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, April 21, 2023
Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper
Apr 21 @ 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.

Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton Exhibition
Apr 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
 
Left: Thermon Statom, Frankincense, 1999, siligraphy from glass plate with digital transfer on BFK Rives paper, edition 50/50, 36 1/4 × 29 3/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Thermon Statom. | Right: Dale Chihuly, Suite of Ten Prints: Chandelier, 1994, 4-color intaglio from glass plate on BRK Rives paper, edition 34/50, image: 29 ½ × 23 ½ inches, sheet: 36 × 29 ½ inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Dale Chihuly / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Asheville, N.C.—The selection of works from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection presented in Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton features imagery that recreates the sensation and colors of stained glass. The exhibition showcases Littleton and the range of makers who worked with him, including Dale Chihuly, Cynthia Bringle, Thermon Statom, and more. This exhibition—organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator—will be on view in The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery at the Museum from January 12 through May 23, 2022.

In 1974 Harvey K. Littleton (Corning, NY 1922–2013 Spruce Pine, NC) developed a process for using glass to create prints on paper. Littleton, who began as a ceramicist and became a leading figure in the American Studio Glass Movement, expanded his curiosity around the experimental potential of glass into innovations in the world of printmaking. A wide circle of artists in a variety of media—including glass, ceramics, and painting—were invited to Littleton’s studio in Spruce Pine, NC, to create prints using the vitreograph process developed by Littleton. Upending notions of both traditional glassmaking and printmaking, vitreographs innovatively combine the two into something new. The resulting prints created through a process of etched glass, ink, and paper create rich, colorful scenes reminiscent of luminous stained glass.

“Printmaking is a medium that many artists explore at some point in their career,” says Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The process is often collaborative, as they may find themselves working with a print studio and highly skilled printmaker. The medium can also be quite experimental. Harvey Littleton’s contribution to the field is very much so in this spirit, as seen in his incorporation of glass and his invitation to artists who might otherwise not have explored works on paper. Through this exhibition, we are able to appreciate how the artists bring their work in clay, glass, or paint to ink and paper.” 

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration
Apr 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the past 50 years in the United States and beyond, artists have sought to break down social and political hierarchies that include issues of identity, gender, power, race, authority, and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, these decades generated a reconsideration of the idea of pattern and decoration as a third option to figuration and abstraction in art. From 1972 to 1985, artists in the Pattern and Decoration movement worked to expand the visual vocabulary of contemporary art to include ethnically and culturally diverse options that eradicated the barriers between fine art and craft and questioned the dominant minimalist aesthetic. These artists did so by incorporating opulence and bold intricacies garnered from such wide-ranging inspirations as United States quilt-making and Islamic architecture.

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the vibrant and varied approaches to pattern and decoration in art. Artworks from the 21st century elucidate contemporary perspectives on the employment of pattern to inform visual vocabularies and investigations of diverse themes in the present day.

Artworks drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection join select major loans and feature Pattern and Decoration artists Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, and Miriam Schapiro, as well as Anni Albers, Elizabeth Alexander, Sanford Biggers, Tawny Chatmon, Margaret Curtis, Mary Engel, Cathy Fussell, Samantha Hennekke, John Himmelfarb, Anne Lemanski, Rashaad Newsome, Peter Olson, Don Reitz, Sarah Sense, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Mickalene Thomas, Shoku Teruyama, Anna Valdez, Kehinde Wiley, and more.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler.

Lyrids Meteor Shower
Apr 21 @ 4:00 pm – Apr 22 @ 10:00 am
PARI

On April 21, 2023  PARI is offering two ticket options to this Meteor Shower Experience.  The first option is the OVERNIGHT CABIN PACKAGE for two people that includes dinner, a tour, sunset hike, observing the meteors, night sky observing, an overnight stay in a cabin quarter and breakfast.  The second option is an OVERNIGHT CAMPING PACKAGE that includes dinner, a tour, sunset hike, observing the meteors, night sky observing, an overnight stay in a PARI campsite and breakfast on Saturday morning.

This is a rain or shine event.  If weather does not permit viewing there will be alternate programming.  No refunds will be issued!

Upon registration you will receive a confirmation email.  If you do not get a confirmation email check your spam folder and make sure you add us to your address book.

Preregistration is required.

REGISTER HERE – CABIN PACKAGE

REGISTER HERE – CAMPING PACKAGE

Downtown After 5: Devon Gilfillian with Joe Lasher + Kaitlyn Baker
Apr 21 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Downtown After 5

Downtown After 5
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  • May 19: Baba Commandant with Coconut Cake
  • June 16: Victoria Victoria featuring Charlie Hunter with Josh Phillips
  • July 21: The Rumble featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux with Funk’N Around
  • August 18: Asheville All-Stars with Asheville Rock Academy
  • September 15: The Sensational Barnes Brothers with Alex Krug Combo
PATIO: Lua Flora
Apr 21 @ 6:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

– ALL AGES
– LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

LUA FLORA

Lua Flora is the soundtrack of your favorite daydream. The Asheville, NC-based group’s sun-kissed melodies are rooted in the harmonies of Appalachia, rhythms of the West Indies, and lyricism of American folk. Live, the band allures listeners with gut-punching jams weaved between powerful lyrics. Lua Flora has supported Satsang, Franc Moody, Of Good Nature, Kendall Street Company, and more. Their recent debut album amassed over 150,000 streams in the first week.

“The musical embodiment of Asheville’s creative spirit”   -Face The Current

“…easy and melodic — a light, laidback recluse from the grind.”   -Top Shelf Music

“Lua Flora shows folk & reggae mix.”   -Grateful Web

Asheville Tourists vs. Winston-Salem Dash — Dollar Dogs and Fireworks
Apr 21 @ 6:30 pm
McCormick Field

$1 Hot Dogs presented by Blossman Gas and Mix 96.5

Post Game Fireworks Show presented by Hands Free North Carolina!

COLOR ME GOODWILL
Apr 21 @ 7:00 pm
The Orange Peel
FULLY SEATED SHOW

The annual Color Me Goodwill runway show features designers in the Asheville-area, who will present color-inspired collections made from items found at Goodwill stores.  It’s a show of innovation and ingenuity like no other.  Celebrate the creativity of Asheville’s fashion designers, and meet some of the people Goodwill has served.

Saturday, April 22, 2023
Asheville Art Museum 75th Anniversary Spring Annual Fund
Apr 22 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
Apr 22 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.

Biltmore Blooms
Apr 22 all-day
Biltmore Estate Gardens

Spring at Biltmore, one of the estate’s most glorious seasons, invites you to experience a spring break mountain escape with all the charm of a European retreat. Immerse yourself in thousands of colorful tulips as Biltmore Blooms transforms our gardens and grounds. Explore Italian Renaissance Alive and Ciao! From Italy. Savor our Winery’s award-winning vintages and, of course, the timeless elegance of Biltmore House.

  • Daytime access to 8,000 acres of gardens and grounds, including:
    • 75+ Acres of formal and informal gardens
    • 20+ Miles of hiking, biking, and walking trails
  • Antler Hill Village & Winery
  • Complimentary Wine Tasting
  • Complimentary Parking

Gardens & Grounds admission does NOT include Biltmore House entry.

CALL FOR ARTISTS! Story Parlor’s Story/Arts Residency
Apr 22 all-day
online w/ Story Parlor

Offered for BIPOC, LGTBQIA+, and individuals from other historically marginalized communities—the residency invites artists to present a three-week performance featuring the core elements of storytelling through art, collaboration, and exploration of the human condition.
Applications due April 30.

About the STORY/ARTS RESIDENCY

Story Parlor’s residencies exist to champion the creative work of locally-based artists and art groups hailing from BIPOC, LGTBQIA+, and other historically marginalized communities in the quest to amplify and bridge together the diverse fabric of voices in Asheville.

Specifically, the Story/Arts residency aims to provide a platform that showcases the transformative and healing powers of storytelling through all art mediums, while tending to the core values of Story Parlor’s mission, which include:

• Connecting audiences and artists from varying creative backgrounds and interests

• Informing, inspiring, and invigorating through the arts

• Promoting and fostering self-inquiry and mindfulness

• Cultivating creative exchange and cultural insight

• Fostering authenticity and inclusiveness

In addition to public performances and/or workshops, artists-in-residence receive dedicated rehearsal time in the space; an artist stipend; creativity coaching sessions; marketing and promotion; and more.

Applications for the 2023 summer residency are below and due no later than April 30, with preference given to applicants who cross disciplines, embrace collaboration, and present a residency proposal that embodies the core elements of storytelling through all art forms.

LEAF Visiting Teaching Artists May 2023 Catalog
Apr 22 all-day
online
NOC Paddling School
Apr 22 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Spring Photo Contest: “Spring Trails”
Apr 22 all-day
Chimney Rock State Park

NC State Parks’ Year of the Trail continues with a celebration of how our trails transform each spring. Bring your camera on your next excursion in the park and capture budding wildflowers, spring hikers, or whatever you encounter along the way. You may even win a prize for your efforts!

GREAT PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO 3 WINNING ENTRIES

1st Prize: The winning photo will be our Facebook cover photo for two weeks, and the photographer will receive two annual passes to Chimney Rock State Park and lunch for four at the Old Rock Café.

2nd Prize: After the first place photo, the second place photo will be our Facebook cover photo for one week. The photographer will receive one annual pass to Chimney Rock State Park and lunch for two at the Old Rock Café.

3rd Prize: The third place photographer will receive two adult day passes (or one family pack of day passes) to Chimney Rock State Park and lunch for two at the Old Rock Café.

Pisgah Project Day
Apr 22 @ 12:09 am – 1:09 am
Pisgah Ranger District
The Pisgah Conservancy is pleased to announce the return of Pisgah Project Day, a community work day that allows volunteers to make hands-on improvements to the Pisgah Ranger District, on April 22. Interested volunteers are invited to register at www.pisgahconservancy.org now through April 17.
Pisgah Project Day was first held in September 2016 and returned last spring after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pisgah Project Day 2022 resulted in 1,320 working hours spent improving the Pisgah Ranger District across 23 different projects in a single day thanks to the more than 325 individuals who volunteered.
This year’s projects include bridge construction and repair, maintenance and viewshed improvement, trail maintenance, graffiti removal, trash removal, gardening, invasive species removal, and much more.
Volunteers will be working at project sites throughout the Pisgah Ranger District, including at Looking Glass Falls and Fryingpan Tower and on Sam Knob, Barnett Branch, Cat Gap, Estatoe, Daniel Ridge, and Turkeypen Gap trails.
The following sponsors have collectively contributed more than $55,000 toward this year’s event: Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority, Hunter Subaru, Blue Ridge Orthodontics, D.D. Bullwinkel’s Outdoors, Fisher Realty, Mast General Store, Motion Makers Bicycle Shop and Sycamore Cycles, Oskar Blues Brewery, Pilot Cove, Range Urgent Care, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Vulcan Materials Company, Adventure Pisgah, Bartlett Tree Experts, Comporium, GRAYL, Looking Glass Realty, O.P. Taylor’s, Pisgah Coffee Roasters, Piney Mountain Bike Lounge, Pisgah Map Co., REI, Water Oak Dental, 3Oak Handcrafted, Altura Architects, Brevard Insurance Company, ELEVATE Physical Therapy, First Citizens Bank, FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers, Gaia Herbs, PLATT, and Unplug with Nature Hiking Group.
The following partner groups are involved in Pisgah Project Day: U.S. Forest Service, Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah, Carolina Climbers Coalition, Carolina Mountain Club, FIND Outdoors, Further Trails, NC Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council, Pisgah Area SORBA, Pisgah Cowboys, Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, Trail Dynamics, Transylvania County Extension Master Gardeners, and Trout Unlimited.
The Pisgah Conservancy is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) whose mission is to provide funding to preserve the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Pisgah Ranger District and to enhance the recreational experience of all visitors to Pisgah. For more information, visit www.pisgahconservancy.org.
Earth Day 5K
Apr 22 @ 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Carrier Park

Join us for the 1st Annual Earth Day 5K hosted by the nonprofit Green Built Alliance to help reduce our community’s carbon footprint!

Saturday, April 22, 2023

5K Race begins at 8:00 AM

1 Mile Fun Run begins at 8:05 AM

Register by April 1st to be guaranteed a FREE race t-shirt. After that date, t-shirts will only be available in limited sizes and quantities.

Early registration includes a t-shirt, goody bag, and bib with chip-timing services. The top 3 male, female, and overall 5K runners will receive prizes, including a medal and a local tree donated by Asheville Greenworks!

Children 2 and under can join you for free (without registering) for the 1 Mile Fun Run, but kids 3 and up must be registered.

RSVP on Facebook to stay up to date!

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All proceeds from event will go towards creating a clean energy future through Green Built Alliance’s carbon offset program, Appalachian Offsets. This is a local carbon offsetting opportunity that allows community members’ offsets to go toward renewable energy projects for Buncombe County schools or other nonprofit organizations. The next Appalachian Offsets project in the works is for the installation of a PV system on the downtown Asheville United Way building.

Exhibition on Display: Attributes
Apr 22 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

 

Michelle Tway – fiber
Timothy Bridges – fiber
Martine House – mixed media
Noel Yovovich – metal
Deb Herman – fiber

The Focus Gallery is located on the second level of the Folk Art Center. The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Highway 70 entrance in east Asheville, NC. 

This exhibition is hosted by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The Guild is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1930 to cultivate the crafts and makers of the Southern Highlands for the purpose of shared resources, education, marketing, and conservation. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. 

Exhibition on Display: Follow the Thread by Tapestry Weavers South
Apr 22 @ 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Folk Art Center
woven tapestry landscapes, notecards

 

The Main Gallery is located on the second level of the Folk Art Center. The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Highway 70 entrance in east Asheville, NC. 

This exhibition is hosted by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The Guild is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1930 to cultivate the crafts and makers of the Southern Highlands for the purpose of shared resources, education, marketing, and conservation. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. 

Spring Fling
Apr 22 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Nantahala Outdoor Center

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Help us kick off the 2023 season with our annual Spring Fling Celebration all day on April 22nd! Join us for the Upper Nantahala & Cascades River Release, sales and deals on paddling gear and apparel, giveaways, live entertainment, boat demos, and more!

After you’ve finished your laps, join Pyranha Kayaks and Jackson Kayaks on the NOC beach to try out their newest boats. Chris Hipgrave, Emily Jackson, and the Hargrove family will be riverside to answer all your questions. Astral, NRS, Immersion Research, Kokatat, and our experienced retail and river guides will be there to help with any safety gear and apparel needs.

Schedule of Events:

  • 8 am to 6 pm: NOC Outfitter’s Store is open early for river passes and gear
  • 10 am to 4 pm: Upper Nantahala/Cascades Release
  • 11 am to 12 pm: Kids Activities
  • 3 pm to 6 pm: Riverside Kayak Demos
  • 3 pm to 6 pm: Live Music by Asheville Junction
  • 6 pm: American Whitewater Raffle winner announced!
  • Jackson Kayak Group Paddle Sessions- info below! Times coming soon!

 

Jackson Kayak Clinics:

Jackson Kayak is offering three clinics during Spring Fling! All will be filled on a first come first serve basis and participants will have the chance to register to WIN a Jackson Kayak Gnarvana in December.

  •  Ladies Paddle Plus Freestyle Session: Join JR World Champion Abby Holcombe and US Team Member Emily Wade for a down river ladies paddle from Surfing Rapid to the bridge. Ladies who are up for an hour of Freestyle Fun and instruction can continue on downstream for an hour of on-water coaching from two of the country’s best women kayakers! Put in at Surfing Rapid and take out at Play Hole (Or Gravel Bar for those not participating in Freestyle)
  • Joy Lap/ River Run: Join Team JK for a Fun Float/ Paddle down the Nantahala- Have anything you want instruction on? Or ways to make the run more exciting?! Team JK can help you break down the river, find each place to play, and make this run a JOY lap for all who join! Put in at Ferebee and take out at Gravel Bar.
  • Gnarvana Boat Demos at Cascades: Join Team JK’s Landon Miller, Clay Wright, Boyd Ruppelt and MORE as we demo Gnarvanas on the Cascades. All three sizes will be available to demo on a first come first serve basis. Please don’t be shy to introduce yourself to our team to make sure you lock in your chance to jump in a boat.

Additional details coming soon- stay tuned!

Biltmore Estate: Ciao! From Italy Sculptural Postcard Display
Apr 22 @ 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!

An Abundance of Riches
Apr 22 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Andrea Rich’s intricately designed, carved, and printed woodcuts draw viewers in for an up-close look.

Some of the artist’s earliest memories are of drawing animals. Childhood encounters with pets, livestock, and wildlife, including birds, deer, and toads, created a lasting connection to the natural world. Through encounters with creatures both tame and wild, Rich developed a fascination and a compassion for animals integral to her art.

“My prints are a visual record of the intriguing creatures that have enriched my life. The woodcut process challenges me to focus on the essence of my subjects. At the same time, I am drawn to the smell of the wood, its texture and grain, and the pleasure I experience while carving. I begin working on a block of wood and realize later that hours have passed without notice.”

Rich uses a centuries-old medium that requires one carved wood panel for each color – varying from one to sixteen – necessary to develop the composition. These panels are painstakingly aligned one atop another sequentially and pulled through a printing press to create the final woodcut.

The subjects of Rich’s woodcuts range from the wilderness of the Australian outback and the lush tropical Amazon forests to the roaring rivers of Yellowstone Park. Rich has traveled worldwide to study wildlife habitats and these varied firsthand experiences are reflected in her work.

Among Rich’s many achievements are international recognition for her woodcut prints, including a 2009 Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists and a 2009 Medal of Excellence from the Artists for Conservation Foundation. She was named Master Artist by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in 2006. In 2010 her work was featured in a solo exhibition at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center, Canton, Massachusetts. Rich is a member of the California Society of Printmakers, Artists for Nature Foundation, the Society of Animal Artists, and Society of Wildlife Artists.

In 2000 Rich designated the Woodson Art Museum as the repository for her artistic oeuvre. An Abundance of Riches is drawn from these holdings, which include an example of each of her woodcuts created since the mid-1980s.

Spring Student Art and Ceramics Sale
Apr 22 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
UNCA Campus-. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall

The UNC Asheville Student Art and Ceramics Sale will be held Friday, April 21 from 4 to 8 p.m., and on Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall.

A wide variety of functional and decorative pottery, prints and other artwork created by UNC Asheville students will be on sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Department of Art and Art History.

The Sale is open to the public.  Payment must be by cash or check.

An Abstract Classicist: California Hard-Edge
Apr 22 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery
Johal’s process is part painstaking and part intuitive. She begins by arranging cut out shapes or creating sketches of the overall composition, which is of utmost importance, balanced and full of energy. She then transfers the design onto a sanded canvas using tape, templates, or other tools to achieve a clean hard edge. Now the music begins. Using high quality acrylic paints, Johal spontaneously applies color to the canvas, letting the music guide her choices. Her understanding of Color Theory is instinctive yet effective and, along with her forms, creates a kind of dance on the surface.
Angela Johal (b.1962), US, has a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) Magna Cum Laude from San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. Johal has taken part in solo and group exhibitions in prestigious institutes and such as de Young Museum, San Francisco, SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery, San Francisco and in art galleries in LA, Boston, NY, Montreal, and more.
Broom Making | Live Demo at the Folk Art Center
Apr 22 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Peter Werner will be demonstrating his tips and techniques for traditional broom-tying in the lobby of the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors are encouraged to watch and ask questions while the demonstrators work and talk about their creative process! Call ahead for the latest updates: 828-298-7928.

Exhibition: NEO MINERALIA
Apr 22 @ 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
Apr 22 @ 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
Apr 22 @ 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.

Hendo Earth Fest
Apr 22 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Main Street between 4th and 6th Avenues and 5th Avenue between N. Wall Street and King Street

Celebrate Earth Day with Hendo Earth Fest

The City of Hendersonville Environmental Sustainability Board encourages you to mark your calendars for April 22nd! The first-ever Hendo Earth Fest is taking place in downtown Hendersonville on Earth Day from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Local organizations and environmental champions will educate, entertain, and raise awareness of the need to protect our planet for future generations.

The festival is sponsored by the Hendersonville Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) in association with the Blue Ridge EV Club, Team ECCO, Conserving Carolina, Mountain True, Caregivers of Mother Earth, and Earth Caring Ministry of Trinity Presbyterian Church.

What: Hendo Earth Fest

When: Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Where: Main Street between 4th and 6th Avenues and 5th Avenue between N. Wall Street and King Street

The ESB has coordinated exhibits that educate and inform residents and visitors about our natural environment in a fun, festive atmosphere.

The Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO exhibits located on the 500 block of Main Street will focus on education, enrichment, and exploration of the ocean world.

The ESB exhibits located on the 400 block will provide hands-on activities and demonstrations designed to educate, renew and expand action to protect our Western North Carolina environment and natural resources.

The Blue Ridge EV Club vehicles and exhibits on Fifth Avenue will highlight electric transportation and systems. 2023 is the year of the Electric Vehicle!

Come join your friends and neighbors to celebrate Earth Day at the very first Hendo Earth Fest!

FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND UPDATES ON THE EVENT WEBPAGE!

Italian Renaissance Alive
Apr 22 @ 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