Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence… and special powers! She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely smooth sailing, however – the school’s mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils’ saving grace!

Join the Asheville Performing Arts Academy’s Prep Academy in their workshop version of Matilda.

This event is for anyone over the age of 18 who would like to attend a Small Group painting class. All supplies are included, along with the space and the teacher, mask and vaccination cards are required. This is a 2 hours class with a couple 10 minute breaks. It could last up to 3 hours depending on the nature of the class. There is high ph water and two restrooms at the facility but no snacks or drinks are allowed at the tables to keep everything safe at the time. This is a fun class where we mingle and visit, meet new people and are taken step by step through a full painting all supplies are included. You take the painting home with you after the class. The location is on ground level and there is plenty of parking available. The teacher has her masters in studio art with a focus on painting and is happy to guide novis painters step by step through the painting process. Showing them everything from mixing the paint pallet to applying the paint to the canvas. We are centrally located on Merrimon ave. and the location is very easy to find as we are in business here. You can call as well we are in suite #2 at the Beaver Lake Office Suites at 959 Merrimon Ave. We are in the upper buildings right off Merrimon.

ALGORITHM & BLUES: A DATING SKETCH SHOW

By George Awad, Katie Jones, Travis Lowe, and Jason Phillips
Directed by Jason Phillips

Have the dating apps got you down? Does your emotional well-being Hinge on getting a response from a potential love Match(.com)? Why not laugh it off with some locally sourced comedy centered around the joy and awkwardness of dating! Bring a date, or better yet bring your support group and laugh until you cry. All coupled up? Then come for the schadenfreude! An uproarious evening poking fun at the trials and tribulations of modern dating, featuring live music, bad date stories, and dancing Yentas!

Content Warning: Contains adult material

Asheville’s own Justin Ray has has earned a reputation as a fiery and compelling trumpet soloist, comfortable in a wide variety of styles. He has toured 45 countries, appeared on Grammy-winning recordings, and has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Justin received a scholarship after high school to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston where he graduated with a Degree in Music Education and performed with a number of different ensembles. He completed his Masters Degree at the University of Southern California and fast became one of the most in-demand jazz trumpeters in the region, performing with artists including Bill Cunliffe, Alan Pasqua, Joe LaBarb

Reserved Seat Tickets are available with Dinner reservations – You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 to make dinner reservations and secure those tickets.

General Admission Tickets are available for the main stage balcony only. Seating in the balcony is first come, first serve. Dinner service is NOT currently being offered for general admission tickets.; drink service is available at the downstairs bar on the main floor.

You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 for Reserve Seat Tickets and to make dinner reservations.

Proof of Vaccination or Negative Covid Test w/i 48 Hours :: Masks are Required

All ticket sales are final.

There are few artists capable of appealing to music fans of all stripes, and Alan Doyle is one of them. From the moment he burst onto the scene in the early 1990s with his band Great Big Sea, Canadians fell in love with the pride of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, whose boundless charisma and sense of humour was eclipsed only by his magnetic stage presence.

His influence is now being heard in a new generation of artists as his solo work continues to endear him to roots music fans everywhere. That’s clearly evident on Alan’s new EP Rough Side Out, which finds him collaborating with Canadian country music superstars Dean Brody and Jess Moskaluke, while at the same time offering his own distinctive interpretation of contemporary country.

The seeds for Rough Side Out were planted in 2012 when Brody asked Great Big Sea to record the song “It’s Friday” with him for the Platinum-selling album Dirt. For Alan, that was the moment he realized the door to the country music world was open for he and other east coast Celtic-leaning artists, and since then he’s warmly embraced building closer ties. “My personal journey with the whole thing has been very organic,” Alan says. “When my parents weren’t listening to traditional folk music, they were listening to country music on the radio. So, when I began creating my own musical identity, I was inspired by artists who were able to blend those two worlds.”

The same could be said of the songwriting and production team on Rough Side Out, which includes Alan’s frequent collaborators Donovan Woods and Todd Clark. Both have been bringing a new sensibility to Nashville, in part due to their individual backgrounds within the Canadian independent music scene, making Rough Side Out a natural progression of their past work with Alan.

“The songs on this record all have strong personal meaning to me,” he says. “I believe the best songwriters in any genre are the ones who can look in their own backyard and find something they want to sing about. In a way, that’s why I wanted to call this record Rough Side Out. It’s a Newfoundland expression I love and have used before that refers to clapboard that’s only sanded on one side. Houses in Newfoundland always have the rough side out because it holds the paint better, but it’s also a metaphor for who we are as people. Most of us have the rough side out— in the best possible way, of course.”

Fittingly, the EP’s first single is a reunion with Dean Brody, “We Don’t Wanna Go Home,” a rousing ode to having the perfect night out at your favourite watering hole. It’s a theme that carries on from Rough Side Out’s opening track, “We’re Gonna Love Tonight,” a celebration of freedom that bears all the hallmarks of an Alan Doyle anthem aimed at bringing people together. And what country music excursion would be complete without a classic duet? That was the basic idea behind recording “What the Whiskey Won’t Do” with Jess Moskaluke, a thrilling first-time experience for Alan.

“I’ve always wanted to do this kind of duet,” he says. “I’d written songs like that for other people but never for myself. I had the title in my back pocket for a while, and it was a case of just waiting until the right circumstances came along. And being such a fan of Jess, she was the perfect person to sing it with, mainly because her voice has so much more range than mine!”

The song describes a couple turning to the bottle in order to get over each other and serves as a reminder of the dangers of overindulgence. Along with the EP’s other great ballad, “It’s OK,” “What the Whiskey Won’t Do” underscores Alan’s long-time work in support of addiction and mental health organizations. However, in a purely musical vein, Alan felt a lot of personal satisfaction in capturing a note-perfect cover of John Mellencamp’s “Paper in Fire,” led by his renowned fiddle player Kendel Carson.

“I think in some ways that song really tied the whole project together,” Alan says. “First off, it’s a song I’ve always loved and always wanted to record. But to do it justice, you really need the right players, and the people we had for these sessions could absolutely nail it. The song also shows the change in how country music is perceived. I think if Mellencamp released The Lonesome Jubilee today, it would be regarded as a country album.”

Listening habits have indeed changed dramatically and looking back it’s incredible how the humble group of Newfoundlanders who formed Great Big Sea—with a simple goal of bringing their modern take on the music of their home province to mainstream ears—made such an indelible mark on a national scale. But with songs like “When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down),” “Ordinary Day,” and their cover of R.E.M.’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” now ingrained upon the Canadian consciousness, there can be no disputing Great Big Sea’s status as one of the country’s most influential bands of the past three decades.

Now as we enter a new decade of music, the notion of genres feels even more antiquated. Connecting with as many listeners as possible continues to be Alan’s top priority, and he cheekily admits he tried to stack the deck in his favour with the EP’s final track “I Gotta Go.” It’s a tailor-made concert staple if there ever was, containing the soon-to-be immortal line, “20 songs if they love me, only 18 if they don’t.” At this point, it would be hard to find any Alan Doyle fan who would choose to leave a show until he’s expended every ounce of energy on stage.

Ultimately, Rough Side Out is an Alan Doyle record, which remains a category all its own.

Our first exhibition of the year, Of Body & Mind, explores the connection between form and soul. Both functional and sculptural glass work is displayed. Artists are encouraged to expand the concept beyond static objects. The show exhibits work of glass artists living in Western North Carolina or who have a connection to the area. The exhibit is open during our regular gallery hours in D Space. Closed Tuesdays. Masks required. A reception will be announced at a later date. Featured artwork: ‘Be Here Now’ by Ben Greene-Colonnese.

Showcase of Excellence features the exceptional artistic talent of high school students in our area. This premier event is a juried fine arts competition that offers young artists their first taste of a professional gallery environment. Cash prizes are awarded for the top student artists and teachers.

High school teachers in North and South Carolina are invited to submit their students’ best work in painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, and photography.

First Prize and Best in Show students are awarded a cash prize to encourage their artist pursuits. Winning teachers are awarded a Be Inspired Grant that they may use for classroom projects. These prizes are made possible by our generous donors.

The 2022 Showcase of Excellence will held from February 19 – March 12 in the Parker Gallery at TFAC.

Information about registration and Showcase rules can be found below.

Olivia Jones, Face Vessel, Ceramics & Glass, Silsa-Asheville High School, Grade 12. 2022 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards, Gold Key award.

The Asheville Art Museum has announced the regional award recipients of the 2022 Scholastic Art Awards and artworks will be on view at the Museum.

The regional program is judged in two groups: Group I, grades 7–8 and Group II, grades 9–12. Out of 540 total art entries, 190 works have been recognized by the judges, and Gold and Silver Key award-winning artworks are featured in this exhibition while honorable mentions will be featured digitally. The 2022 regional judges include local artists and educators Brandy Bourne, Jenny Pickens, and M. Paige Taylor. Those works receiving Gold Keys have been submitted to compete in the 99th 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 2022 National Scholastic Art Awards. Award winners include students from public, private, homeschools, and charter schools in Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Rutherford. Since the program’s founding in 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students, and include a distinguished list of alumni including Andy Warhol, who received recognition in the Awards when he was a teen. National Gold Key medalists will be announced in March 2022 and honored during a special awards ceremony in June 2022. For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit the Scholastic Newsroom: mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting. Citations (left to right): Wen Yaxuan, Shakivatou, Painting, Asheville School, Grade 12. 2022 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards, Gold Key award. | Gracie Hart, Fly, Drawing & Illustration, West Henderson High School, Grade 11. 2022 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards, Gold Key award. About the Asheville Art Museum   The Museum’s galleries, the Museum Store, Art PLAYce, and Perspective Café are open with limited capacity. The Frances Mulhall Achilles Art Research Library remains temporarily closed. The Museum welcomes visitors Wednesday through Monday from 11am to 6pm, with late-night Thursdays from 11am to 9pm. The Museum is closed on Tuesdays. General admission is always free for Museum Members, UNC Asheville students, active-duty military personnel with valid ID, and children under 6; $15 per adult; $13 per senior (65+); and $10 per student (child 6–17 or degree-seeking college students with valid ID). Admission tickets are available at ashevilleart.org/visit. Visitors may become Members at the welcome desk during their visit or online at ashevilleart.org/membership.

Rhiannon Skye Tafoya (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Ul’nigid’, 2020, letterpress (photopolymer and Bembo & Cherokee Syllabary metal type) printed on handmade & color plan paper with paperweaving, closed: 11 × 11 ¼ inches, assembled: 23 ½ × 11 ¼ × 5 ⁵⁄₈ inches. Courtesy the Artist. © Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, image Rhiannon Skye Tafoya.

Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art features over 50 works of art in a variety of media by 30+ Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Cherokee Nation artists. The exhibition highlights the use of the written Cherokee language, a syllabary developed by Cherokee innovator Sequoyah (circa 1776–1843). Cherokee syllabary is frequently found in the work of Cherokee artists as a compositional element or the subject matter of the work itself. The exhibition will be on view at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC from June 12, 2021 to October 31, 2021, and in the Asheville Art Museum’s Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall from November 19, 2021 to March 14, 2022. The Cherokee Syllabary is a system of writing developed by Sequoyah in the early 1800s prior to the Removal period. Through Sequoyah’s innovative work, Cherokee people embraced the writing system as an expedient form of communication and documentation. During the Removal period, the syllabary was used as a tactic to combat land dispossession. Cherokee people continue to use the syllabary as a form of cultural expression and pride, which is showcased in the contemporary artwork of the Cherokee Citizens in this exhibition. “We’re pleased to host this gathering of works from contemporary Cherokee artists, who perfectly illustrate how our language is a living and evolving part of who we are. It’s moving to see how each artist finds inspiration in their own way from this language that connects us as Cherokee people,” said Shana Bushyhead Condill, executive director of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. “The Asheville Art Museum and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian have been long-term collaborators, and we are delighted to further our partnership by working together to manage an open call to Cherokee artists and subsequently curate this exciting exhibition of contemporary works that take inspiration from, celebrate, preserve and interpret the syllabary,” said Pamela L. Myers, executive director of the Asheville Art Museum. “On view at both museums, we hope the exhibition engages a wide and diverse audience in dialogue with these extraordinary works.” A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator at the Asheville Art Museum, with assistance from curatorial consultant Joshua Adams (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). Special thanks to S. Dakota Brown, education director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant at the Asheville Art Museum, for their support in the planning of this exhibition. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership, and sponsored in part by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and Kevin Click & April Liou in memory of Myron E. Click. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artists include Joshua Adams, Jody Lipscomb Bradley, Nathan Bush, Kane Crowe, John Henry Gloyne, Shan Goshorn, Luzene Hill, Christy Long, Louise Bigmeat Maney, Christopher McCoy, Tara McCoy, Joel Queen, Sean Ross, Jakeli Swimmer, Rhiannon Skye Tafoya, Mary Thompson, Stan Tooni Jr.,  Alica Wildcatt, and Fred Wilnoty. Cherokee Nation artists include Roy Boney Jr., Jeff Edwards, Joseph Erb, Raychel Foster, Kenny Glass, Camilla McGinty, Jessica Mehta, America Meredith, Jane Osti, Lisa Rutherford, Janet L. Smith, Jennifer Thiessen, and Jennie Wilson. About the Museum of the Cherokee Indian Established in 1948, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian is one of the longest operating tribal museums. Recognized for its innovative storytelling, the Museum features exhibits, artwork, and hands-on technology that brings over 15,000 years of Cherokee history to life. Located in Cherokee, NC, the Museum is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Learn more by visiting mci.org.

Asheville Gallery of Art March 2022 Exhibit, New Members Show“Color Dance” will feature works by four new gallery members: Anne Marie Brown, Raquel Egosi, JoAnn Pippin, and Cindy Shaw. The show will run March 1-31 during gallery hours, 11am-6pm. An event to meet the artists will be held at the gallery on First Friday, March 4, from 5-8pm at 82 Patton Avenue. These four exciting artists have selected “Color Dance” as the theme for their show. Paintings are generally static and are confined within a frame. The combined creative energy of these artists has seemingly moved beyond these limits, to create beautiful expressions of dynamic, moving shapes, captured within a spatial environment. They wish their works to evoke thoughts, emotions, and awareness to celebrate the sentient meaning of life. Please join us for “Color Dance” to revel in the paintings presented by these new gallery artists. They will deliver dynamic color, vibrancy, and hue into scenes that will dance their way into your heart. Anne Marie Brown began painting when, as a florist, she would paint small watercolors of her floral designs. She has exhibited in outdoor shows for over ten years and has had exhibitions in numerous galleries. Now settled in the mountains, she is inspired to paint the sweeping vistas and flora and fauna within. Anne Marie works in watercolor, gouache, oil, and acrylic, and hopes the images that touch her heart and canvas will touch yours as well. Color is music to my eyes. The song that is created on the canvas makes my heart dance. Raquel EgosiRaquel’s art career began in 1996 in Brazil. Studying with acclaimed artists and attending a variety of painting classes, she was active in her local art community, collaborating and setting up art shows. She currently participates regularly in gallery shows and museum exhibitions. Her art sells internationally, and she leads workshops for mixed media techniques in both the United States and overseas. Constructed using a variety of mixed media, my compositions are exceedingly rich in color and texture, with partial or fully figurative and abstract elements. JoAnn Pippin, her passion is to explore different watercolor techniques, with her subjects. Her paintings have been exhibited in juried art shows throughout the US, and her focus is on color, composition, and texture, to create light and mood through technique. The theme “Color Dance” is especially meaningful to watercolorists, because we literally watch color dance and blend when we add wet paint to wet paper. It is not simply mixing colors on the palette and placing them in our work, but the excitement of observing the action as they blend and mingle to create wonderful new hues. Cindy Shaw originally trained as an Architect and worked for many years on projects as well as teaching. However, when her husband’s career took her to rural Italy, she purchased art supplies and began to paint. While there, she enjoyed exploring the Italian countryside and capturing “le viste belle!”. Returning home to the USA, she has continued to grow and develop as an impressionist artist over the past decade. “Color adds depth and meaning, not only to our paintings, but also to our outlook on life. Color can be joyful, dramatic, and exciting.”

Robert Rauschenberg, John from the Ruminations series, 1999, photogravure on paper, edition 3/46, publisher: Universal Limited Art Editions, Bay Shore, NY, 29 ½ × 38 7/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Ruminations on Memory contends with the act of remembrance and reflection, featuring a rare presentation of all nine prints from Robert Rauschenberg’s Ruminations portfolio, Judy Chicago’s Retrospective in a Box portfolio, and selections from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator, this exhibition will be on view in Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall at the Museum from November 19, 2021 through March 14, 2022 in conjunction with A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art. 

Artworks are vessels for processing, recalling, and reflecting on the past. Artists often draw upon materials from their own pasts and grasp at fleeting moments in time in the creation of an object. For the viewer, observation of an artwork can draw out personal memories.

Artworks in a variety of media explore various ways of remembering, including individual memories that focus on the moments from an artist’s past; generational memory that looks back to one’s ancestors, whether recent or long past; and collective memory, wherein in an image might evoke bygone times that balance between constructed and real. Through these artworks that ruminate upon the past, viewers may discover the stirrings of their own thoughts and recollections prompted by the works before them.

Ruminations on Memory offers a unique opportunity to experience the entirety of a major print portfolio by American painter Robert Rauschenberg (Port Arthur, TX 1925–2008 Captiva, FL). Rauschenberg was a student at Black Mountain College in NC for the 1948–1949 and 1951–1952 academic sessions and for the 1951 and 1952 summers. His Ruminations series consists of nine color photogravures which were printed in 1999 and reflect on Rauschenberg’s early life, his friends and family, and the memories he held dear. The series represents especially significant mature work by Rauschenberg that looks back to his most formative moments as an artist including his time at Black Mountain College and the friendships and ideas formed there.

Also presented in the exhibition is an important series of prints by Judy Chicago (born Chicago, IL 1939). Five decades into her career, Chicago stands as one of the foremost artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, having committed to socially minded work, uplifting in particular experiences salient to her feminine and Jewish identities. Retrospective in a Box consists of seven prints and a portfolio created in collaboration with the master printers at Landfall Press, and provides an overview of her major motifs and ideas, including the print Spring the Dinner, a nod to her seminal 1979 work The Dinner Party.

In addition to the artworks from the Museum’s Collection, visitors will be able to experience Felix Gonzales-Torres’s “Untitled” (L.A.), on loan from the Art Bridges collection. “Untitled” (L.A.) is one of the artist’s iconic interactive candy installations where memories are engaged not only through sight but through sound, touch, taste, and smell as well.

Learn more about Ruminations on Memory and A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art at ashevilleart.org.

Black Mountain College: Idea + Place Lower Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition How can an idea inform a place? How can a place inform an idea? Would Black Mountain College have had the same identity and lifespan if it had been located in the urban Northeast, the desert Southwest, or coastal California? How did BMC’s rather isolated, rural, and mountainous setting during the era of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow South influence the college community’s decision-making and the evolution of ideas upon which it was based? This exhibition seeks to delve into these questions and others by exploring the places of Black Mountain College: its two very different campuses, its influential predecessor the Bauhaus in Germany, and the post-BMC diaspora. Curated by Alice Sebrell, Director of Preservation

adVANCE! Modernism, Black Liberation + Black Mountain College Upper Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition Featuring the work of contemporary sculptor Larry Paul King in conversation with Black Mountain College modernist masters including Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Josef Albers, Leo Krikorian, and Sewell Sillman. Premiering three Jacob Lawrence lithographs new to the BMCM+AC permanent collection. adVANCE! celebrates Black Mountain College’s role in early civil rights and the ongoing role of Black, modernist artists in the pursuit of liberation and justice. Curated by Marie T. Cochran, Founder of the Affrilachian Artist Project

N. C. Wyeth, Eight Bells (Clyde Stanley and Andrew Wyeth aboard Eight Bells), 1937, oil on hardboard, 20 × 30 inches. Bank of America Collection

The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection provides a comprehensive survey of works by N. C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son, Andrew, an important realist painter; his eldest daughter, Henriette, a realist painter; and Andrew’s son Jamie, a popular portraitist. Through the works of these artists from three generations of the Wyeth family, themes of American history, artistic techniques, and creative achievements can be explored. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall February 12 through May 30, 2022.

N. C. Wyeth (1882–1945) has long been considered one of the nation’s leading illustrators. In the early 1900s, he studied with illustrator Howard Pyle in Delaware. In 1911, he built a house and studio in nearby Chadds Ford, PA. Later, he bought a sea captain’s house in Maine and in 1931 built a small studio, which he shared with his son, Andrew, and his daughters, Henriette and Carolyn. The exhibition includes illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes, and landscapes.

Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) is one of the United States’ most popular artists, and his paintings follow the American Realist tradition. He was influenced by the works of Winslow Homer, whose watercolor technique he admired, as well as by the art of Howard Pyle and his father, N. C. While Andrew painted recognizable images, his use of line and space often imbue his works with an underlying abstract quality. The exhibition includes important works from the 1970s and 1980s as well as recent paintings.

Henriette Wyeth (1907–1997) was the eldest daughter of N.C. Wyeth and an older sister to Andrew Wyeth. Like other members of her family, her painting style was realist in a time when Impressionism and Abstraction were popular in the early 20th century. She studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was an acclaimed portraitist, though perhaps not as widely known as her father and brother. Most notably she painted the portrait of First Lady, Pat Nixon, which is in the collection of The White House.

Jamie Wyeth (born 1946), like his father and grandfather, paints subjects of everyday life, in particular the landscapes, animals, and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. In contrast to his father—who painted with watercolor, drybrush, and tempera—Jamie works in oil and mixed media, creating lush painterly surfaces. The 18 paintings in the exhibition represent all periods of his career.

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.

Useful and Beautiful: Silvercraft by William Waldo Dodge features a selection of functional silver works by Dodge drawn from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator, this exhibition will be on view in the Debra McClinton Gallery at the Museum from February 23 through October 17, 2022.

William Waldo Dodge Jr. (Washington, DC 1895–1971 Asheville, NC) moved to Asheville in 1924 as a trained architect and a newly skilled silversmith. When he opened for business promoting his handwrought silver tableware, including plates, candlesticks, flatware (spoons, forks, and knives), and serving dishes, he did so in a true Arts and Crafts tradition. The aesthetics of the style were dictated by its philosophy: an artist’s handmade creation should reflect their hard work and skill, and the resulting artwork should highlight the material from which it was made. Dodge’s silver often displayed his hammer marks and inventive techniques, revealing the beauty of these useful household goods.

The Arts and Crafts style of England became popular in the United States in the early 1900s. Asheville was an early adopter of the movement because of the popularity and abundance of Arts and Crafts architecture in neighborhoods like Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Village, and the area around The Grove Park Inn. The title of this exhibition was taken from the famous quotation by one of the founding members of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, who said, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Not only did Dodge follow this suggestion; he contributed to American Arts and Crafts silver’s relevancy persisting almost halfway into the 20th century.

“It has been over 15 years since the Museum exhibited its collection of William Waldo Dodge silver and I am looking forward to displaying it in the new space with some new acquisitions added,” said Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Learn more at ashevilleart.org.

Arguably the most talented of the three Lange brother artists, TL Lange was an actual rockstar in Atlanta before he was an art rockstar in Asheville. “He was going to participate in the Fall Studio Stroll (2001) but something came up. He dropped a couple of cardboard jericho cases with random unstretched canvases & paper pieces for me to sell. This work is from that batch. It has never been viewed by the public before; some are for sale & others are only being shown.” –Stephen Lange. Twenty of these TL Lange paintings will be included in this exhibition as well as prints of Anonymous Bathers, one of his most noteworthy creations.TL Lange was born and raised in Charleston before studying drawing and painting at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. After spending about five years in Atlanta, where he first made a name for himself in the art world, he moved to North Carolina where he maintained his home and atelier until his untimely death at the age of 36. Lange started his work with “concrete visions”, and actually began several paintings at one time. He tried to allow some form of synchronicity to determine his next decision. As the artist said, “I make marks for the sake of themselves. I create error that I find attractive in all of our everyday lives. However, I leave it hanging three marks shy of discernment. What I mean by that is that I choose that it not be understood or to be scrutinized by its detail or its adherence to reality—only to be seen for its sense and its nostalgic response without my personal sentiment.” A figurative and abstract artist, TL Lange had exhibited in numerous, prominent galleries in his young career. A condensed list includes Artworks Gallery (Salt Lake City, UT), Art Works (Atlanta, GA), Human Arts Gallery (Atlanta, GA), Landsdell Gallery (Atlanta, GA) and Art Dallas (Dallas, TX), Mary Bell Galleries (Chicago, IL) and Foster White Galleries (Seattle, WA). TL Lange’s remarkable artwork can be found in many private, corporate, and public collections including Wentworth Galleries, Larson Juhl Frames, and Saks Fifth Avenue Corporation and Microsoft Corporation.

Discover the fun and fundamentals of musical theatre technique by integrating acting, singing, and simple choreography in the development of a Broadway repertoire. Students will learn proper vocal technique, storytelling through song, musical theatre-style choreography, and how to work within an ensemble. Apply your skills in an informal showcase for friends and family. With new material every semester, this class can (and should) be taken multiple times.

Instructor: Anna Kimmell

Notes: This class will be held outdoors when the weather allows. When indoors, all students and staff will be required to wear masks. 

Our Youth Production Classes offer youth theatrical instruction from the first audition to the last curtain call! All productions listed are performed by youth in middle and high school. We will be offering TWO sessions of The Giver – 1 session for middle school students, and one session for high school students. Classes will meet afterschool, and each session will end with two performances on the Mainstage!

Registration for both sessions will begin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022. Tuition will be $350.00 – payment plans and scholarships will both be available. 

Directed by: Janice Schreiber
Classes/rehearsals: Meet Monday and Wednesday afternoons March 7-May 4, 2022 from 4:30-6:00 pm
Tech Week: Monday, May 9 – Thursday, May 12, 2022; 4:30-6:30 pm each night
Performances: Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 2:30 pm and Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 6:30 pm

Learn the ins and outs of sketch comedy in this eight-week course for adults led by Flat Rock Playhouse’s favorite comedic actor, Scott Treadway! Dive into the history of two-person comedy, learn about the straight man vs character actor and how to break down comedic beats and jokes in a script. Hone your skills in delivery, timing, and physicality as you pair up and perform a comedic scene, coached and directed by Scott. Laugh, learn and level up your comedy skills in this low-pressure, highly-humorous class. 

Instructor: Scott Treadway

*** All participating students must be fully vaccinated with proof of vaccination presented on the first day of class. 
Masks are optional at this time.
Space is limited.
No previous experience is necessary.

Taught by Tom Chalmers
Ages 18+
Feb 7-Mar 14, 2022 | Mondays at 6:30-8:30 PM

This class will be offered in person on the ACT Mainstage, following all the recommended protocols for safety and sanitation. Limited to 8 students. In person classes are 50 minutes with an added 10 minutes for temperature checks. For ages 18+.

This course covers the fundamentals of improvisational acting with an emphasis on comedy; such as listening, commitment, intuitive reaction, as well as recognizing and capitalizing on emerging patterns. Final showcase to be held on Friday, March 18th. Tuition will be $180.00 – payment plans and scholarships will both be available.

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!

Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.

No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!

Shiner formed in 1992 and soon found themselves signed to DeSoto Records, (owned by Jawbox’s Kim Coletta and Bill Barbot). The band began a creative high and a busy touring schedule that endured for years, with their final album in 2001 The Egg a critical success. Pitchfork said, “Shiner’s six-string bloodletting beats the crap out of anything you’ll hear on commercial FM these days” and All Music noted, “The songs themselves bask in an epic splendor, replete with the kind of arrangements that reward repeat listenings” Along the way countless tours of the US, Europe and Japan, and 4 full-length albums gave them a fiercely loyal set of diehards. Comparisons with their contemporaries of HUM, Jawbox, Failure, and Swervedriver were unavoidable, but Shiner carved a path of their own with a dedication to song-craft and musicianship wrapped in darkly sugared hooks.

Shiner broke up in 2002 but 10-years later re-released The Egg on vinyl and played sold-out shows in New York, LA, KC and Chicago. Those were some of their biggest shows ever and many in the audience were new to the Shiner fanclub. In 2018 the 4 of them – drummer Jason Gerken, bass player Paul Malinowski and guitarists Allen Epley and Josh Newton decided they were not quite finished, there was another life for Shiner they could not ignore.

After a few recording sessions that took place over a year and a half, the band have emerged with 8 solid songs that make up Schadenfreude. The LP was self-produced, engineered, and mixed at Malinowski’ own Massive Sound studio in Shawnee, KS. “We’ve always been extremely hands-on, even when working with someone else technically ‘producing,’” says Newton, “with The Egg we ended up remixing and adding things to almost half the record on our own. At this stage in our existence, we know what we should sound like.”

Despite the hiatus, Shiner have not missed a beat Gerken is still a drummer’s drummer and his heavy right foot is tied to Malinowski’s distorted-symphony bass. Epley and Newton hew left and right in the mix and worked in lockstep counterpoint throughout the proceedings and leave room for the vocals to enter the mix without overtaking, and instead working as a whole within the strings and skins.

The songs on Schadenfreude are not so much an answer to The Egg as some properly timed follow up might, but instead stand on their own. It’s the sound of a 4 piece band with each player finding his place in a book as though he just left the room an hour earlier and picked up on the next paragraph upon return. Epley says, “a lot of themes on the album are pretty dark but always with a silver lining around the edges. The title itself is a commentary on the most common human trait of enjoying your rivals’ demise. Or your apparent enemies.”

After their extended break from the studio and life on the road Shiner is once again looking forward with the May 8 release of Schadenfreude and a North American tour planned for 2020.