and Aaron Siskind. In turn, engagements with BMC and its legacy have played a significant role in shaping contemporary approaches to art in Mexico, evident in the works of Jorge Méndez Blake, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jose Dávila, Gerda Gruber, Lake Verea, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega, among others.

The exhibition BMC/MX features works by these and other prominent contemporary Mexican artists alongside a selection of historic works by BMC artists, highlighting the ways in which ideas and modalities are translated across materials, space, and time.

Related programming, planned in collaboration with Mexican artists, features a series of public events, including a performance by artist (and BMC/MX co-curator) David Miranda to take place at Different Wrld; an exhibition visit (in Spanish and English) with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden; and a series of experiential art events in the BMCM+AC library.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Black Mountain College and Mexico (forthcoming late summer 2023), which investigates the people, ideas, and practices linking BMC and Mexico during the life of the school, as well as resonances between BMC and the work of contemporary Mexican artists. With contributions by BMC/MX’s curators, as well as by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, design scholar Ana Elena Mallet, and author and activist Margaret Randall, this fully illustrated volume brings new light to this complex and underexplored subject.

BMC/MX is an investigation into modes of communication—the arenas in which new ideas and alliances may come to be—between Black Mountain College and Mexico, between past and present, between form and idea.

About the Curators

BMC/MX’s Project Director Eric Baden is a photographer and from 1994 to 2022 was professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is the founding director of photo+, a multidisciplinary arts event held in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist and educator David Miranda is curator at the Museo Experimental El Eco (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), and teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

Diana Stoll is an editor, writer and curator who works with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has served as an editor at Aperture and Artforum magazines, and contributes writings to prominent arts publications.

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper
Jun 3 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Paul Wong, Carbon, silver and gold, 2016, pigmented linen and cotton pulp, publisher: Dieu Donné, New York, edition 3/25, 18 × 11 inches. Gift of Dieu Donné, New York, 2022.27.06. © Paul Wong.

On View March 8 through July 24, 2023
The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery • Level 1

Paper is an essential part of the art-making process for many artists, serving as the base for drawing, painting, printmaking, and other forms of art. As a substrate, paper can vary in weight, absorbency, color, size, and other aspects. Since industrialization, paper has primarily been produced through mechanical means that allow for consistency and affordability.

What happens, then, when an artist chooses to return to the foundations of paper, wherein it is made by hand using pulps, fibers, and dyes that reflect the human element through variations, inconsistencies, flaws, and surprises? Certain artists have sought out these qualities and embraced them, making paper not just a support on which to work, but fully a medium in and of itself.

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, former assistant curator, with assistance from Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant. Special thanks to Dieu Donné, New York, NY.

Grandfather Presents: William Mangum
Jun 3 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

Join us for a beautiful journey celebrating our state’s treasures through an artist’s eyes with “North Carolina Beautiful by Artist William Mangum.” The one-hour presentation begins at 2 p.m. inside the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery and is included with your daily admission ticket (free with Bridge Club Annual Pass). This is part of our Grandfather Presents Series.

From the barrier reefs of the Outer Banks to the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina is a splendor for all to see. William Mangum has celebrated the majesty of the Old North State for more than 40 years with his glorious paintings. Explore, Celebrate and Protect are the essence of this prolific artist’s mission. He has created more than 4,000 original works of art from around the world, but it is his beloved state of North Carolina that he considers an artist’s paradise.

With more than a dozen books and two PBS documentaries of his work, Mangum takes you on a journey though the state as he captures the ordinary and turns it into the extraordinary with the stroke of his brush. From well-known landmarks to colorful out-of-the-way places, Mangum’s unique perspective leaves the viewer mystified by the variety and substance he captures in each work.

Bill also recognizes the importance of conservation and preservation. Grandfather Mountain is a perfect example of Bill’s collaboration with organizations that preserve the crown jewels of North Carolina. Hugh Morton was not only a fan of Bill’s artwork but a leading contributor in his most storied project, “CAROLINA PRESERVES,” a magnificent coffee table book and documentary by PBS. For more about Bill’s art: Williammangum.com.

Please RSVP below for the event in advance. Last-minute walk-ins welcome as seating allows. Chat with the speaker 30 minutes before and after.

Just Brew It
Jun 3 @ 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Pisgah Brewing Company

Just Brew It is a homebrew competition and tasting in Asheville benefiting the work of Just Economics. The festival features 75+ different beers and 30+ amazing homebrewers. The competing homebrewers are some of the finest specialty homebrewers in the region with classic brews from traditional IPAs, lagers, sours, and stouts to unique beers brewed with specialty items like coffee, chocolate, spices, and fruit.

To attend, you must be a current member of Just Economics. This event is not ticketed, so you must purchase a membership prior to the event. Then, all Just Economics members can sample the homebrews and vote for their favorites!

Purchase your membership here: https://www.justeconomicswnc.org/donate/

Memberships are $30, which grants you entry to the event.
Memberships with a VIP package are $50, which grant you entry to the event an hour early (1:00pm) plus a souvenir glass, gourmet pretzel, and more.

This is a local festival you won’t want to miss and your membership supports the work of Just Economics to advance living wages, affordable housing and better transit! Hope to see you there!

McNair Evans Exhibition Opening + Artist Talk
Jun 3 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tracey Morgan Gallery

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “Tomorrow Ever Comes,” an exhibition by San Francisco based photographer McNair Evans. This is Evans’ second exhibition with the gallery.

Between 2012 and 2022 McNair Evans took 11 trips around the United States traveling by Amtrak, systematically covering every route within their passenger rail system with a cumulative 1,050 hours spent onboard. Photographing fellow passengers, passing landscapes, Amtrak workers, and interior train scenes, Evans’ photographs communicate a persistent hope within this once ubiquitous form of travel.

Prints are exhibited unframed and in a range of sizes – adhered directly to the wall and laid out in a lyrical aesthetic. Collaboration between photographer and subject comprises a strong component of the work, and the installation reflects the togetherness of train travel and Evans’ immersive process. Facsimiles of stories that Evans solicited from fellow passengers along his many trips are installed in a loose, interactive manner intended to encourage personal engagement.

Train interiors are inherently liminal spaces – while the passengers change, the backdrop stays the same – the effect is democratizing. While there is an ethos of in-between-ness to all forms of travel, for the simple reason that it’s what happens between “here” and “there,” train travel exaggerates this experience simply by its slowness and because the trains themselves are tethered to the ground, moving deliberately through swaths of roadless landscape. Awash in intoxicating light, Evans’s images elicit a sense of longing – a palpable feeling of being together alone. They remind us how to share public space for a common advantage and evoke a profound impulse to linger.

McNair Evans is a nationally exhibited artist and active guest lecturer. He grew up in Laurinburg, NC where he worked repairing crossties and tracks for a 32-mile freight railroad. He discovered photography as an anthropology student at Davidson College while recording the oral history for an Appalachian family in Madison County, NC. His first monograph, “Confessions for a Son,” was published by Owl & Tiger Books in 2014. Evans is the recipient of numerous awards including a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (2016), the Innovation in Documentary Arts Award from Duke University (2017), and the John Gutmann Photography Fellowship (2014). His photographs have been featured in numerous publications including Harper’s Magazine, Oxford American, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, as well as on the cover of William Faulkner’s novel, “Flags in the Dust.” His books and prints are held in public and private collections including the Sir Elton John Collection, SFMOMA, UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Bizarre Sábado 1 – Theorem of Apocryphal Manifestos, performative action by David Miranda
Jun 3 @ 8:00 pm
Different Wrld

Bizarre Sábado

During the course of the exhibition, BMCM+AC will host a series of experiential art events. These “Bizarre Sábado” happenings are inspired by Mexico City’s Bazaar Sábado, the innovative gathering place and crafts market first organized in 1960 by BMC alum Cynthia Sargent and her husband Wendell Riggs. The Bazaar Sábado continues to this day.

Bizarre Sábado 1

Theorem of Apocryphal Manifestos, performative action by David Miranda

Bizarre Sábado 2

Chat with Curator Eric Baden / Charla con curador Eric Baden / ¡Hola! Asheville Festival

Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 2–5pm

@ Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {120 College Street, Asheville, NC}

Bizarre Sábado 3: Saturday, June 17, 2023 – 1–5pm

Bizarre Sábado 4: Saturday, July 1, 2023 – 1–5pm

Bizarre Sábado 5: Saturday, July 15, 2023 – 1–5pm

Bizarre Sábado 6: Saturday, July 29, 2023 – 1–5pm

A series of performative and experiential actions featuring local artists @ Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center Library {120 College Street, Asheville, NC}

Bizarre Sábado 7

Black Night/Noche Negra: Photographs of Mexico—Slideshow with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 – 8pm

@ Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {120 College Street, Asheville, NC}

Bizarre Sábado 8

Zine Release Celebration and Presentation of selected works from the Abraham Cruzvillegas Call for Art

Saturday, September 2, 2023 – 1–8pm

@ Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {120 College Street, Asheville, NC}

and Lamplight AVL {821 Haywood Rd. Asheville, NC}

As part of the BMC/MX project, students and artists have been invited to engage creatively with visual prompts offered by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas. Images of the resulting artworks will be compiled into a zine (available at BMCM+AC in September 2023), and selected works will be on display at Lamplight AVL on September 2.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition, Publication, and Public Programming

Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a small but remarkably influential liberal arts school in rural North Carolina, had important links to Mexico that until now have been little investigated. A crucible of twentieth-century creativity, BMC galvanized and inspired artists and intellectuals from around the world, while Mexico’s innovations and age-old traditions—in fine and applied arts, architecture, poetry, music, performance, and more—dovetailed with, and indeed drove, global impulses toward modernism and beyond. Among the many key BMC figures whose lives were importantly touched by experiences in Mexico were Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Jean Charlot, Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Carlos Mérida, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, Clara Porset, M.C. Richards, and Aaron Siskind. In turn, engagements with BMC and its legacy have played a significant role in shaping contemporary approaches to art in Mexico, evident in the works of Jorge Méndez Blake, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jose Dávila, Gerda Gruber, Lake Verea, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega, among others.

The exhibition BMC/MX features works by these and other prominent contemporary Mexican artists alongside a selection of historic works by BMC artists, highlighting the ways in which ideas and modalities are translated across materials, space, and time.

Related programming, planned in collaboration with Mexican artists, features a series of public events, including a performance by artist (and BMC/MX co-curator) David Miranda to take place at Different Wrld; an exhibition visit (in Spanish and English) with BMC/MX Project Director Eric Baden; and a series of experiential art events in the BMCM+AC library.

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Black Mountain College and Mexico (forthcoming late summer 2023), which investigates the people, ideas, and practices linking BMC and Mexico during the life of the school, as well as resonances between BMC and the work of contemporary Mexican artists. With contributions by BMC/MX’s curators, as well as by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, design scholar Ana Elena Mallet, and author and activist Margaret Randall, this fully illustrated volume brings new light to this complex and underexplored subject.

BMC/MX is an investigation into modes of communication—the arenas in which new ideas and alliances may come to be—between Black Mountain College and Mexico, between past and present, between form and idea.

About the Curators

BMC/MX’s Project Director Eric Baden is a photographer and from 1994 to 2022 was professor of photography at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is the founding director of photo+, a multidisciplinary arts event held in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist and educator David Miranda is curator at the Museo Experimental El Eco (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), and teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

Diana Stoll is an editor, writer and curator who works with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has served as an editor at Aperture and Artforum magazines, and contributes writings to prominent arts publications.

Sunday, June 4, 2023
2023 Toe River Arts Studio Tour
Jun 4 all-day
Mitchell and Yancey Counties

The art is as diverse as the artists with the tour featuring the work of glassblowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, fiber artists, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, and woodworkers.

Mark your calendars for the 2023 Toe River Arts Spring Studio Tour, happening June 2 – June 4, 2023.

This driving tour through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the talented studio artists and galleries participating.

Please have a look at the tour website to begin planning your visit.

Asheville Art Museum 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund
Jun 4 all-day
online w/ Asheville Art Museum

Celebrate with us by contributing to the future of the arts in Western North Carolina.

 

Make your 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund donation today!

! The Diamond Anniversary is a time to honor our rich heritage and—more importantly—envision our future as the premier visual arts organization in this vibrant, creative region.

 

Founded in 1948 by a group of local artists to showcase the scope and depth of creativity in Western North Carolina (WNC), the Museum brings art of international significance to the region and encourages lively, diverse dialogue.

 

The Museum’s original home was a modest, unheated, three-room building on Charlotte Street in the former sales office of Dr. E.W. Grove. The building was designed by Richard Sharp Smith and provided to the Museum by the City of Asheville. Exhibitions by local painters and sculptors could only be staged in warmer weather, and Sunday afternoon receptions gave the community an opportunity to view original art and to listen to artists talk about their work. By the 1950s, the Museum had become an invaluable part of Asheville’s cultural life. It also began acquiring artworks for its Collection.

 

Three quarters of a century later, the Museum has evolved into the preeminent cultural and educational hub for WNC—welcoming tens of thousands of visitors annually, hosting several major exhibitions each year, holding scores of special programs, and housing its Collection of more than 7,500 works in its state-of-the-art Pack Square location. From its humble beginnings on Charlotte Street to its breathtaking permanent home in the heart of downtown Asheville, the Museum has remained dedicated to Its mission to engage, enlighten, and inspire individuals and enrich the community through dynamic experiences in American art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

 

The Asheville Art Museum was built, cherished, and supported by the community throughout the past 75 years. Our anniversary celebration will give back through community partnerships and special programs, and by creating new reasons to visit or become a Member. We hope you’ll join us at one (or all) of our Diamond Anniversary special events: the 2023 Gala on June 17th, the 75th Anniversary Community Day Celebration in August, and the 75th Anniversary Dance Party in November!

 

Asheville Regional Airport: art exhibit highlighting local artists
Jun 4 all-day
Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)

Edge, the newest exhibit showing in the airport art gallery, is open to the public now through July 21, 2022. The local art is unique, bold and is sure to capture the imaginations of its viewers.

The local artists’ work featured in this exhibit consist of many different mediums. Diane Bronstein creates complex and mesmerizing pieces with photographs, embroidery floss and other materials. Susan Devitt uses bold colors and vivid details to capture the beauty and possibilities of nature with her acrylic paintings. Jen Pacicci crafts peaceful and majestic collages of landscapes using watercolor and torn paper. Kurt Ross designs clay vessels of varying materials and glazes that are each unique in their thoughtful and clean design. Paul Silverman presents ceramic figures of various tools and vintage items that trick the eye in their realistic appearance and awe with their attention to detail.

 

“The Edge exhibit welcomes travelers and residents to Asheville with a vibrant and unique display this spring at AVL,” said Alexandra Ingle, Brand and Experience Designer at AVL and curator of the gallery. “We are excited at each gallery opening to bring a fresh taste of our talented WNC art community into the airport.”

 

Artwork can be purchased from the gallery by emailing [email protected]. Details about the program and how to apply can be found on the airport’s website at flyavl.com.

AVL’s Arts Build Community Grant
Jun 4 all-day
online

Since 2018, the Arts Build Community grant supports innovative, arts-based projects that inspire diverse groups of participants to be more active, involved, and civically-engaged by creating together. Grants range from $1,000-2,500.

Arts and culture are a fundamental part of our community. They help us connect with one another and better understand history, people, and new ideas. When people become involved in the design, creation, and upkeep of places, they develop a vested interest in using and maintaining these spaces. When neighbors have a true sense of “ownership” or connection to the places they frequent, the community becomes a better place to live, work, and visit.

Description & Eligibility

Organizations must have been in operation for at least one year and be physically located in Buncombe County. Priority is given to projects based in low-income neighborhoods and communities in need.

The arts must be centered in the proposed project. Funds may be used to cover expenses such as art supplies, professional artists’ fees and travel, space rental, advertising, marketing and publicity, website and electronic media, scripts, costumes, sets, props, music and equipment rental.

Funds are for projects taking place from July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024. This can be a reimbursement for projects occurring during this funding period that have already taken place or for projects that have not yet occurred. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2024.