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.

Saturday, September 14, 2024
Debut Book Signing in Barnes and Noble Asheville
Sep 14 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Barnes and Noble

Would you like to explore the wonders of the enchanting Barnes and Noble in Asheville? Or how about meeting a best selling author for a book signing of their debut novel? Come on out on September 14th between 11am -2 pm and visit Barnes and Noble and see me! There will be prizes ranging from gift cards to bookish tote bags. Spin the wheel and see if lady luck is on your side. Prizes will be available while they last.
Solasta: The Highlander Fae is a historical fantasy with a dash of romance. Taking place in the Scottish Highlands where the forces of good and evil collide. Take a step through the Kelpie ring and join the Solastan Fae as they fight to save both the Fae and Mortal Realms.

Honoring Nature: Early Southern Appalachian Landscape Painting
Sep 14 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the early 1900s, travel by train and automobile became more accessible in the United States, leading to an increase in tourism and a revitalized interest in landscape painting. The relative ease of transportation, as well as the creation of National Parks, allowed people to experience the breathtaking landscapes of the United States in new ways. Artists traveled along popular routes, recording the terrain they encountered.

This exhibition explores the sublime natural landscapes of the Smokey Mountains of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. While there were several regional schools of painting around this time, this group is largely from the Midwest and many of the artists trained at the Art Institute of Chicago or in New York City. Through their travels, they captured waterfalls, sunsets, thunderstorms, autumn foliage, lush green summers, and snow-covered mountains—elements that were novel for viewers from cities and rural areas. Though some of these paintings include people, they are usually used for scale and painted with little to no detail, highlighting the magnificence of nature.

Rudolph F. Ingerle, Mirrored Mountain, not dated, oil on canvas, 28 × 32 inches. Courtesy of Allen & Barry Huffman, Asheville Art Museum.

Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection
Sep 14 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection, on view through May 17—September 23, 2024. Shifting Perceptions is guest-curated by Katherine Ware, curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art, and continues the Museum’s 75th-anniversary celebration and highlights its expanding Collection.
Featuring over 125 photographs, the exhibition showcases works by 20th-century masters such as Ruth Bernhard, Bruce Davidson, Donna Ferrato, Carrie Mae Weems, and Jerry Uelsmann, alongside contemporary images by Jess T. Dugan, Matthew Pillsbury, and Cara Romero, among others. While some photographs offer a distinct point of view, many invite contemplation of the intersections and contradictions within each category. Recent acquisitions and longtime favorites are presented in new juxtapositions, providing fresh insights into the evolving landscape of photography.
ArtsAVL Trolley
Sep 14 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Downtown Asheville

Ride the free ArtsAVL Trolley connecting the Downtown and River Arts Districts with two overlapping routes every Second Saturday from 12-6 pm.

 

DOWNTOWN LOOP Downtown Map Marker

  • Pack Square Stop (near Asheville Art Museum)
  • The Block Stop (near LEAF Global Arts)
  • Pritchard Park Stop (near Ten Thousand Villages)
  • Coxe Avenue Stop (near Rabbit Rabbit)
  • Wedge Studios Stop (near Hofman Studios)
  • Grove Arcade Stop (near Citizen Vinyl)
  • Broadway Arts District Stop (near Center for Craft)

Downtown/ River Arts Loop Connector

RIVER ARTS LOOP RAD Map Marker

  • Wedge Studios Stop (near Hofman Studios)
  • Clingman Roundabout Stop (near Odyssey Gallery)
  • Depot Street Stop (near NorthLight Studios)
  • North Riverview Station Stop (near Art Garden)
  • Foundy Street Stop (near Grail Moviehouse)
  • South Riverview Station Stop (near Newstock Pantry)
  • River Arts Place Stop (near Curve Studios)
  • Cotton Mill Studios Stop (near Guajiro Cuban Comfort Food)
  • Craven Street Stop (near New Belgium)
  • W. Haywood Street Stop (near Riverside Studios)

Trolley loops take 20-25 minutes. You can get on or off the trolley at any stop. See our ArtsAVL Trolley FAQ page for more details.

 

DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT

Pack Square Stop

The Block Stop

Pritchard Park Stop

Coxe Avenue Stop

Grove Arcade Stop

Broadway Arts District Stop

RIVER ARTS DISTRICT

Wedge Studios Stop

Depot Street Stop

North Riverview Station Stop

Foundy Street Stop

South Riverview Station Stop

River Arts Place Stop

Cotton Mill Studios Stop

Craven Street Stop

W. Haywood Street Stop

ArtsAVL Trolley Rides
Sep 14 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Downtown Asheville

EXPLORE ASHEVILLE’S ART SCENE

 

Ride the free  ArtsAVL Trolley linking the Downtown and River Arts Districts with two overlapping loops every Second Saturday from 12-6 pm. Trolley loops take about 20-25 mins, and riders are free to hop on or off at any stop.

DOWNTOWN LOOP Downtown Map Marker

  • Pack Square Stop (near Asheville Art Museum)
  • The Block Stop (near LEAF Global Arts)
  • Pritchard Park Stop (near Ten Thousand Villages)
  • Coxe Avenue Stop (near Rabbit Rabbit)
  • Wedge Studios Stop (near Hofman Studios)
  • Grove Arcade Stop (near Citizen Vinyl)
  • Broadway Arts District Stop (near Center for Craft)

Downtown/ River Arts Loop Connector

RIVER ARTS LOOP RAD Map Marker

  • Wedge Studios Stop (near Hofman Studios)
  • Clingman Roundabout Stop (near Odyssey Gallery)
  • Depot Street Stop (near NorthLight Studios)
  • North Riverview Station Stop (near Art Garden)
  • Foundy Street Stop (near Grail Moviehouse)
  • South Riverview Station Stop (near Newstock Pantry)
  • River Arts Place Stop (near Curve Studios)
  • Cotton Mill Studios Stop (near Guajiro Cuban Comfort Food)
  • Craven Street Stop (near New Belgium)
  • W. Haywood Street Stop (near Riverside Studios)
Grovewood Village Studio Tour
Sep 14 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Grovewood Village

Connect with local artists! The bi-annual Grovewood Village Studio Tour will take place over two weekends in 2024.

First Weekend: May 18 & 19 (12-5pm)
Second Weekend: September 14 & 15 (12-5pm)

This is a free, self-guided, explore-at-your-own-pace tour. There is no ticket to buy.

During this event, the resident artists at Grovewood Village will open up their studios to the public, allowing visitors to gain insight into their creative process and view their most recent works. The artists will also have works for sale next door at Grovewood Gallery, which will be offering 10% off almost all merchandise. Metro Wines will be on-site serving complimentary wine and non-alcoholic drinks.

Guests looking to round out their experience can enjoy brunch next door at ELDR and visit the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum and the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, also located in Grovewood Village.

Grovewood Village is home to 8 working artist studios and a yoga studio. These workspaces were originally built to house the weaving operations of Biltmore Industries, an Arts and Crafts enterprise that played a significant role in the Appalachian Craft Revival during the early 20th century. Today, our resident artists – inspired by an earlier craft force – create jewelry, pottery, sculpture, and more in the same workshops where the famed Biltmore Handwoven Homespun was once made.

Special Demonstration

Local textile designer and handweaver Deanna Lynch will be in our Homespun Museum (located in the same building as the artist studios) demonstrating how to operate an antique four-harness loom that was used in Biltmore Industries’ heyday.

Please Note

The artist studios are located in the same building as the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, directly next door to Grovewood Gallery. If you have questions about this event, contact Grovewood Gallery at (828) 253-7651 or email us at [email protected].

The historic building where the artist studios are housed. This is the entrance to the upper-level artist studios. There is a separate entrance on the right side of the building to access the lower-level artist studios.

Sponsored by Metro Wines

This bi-annual Asheville art tour is sponsored by Metro Wines, located at 169 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Metro Wines has been voted the number #1 wine shop in Asheville for the past 7 years, quoted in The Wall Street Journal and recently in Wine Enthusiast!

Parking

Free parking is available on-site at Grovewood Village; however, parking is relatively limited, and carpooling is always encouraged. The Grove Park Inn does have a parking garage directly across the street from us. From January 3 through September 30, they offer 1 hour of complimentary parking.  After that, 1-3 hours is $12 and 3-6 hours is $22.

Sunday, September 15, 2024
ASAP: How Does Western North Carolina Shop for Food SURVEY
Sep 15 all-day
online

ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) has released a survey to learn more about how people in Western North Carolina shop for food and why they choose the food they do. The survey, part of a three-year project by ASAP’s Local Food Research Center, is for any resident of Western North Carolina over the age of 18, no matter where or how they shop for food. It can be completed online at surveymonkey.com/r/WNCFoodASAP or over the phone by calling ASAP at 828-236-1282. It should take approximately 8 to 12 minutes to complete and will be open through Oct. 31, 2024. Respondents are encouraged to share the survey widely with families, friends, and co-workers.

 

“By completing this survey, you are helping local farmers understand and connect with consumers,” said Amy Marion, ASAP Associate Director and lead researcher. “The challenges of our food system are constantly evolving. Improving it requires active participation from all community members. With this research we can better understand consumer values and the barriers they face, and help farmers and food producers improve communications with their customers and their communities.”

 

The survey is part of a three-year research project, “Connections in Direct Markets: Assessing the feedback loop between consumer values and farmers’ marketing strategies,” which will examine and improve communication and alignment between farmers and consumers in Western North Carolina. The research phase will also employ consumer focus groups, farmer interviews and case studies, and more targeted surveying. The broad consumer survey provides an update to the last consumer survey conducted by the Local Food Research Center in 2014. Results from the current research project will be shared in 2025.

 

ASAP founded the Local Food Research Center in 2011 to study the economic, environmental, and social impacts of localizing food systems. From its inception, ASAP’s programs and services have been grounded in research and evaluation, adjusting based on a strong feedback loop and observation of current conditions in the food system.

 

This project is supported in part by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2022-38640-37488 through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number LS23-382. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider.

Unleash your Inner Magic Retreat Weekend
Sep 15 all-day
Wheel of Bliss Retreat Center

Unleash your Inner Magic: Create New Realities

In-Person Retreat
September 13 – 15, 2024
In Hot Springs near Asheville, NC

You will be transported into the inner cave of your body as you open to the mystery within. It is by attuning to the frequency of your soul and realizing your innate connection with All of Life that you create magic and miracles. Release the limitations that have kept you bound to an ordinary existence and birth yourself anew.

You will Receive:

Ecstatic Embodiment Practices:

Daily Portal Yoga / Guided Intuitive Movement & Sacred Dance / Energetic Activations that shift your Vibration into Higher States

Sacred Ritual & Ceremony:

Releasing Ceremony by the Fire / Afternoon Ritual at the Waterfall / Intentional Communion & Co-Creation with the Land & Elements / Anointing Ceremony

Deep Soul Nourishment:

Delicious, organic, nourishing vegetarian food / Beautiful accommodations nestled deep within the Blue Ridge mountains / Hiking trails, waterfalls, swimming holes, and endless stargazing

Plus, you will receive a BONUS Group Integration call around the Fall Equinox to ground the magic you create into your daily life.

Throughout our time together, you will be guided to:

* Speak your truth
* Claim your desires
* Own your power

Your heart will be opened.
Your true sight activated.
Your frequency shifted to higher states
As you claim the new.

Retreat Schedule:

Friday:

2 – 4 p.m.: Arrive & Get Settled

4 p.m.: Orientation & Opening Ceremony (Sage each person upon entrance; thank the land/elements, acknowledge land spirits, call in for co-creation, unleash magic, open to miracles, beginning invocation & Intentions)

5 – 6:15 p.m.: Portal Yoga (focus on connecting to soul in and through body, breath, heart)

6:30 – 7:45 p.m.: Group Dinner (Blessing & Gratitude)

8 – 10 p.m.: Fire Ceremony & Star Gazing (release limitations, limited human identify, separation consciousness, I’m alone, fears of not having, not being enough, powerless, helpless, no choice) (RELEASE separation focus)

Saturday:

8 – 9:15 a.m.: Portal Yoga

9:30 – 10:30 a.m.: Silent, Sensual Breakfast

10:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.: Wisdom Teaching & Embodiment Practice (What magic is, co-creation with spirit, soul, universe, interconnection of all things, flower of life, infinity weaving) (Attune to the frequency of love, of your soul, of your infinite nature outside the egoic construct) = to EMBODY this frequency, shift cellular patterning, release stagnation, can consciously create and intend to increase your vibration (group Sharing)

1 – 2 p.m.: Group Lunch

2:15 – 4:30 p.m.: Afternoon Ritual at the Waterfall (water to cleanse, bathe, renew; it’s your intention that matters; open heart space to the element, open to receive, but also give with your love and gratitude as an equal; fairy; allow yourself to be birthed anew in each moment, to flow with your impulses, intuitions, desires – what ARE your desires? Proclaim them, infuse them into the water, and let them flow into the waters of all waters and become one with all that is) (DESIRES focus)

4:30 – 6:30 p.m.: Integration Break to Hike, Bathe in Sacred Waters, Journal, or Rest in Communion with Nature

6:30 – 7:45 p.m.: Group Dinner (Gratitude & Blessing)

8 – 10 p.m.: Guided Intuitive Movement & Sacred Dance (Maybe anointing ritual at the beginning)

Sunday:

8 – 9:15 a.m.: Portal Yoga

9:30 – 10:30: Silent, Sensual Breakfast

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Earth Ritual – resourced by earth, by goddess, by the elements/nature itself, receive abundance and support and love of the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars…call upon help, feel your connection to Her, to all things; requires you to believe, to have faith, to open your heart to this co-creation, to receive the gifts and magic that wait you (RECEIVE / TRUST / ALLOW / OPEN / SUPPORTED focus) (Time for group share)

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Group Lunch

1:45 – 3 p.m.: Closing Ceremony (Possibly: they have an object they take with them to place on their altar/somewhere they can see it every day – to represent their desires and the power they have to create) (ask each participant to bring a sacred object with them to put on the altar) (Maybe: Anointing ritual)

Please note: The retreat will be intuitively guided, so the schedule may shift as the magic unfolds.

Retreat Accommodations:

We will gather in sacred circle for a nourishing, soul-filled weekend at the gorgeous Wheel of Bliss Retreat Center nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Located in Hot Springs, approximately an hour from Asheville, NC, the Bliss House is surrounded by forest, hiking trails, waterfalls, swimming holes, and pristine beauty.

The Bliss House is a sanctuary in which we’ll gather to eat and sleep. All retreat rooms are shared (3 max per room) with plush beds and soft linens. Meals can be taken on the spacious deck overlooking the forest below or in the intimate indoor gathering space. There is a large Tibetan Buddhist altar room adorned with sacred paintings and effigies from the Himalayas.

Most of our rituals will be outdoors with the land itself. However, all group circles, embodiment practices, dance, and daily Portal Yoga will be held inside the Celestial Center, which is a Mongolian-style yurt. Its high walls blend into vaulted ceilings that point to the heavens. At its pinnacle, a glass dome at the top allows sunshine to flood in during the day. At night, lay down and look up to see the stars and moon shine through. When the windows are open, you can hear the sound of waterfalls in the distance.

What’s Included:

* Double or Triple Occupancy at the Wheel of Bliss Mountain Sanctuary on Friday and Saturday night

* All delicious, organic, nourishing vegetarian meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, plus fruit available as snacks throughout the day. Allergies and dietary restrictions can be accommodated. Please be sure to let us know once you register. You are welcome to bring additional snacks or food with you, as desired.

* Sacred Ritual & Ceremony

* Ecstatic Embodiment Practices

* Daily Portal Yoga classes

* Wisdom Teachings & Group Coaching

* BONUS Integration Call & Sisterhood Sharing around the Fall Equinox

* All taxes and fees

What’s Not Included:

Your transportation to and from the Wheel of Bliss Retreat Center in Hot Springs, NC. It is located approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes from the Asheville Regional Airport. However, we will be happy to help connect you with the right people if you are coming from out of town!

Your Investment is only $ 644 until 6/13 (discount of $100) then $ 744 after that.

To secure your spot, a $ 250 non-refundable deposit is required. Space is limited to 12 participants. The retreat is already half full, so book now to reserve your spot! You can either pay in full or make two payments. Your second payment would be due no later than August 1, 2024.

About your Retreat Facilitator Jessica Falcon:

A former lawyer turned mystic, Jessica Falcon is an International Soul Embodiment Guide & Divine Feminine Activator. She guides you to reclaim your divine power and sovereignty so you experience true freedom.

After leaving the legal profession in 2013 to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage, Jessica experienced an 8-year initiation into divine feminine power. During this time, she spent years researching religious history, ancient civilizations, and mythology. She has identified the core beliefs – deeply embedded in the individual and collective psyche – that keep us from owning our power, speaking our truth, and liberating our sexuality.

Jessica hosts the Soul Sovereignty & Sexuality Podcast. Her private and group portals of transformation are designed to help you create deep levels of internal safety so you can fully be and express all of who you are. Jessica’s training includes everything from somatic and emotional intelligence to nervous system resilience, empathy, authentic communication, trauma-informed yoga, Egyptian tantra, shamanism, and mystery school teachings – not to mention whole-body healing, herbalism, and deep initiations and teachings from the goddess herself.

Exhibition on Display: Class of 2024 – Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program
Sep 15 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Located on the second floor until September 18th, the show continues the historical relationship between the Southern Highland Craft Guild and Haywood, an educational center of the Guild. This new generation of craft is led by instructors Amy Putansu in fiber, Brian Wurst in wood, Emily Reason in clay, and Robert Blanton in metals & jewelry. Students of the Haywood program come from all over, with or without prior experience of craft, and sometimes pursuing it as a second or third career. The course of study is challenging, combining craft concentrations with supplemental classes in design, drawing, craft history, business, marketing and photography.

Haywood Community College and the Southern Highland Craft Guild share a history that documents the role of craft education in preserving traditional culture, creating economic opportunity and fostering professional practice. All of the artists represent the vitality and creativity of craft practice today, which is the ultimate purpose of both institutions. Many Haywood graduates have become individual members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and have served the Guild in various capacities.

Instructor Brian Wurst of the Professional Crafts Wood program says, “Our programs have thrived for nearly five decades, and our relationship with the Craft Guild has been a key part of that. We’re always thrilled to have work showcased at the Folk Art Center, and in turn scores of our alumni have gone on to become active Guild members. The Graduate Show is the capstone of two hard years by these students, and it’s a delight to share it in this beautiful space.”

Haywood Community College is located in Clyde, North Carolina, just west of Asheville. The college’s Professional Crafts Program began in recognition of the region’s strong craft heritage. It was envisioned that students would learn the basics of craft media and how to transform that craft into a business. The clay studio was the first to open in 1974. With the addition of jewelry, wood and fiber studios, a comprehensive curriculum was in place by 1977.

Anyone interested in taking courses at Haywood Community College can contact the success coach, Farrah Rodriguez [email protected] 828.627.4505.

The Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program, Graduate Show, Class of 2024 is a free exhibit at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville. For more information, visit www.craftguild.org or call 828-523-4110. For more information about the Professional Crafts Program, call 828-627-4674 or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

Fall Ritual Herbalism: Wildcrafting & Medicine Making Immersion
Sep 15 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Red Moon Herbs

Join us for a weekend of wild abundance as we continue upon the path of honoring the Art, Science & Spirit of Herbalism. We will spend this pre-autumn equinox weekend deeply immersed in the abundance of native and wild plants that have come to fruition throughout the growing season.

We will focus on proper plant identification skills, as the plants are at their peak for the year. Stewardship and ethical wildcrafting & foraging techniques will be fortified, and medicinal mushrooms will be incorporated. We will learn the craft of magical medicine making together, with roots, berries, and seeds, as we gather medicinal plants and fungi from the landscape and create a batch of herbal medicines. Folks will receive both new skills and plenty of recipes and remedies to take home.

Throughout this weekend immersion we will strengthen the craft of intuitive & ritual herbalism while learning how to pair these skills to make the most potent forms of herbal tinctures and glycerites (alcohol free extracts) with both fresh roots, seeds and berries. We will co-create medicinal herbal syrups, including the ever popular elderberry and create potent herbal topical applications as well. We will discuss how to adequately dry and store our herbs and remedies for the fall and winter seasons ahead.

Honoring Nature: Early Southern Appalachian Landscape Painting
Sep 15 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the early 1900s, travel by train and automobile became more accessible in the United States, leading to an increase in tourism and a revitalized interest in landscape painting. The relative ease of transportation, as well as the creation of National Parks, allowed people to experience the breathtaking landscapes of the United States in new ways. Artists traveled along popular routes, recording the terrain they encountered.

This exhibition explores the sublime natural landscapes of the Smokey Mountains of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. While there were several regional schools of painting around this time, this group is largely from the Midwest and many of the artists trained at the Art Institute of Chicago or in New York City. Through their travels, they captured waterfalls, sunsets, thunderstorms, autumn foliage, lush green summers, and snow-covered mountains—elements that were novel for viewers from cities and rural areas. Though some of these paintings include people, they are usually used for scale and painted with little to no detail, highlighting the magnificence of nature.

Rudolph F. Ingerle, Mirrored Mountain, not dated, oil on canvas, 28 × 32 inches. Courtesy of Allen & Barry Huffman, Asheville Art Museum.

Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection
Sep 15 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection, on view through May 17—September 23, 2024. Shifting Perceptions is guest-curated by Katherine Ware, curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art, and continues the Museum’s 75th-anniversary celebration and highlights its expanding Collection.
Featuring over 125 photographs, the exhibition showcases works by 20th-century masters such as Ruth Bernhard, Bruce Davidson, Donna Ferrato, Carrie Mae Weems, and Jerry Uelsmann, alongside contemporary images by Jess T. Dugan, Matthew Pillsbury, and Cara Romero, among others. While some photographs offer a distinct point of view, many invite contemplation of the intersections and contradictions within each category. Recent acquisitions and longtime favorites are presented in new juxtapositions, providing fresh insights into the evolving landscape of photography.
Grovewood Village Studio Tour
Sep 15 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Grovewood Village

Connect with local artists! The bi-annual Grovewood Village Studio Tour will take place over two weekends in 2024.

First Weekend: May 18 & 19 (12-5pm)
Second Weekend: September 14 & 15 (12-5pm)

This is a free, self-guided, explore-at-your-own-pace tour. There is no ticket to buy.

During this event, the resident artists at Grovewood Village will open up their studios to the public, allowing visitors to gain insight into their creative process and view their most recent works. The artists will also have works for sale next door at Grovewood Gallery, which will be offering 10% off almost all merchandise. Metro Wines will be on-site serving complimentary wine and non-alcoholic drinks.

Guests looking to round out their experience can enjoy brunch next door at ELDR and visit the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum and the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, also located in Grovewood Village.

Grovewood Village is home to 8 working artist studios and a yoga studio. These workspaces were originally built to house the weaving operations of Biltmore Industries, an Arts and Crafts enterprise that played a significant role in the Appalachian Craft Revival during the early 20th century. Today, our resident artists – inspired by an earlier craft force – create jewelry, pottery, sculpture, and more in the same workshops where the famed Biltmore Handwoven Homespun was once made.

Special Demonstration

Local textile designer and handweaver Deanna Lynch will be in our Homespun Museum (located in the same building as the artist studios) demonstrating how to operate an antique four-harness loom that was used in Biltmore Industries’ heyday.

Please Note

The artist studios are located in the same building as the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, directly next door to Grovewood Gallery. If you have questions about this event, contact Grovewood Gallery at (828) 253-7651 or email us at [email protected].

The historic building where the artist studios are housed. This is the entrance to the upper-level artist studios. There is a separate entrance on the right side of the building to access the lower-level artist studios.

Sponsored by Metro Wines

This bi-annual Asheville art tour is sponsored by Metro Wines, located at 169 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Metro Wines has been voted the number #1 wine shop in Asheville for the past 7 years, quoted in The Wall Street Journal and recently in Wine Enthusiast!

Parking

Free parking is available on-site at Grovewood Village; however, parking is relatively limited, and carpooling is always encouraged. The Grove Park Inn does have a parking garage directly across the street from us. From January 3 through September 30, they offer 1 hour of complimentary parking.  After that, 1-3 hours is $12 and 3-6 hours is $22.

An Afternoon of Advanced Long Form Improv
Sep 15 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
A New Hope Home Care (Basement)

🎭 Join Me for an Afternoon of Advanced Long Form Improv! 🎭

Are you ready to dive deep into the art of improv? Whether you’re a seasoned performer or an enthusiastic fan, my upcoming Advanced Long Form Improv event is one you won’t want to miss!

Get ready for an afternoon of spontaneous storytelling, where every scene unfolds in unexpected ways. Together we will go on a journey through intricate narratives, rich characters, and imaginative worlds—crafted entirely in the moment! Expect to be entertained, amazed, and inspired by the skillful improvisation of our advanced group.

Please note: This event is intended for adults with a sense of humor who aren’t easily offended.

To register, please call or text the event organizer, Shane Eisiminger, at 803.463.7388.

*** Payment is required in advance: PayPal, CashApp, or Venmo ***

Spots are limited—reserve your spot today!

Monday, September 16, 2024
ASAP: How Does Western North Carolina Shop for Food SURVEY
Sep 16 all-day
online

ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) has released a survey to learn more about how people in Western North Carolina shop for food and why they choose the food they do. The survey, part of a three-year project by ASAP’s Local Food Research Center, is for any resident of Western North Carolina over the age of 18, no matter where or how they shop for food. It can be completed online at surveymonkey.com/r/WNCFoodASAP or over the phone by calling ASAP at 828-236-1282. It should take approximately 8 to 12 minutes to complete and will be open through Oct. 31, 2024. Respondents are encouraged to share the survey widely with families, friends, and co-workers.

 

“By completing this survey, you are helping local farmers understand and connect with consumers,” said Amy Marion, ASAP Associate Director and lead researcher. “The challenges of our food system are constantly evolving. Improving it requires active participation from all community members. With this research we can better understand consumer values and the barriers they face, and help farmers and food producers improve communications with their customers and their communities.”

 

The survey is part of a three-year research project, “Connections in Direct Markets: Assessing the feedback loop between consumer values and farmers’ marketing strategies,” which will examine and improve communication and alignment between farmers and consumers in Western North Carolina. The research phase will also employ consumer focus groups, farmer interviews and case studies, and more targeted surveying. The broad consumer survey provides an update to the last consumer survey conducted by the Local Food Research Center in 2014. Results from the current research project will be shared in 2025.

 

ASAP founded the Local Food Research Center in 2011 to study the economic, environmental, and social impacts of localizing food systems. From its inception, ASAP’s programs and services have been grounded in research and evaluation, adjusting based on a strong feedback loop and observation of current conditions in the food system.

 

This project is supported in part by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2022-38640-37488 through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number LS23-382. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider.

The Art League of Henderson County announces: “Red, White and Blue”
Sep 16 @ 9:00 am
Henderson County Library

Artists are invited to create artworks with the theme of “Red, White and Blue.“  Apply these patriotic colors at the center of your subjects, however there are no limits to your creativity, your artworks don’t need to be primarily patriotic theme, but viewers should be able to spot the use of recognizable amount of red, white and blue colors.

Exhibition on Display: Class of 2024 – Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program
Sep 16 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Located on the second floor until September 18th, the show continues the historical relationship between the Southern Highland Craft Guild and Haywood, an educational center of the Guild. This new generation of craft is led by instructors Amy Putansu in fiber, Brian Wurst in wood, Emily Reason in clay, and Robert Blanton in metals & jewelry. Students of the Haywood program come from all over, with or without prior experience of craft, and sometimes pursuing it as a second or third career. The course of study is challenging, combining craft concentrations with supplemental classes in design, drawing, craft history, business, marketing and photography.

Haywood Community College and the Southern Highland Craft Guild share a history that documents the role of craft education in preserving traditional culture, creating economic opportunity and fostering professional practice. All of the artists represent the vitality and creativity of craft practice today, which is the ultimate purpose of both institutions. Many Haywood graduates have become individual members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and have served the Guild in various capacities.

Instructor Brian Wurst of the Professional Crafts Wood program says, “Our programs have thrived for nearly five decades, and our relationship with the Craft Guild has been a key part of that. We’re always thrilled to have work showcased at the Folk Art Center, and in turn scores of our alumni have gone on to become active Guild members. The Graduate Show is the capstone of two hard years by these students, and it’s a delight to share it in this beautiful space.”

Haywood Community College is located in Clyde, North Carolina, just west of Asheville. The college’s Professional Crafts Program began in recognition of the region’s strong craft heritage. It was envisioned that students would learn the basics of craft media and how to transform that craft into a business. The clay studio was the first to open in 1974. With the addition of jewelry, wood and fiber studios, a comprehensive curriculum was in place by 1977.

Anyone interested in taking courses at Haywood Community College can contact the success coach, Farrah Rodriguez [email protected] 828.627.4505.

The Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program, Graduate Show, Class of 2024 is a free exhibit at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville. For more information, visit www.craftguild.org or call 828-523-4110. For more information about the Professional Crafts Program, call 828-627-4674 or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

Max Adrian: RIPSTOP
Sep 16 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft
The Center for Craft is thrilled to announce the opening of Max Adrian: RIPSTOP. Adrian (he/they), a textile artist who was awarded a Windgate-Lamar Fellowship by the Center in 2015 and a Career Advancement Fellowship in 2022, will bring the playful, experiential, and provocative solo exhibition of textiles and inflatable sculptures to the Bresler Family Gallery beginning July 26, 2024 through March 29, 2025.

Pieces made from nylon fabric ripstop, which keeps tears from spreading, invite viewers into created, fantastical worlds, only to highlight the complex—even impossible—architectures of their construction. Before the pandemic, Adrian primarily focused on personal experiences and interrogations of queerness, identity, and sexuality. Since then, the work has zoomed out in its scope, still centering identity but placed in larger infrastructure and surveillance systems that mediate, manipulate, and control desire.

Adrian counts queer fiber art, BDSM and kink culture, theatre, camp horror, puppetry, and drag among his many influences. Works in RIPSTOP, like the modernist bounce house sculpture A Fallible Complex (2021), evoke spaces for play, beckoning visitors in through their alluring aesthetic and then blocking their entrance or revealing structural instabilities, like missing floors. Others, like The Sensational Inflatable Furry Divines (2017-19), use sensual materials, like faux fur, spandex, and pleather, which connect to theatrical performance and counterculture. The materials “play on people’s initial associations and serve as a gateway into greater conversations about identity construction, performance, desire, and technology,” he shares.Pieces also nod to the history of quilting, including the AIDS Memorial Quilt, another influence on Adrian’s work. “Even when pieces aren’t explicitly making quilt references, I want the history of quilting and sewing-based craft to be part of the conversation of the work,” he says. “Craft is so much about the processes and histories behind materials. It’s about connecting with communities of people who practice those techniques. It’s about material and technique being a doorway into a greater relationship with an object.”

Themes of transformation—of structures, identities, and bodies—run throughout the show. “What I love about drag and puppetry is the sense of transformation and play, specifically with bodies,” Adrian says. “Within these art forms, a body can become mutable and capable of performing and becoming in unexpected states.” The sculptures also transform throughout viewers’ experiences, going through stages of inflation and deflation and existing in many different states.

RIPSTOP’s constant interplay between surface and depth, assumption and reality, are all a part of what Adrian describes as “looking behind the curtain,” which they trace back to the theatre. “When I’m thinking about systems, and the systems desire fits into, I’m thinking of stage construction, the backstage, the things that go on behind the show, and performance of our desires,” they explain.

As a craft artist, Adrian’s philosophy “comes down to having an intentional relationship with material, process, and technique,” he says. “Those aspects of art making are just as – if not more – important than an intellectualized concept being illustrated by an artwork.”

“Broadened definitions of craft that highlight communities of practice are foundational for the Center for Craft’s new strategic direction,” explains Executive Director Stephanie Moore. “Max Adrian’s work in RIPSTOP exemplifies the expansive and meaningful forms craft can take.” The Center for Craft is an institution Adrian credits for their professional growth. “The Center for Craft has felt like such a supporting institution for me specifically and for so many other craft artists I know,” they note. “To be able to bring this amount of work to Asheville is pretty cool.”

See Max Adrian: RIPSTOP at the Center for Craft Beginning July 26. A reception will be held on August 15. RIPSTOP is organized by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and curated by Sarah Darro.

# # #
ABOUT CENTER FOR CRAFT Founded in 1996, the Center for Craft’s mission is to resource, catalyze, and amplify how and why craft matters. As a 501(c)3 national nonprofit that increases access to craft by empowering and resourcing artists, organizations, and communities through grants, fellowships and programs that bring people together. The Center is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential organizations working on behalf of craft in the United States. For more information, visit www.centerforcraft.org.
Honoring Nature: Early Southern Appalachian Landscape Painting
Sep 16 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the early 1900s, travel by train and automobile became more accessible in the United States, leading to an increase in tourism and a revitalized interest in landscape painting. The relative ease of transportation, as well as the creation of National Parks, allowed people to experience the breathtaking landscapes of the United States in new ways. Artists traveled along popular routes, recording the terrain they encountered.

This exhibition explores the sublime natural landscapes of the Smokey Mountains of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. While there were several regional schools of painting around this time, this group is largely from the Midwest and many of the artists trained at the Art Institute of Chicago or in New York City. Through their travels, they captured waterfalls, sunsets, thunderstorms, autumn foliage, lush green summers, and snow-covered mountains—elements that were novel for viewers from cities and rural areas. Though some of these paintings include people, they are usually used for scale and painted with little to no detail, highlighting the magnificence of nature.

Rudolph F. Ingerle, Mirrored Mountain, not dated, oil on canvas, 28 × 32 inches. Courtesy of Allen & Barry Huffman, Asheville Art Museum.

Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection
Sep 16 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection, on view through May 17—September 23, 2024. Shifting Perceptions is guest-curated by Katherine Ware, curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art, and continues the Museum’s 75th-anniversary celebration and highlights its expanding Collection.
Featuring over 125 photographs, the exhibition showcases works by 20th-century masters such as Ruth Bernhard, Bruce Davidson, Donna Ferrato, Carrie Mae Weems, and Jerry Uelsmann, alongside contemporary images by Jess T. Dugan, Matthew Pillsbury, and Cara Romero, among others. While some photographs offer a distinct point of view, many invite contemplation of the intersections and contradictions within each category. Recent acquisitions and longtime favorites are presented in new juxtapositions, providing fresh insights into the evolving landscape of photography.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Arts Discounts Page
Sep 17 all-day
online w/ ArtsAVL
The Art League of Henderson County announces: “Red, White and Blue”
Sep 17 @ 9:00 am
Henderson County Library

Artists are invited to create artworks with the theme of “Red, White and Blue.“  Apply these patriotic colors at the center of your subjects, however there are no limits to your creativity, your artworks don’t need to be primarily patriotic theme, but viewers should be able to spot the use of recognizable amount of red, white and blue colors.

Exhibition on Display: Class of 2024 – Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program
Sep 17 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Located on the second floor until September 18th, the show continues the historical relationship between the Southern Highland Craft Guild and Haywood, an educational center of the Guild. This new generation of craft is led by instructors Amy Putansu in fiber, Brian Wurst in wood, Emily Reason in clay, and Robert Blanton in metals & jewelry. Students of the Haywood program come from all over, with or without prior experience of craft, and sometimes pursuing it as a second or third career. The course of study is challenging, combining craft concentrations with supplemental classes in design, drawing, craft history, business, marketing and photography.

Haywood Community College and the Southern Highland Craft Guild share a history that documents the role of craft education in preserving traditional culture, creating economic opportunity and fostering professional practice. All of the artists represent the vitality and creativity of craft practice today, which is the ultimate purpose of both institutions. Many Haywood graduates have become individual members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and have served the Guild in various capacities.

Instructor Brian Wurst of the Professional Crafts Wood program says, “Our programs have thrived for nearly five decades, and our relationship with the Craft Guild has been a key part of that. We’re always thrilled to have work showcased at the Folk Art Center, and in turn scores of our alumni have gone on to become active Guild members. The Graduate Show is the capstone of two hard years by these students, and it’s a delight to share it in this beautiful space.”

Haywood Community College is located in Clyde, North Carolina, just west of Asheville. The college’s Professional Crafts Program began in recognition of the region’s strong craft heritage. It was envisioned that students would learn the basics of craft media and how to transform that craft into a business. The clay studio was the first to open in 1974. With the addition of jewelry, wood and fiber studios, a comprehensive curriculum was in place by 1977.

Anyone interested in taking courses at Haywood Community College can contact the success coach, Farrah Rodriguez [email protected] 828.627.4505.

The Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program, Graduate Show, Class of 2024 is a free exhibit at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville. For more information, visit www.craftguild.org or call 828-523-4110. For more information about the Professional Crafts Program, call 828-627-4674 or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

Max Adrian: RIPSTOP
Sep 17 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft
The Center for Craft is thrilled to announce the opening of Max Adrian: RIPSTOP. Adrian (he/they), a textile artist who was awarded a Windgate-Lamar Fellowship by the Center in 2015 and a Career Advancement Fellowship in 2022, will bring the playful, experiential, and provocative solo exhibition of textiles and inflatable sculptures to the Bresler Family Gallery beginning July 26, 2024 through March 29, 2025.

Pieces made from nylon fabric ripstop, which keeps tears from spreading, invite viewers into created, fantastical worlds, only to highlight the complex—even impossible—architectures of their construction. Before the pandemic, Adrian primarily focused on personal experiences and interrogations of queerness, identity, and sexuality. Since then, the work has zoomed out in its scope, still centering identity but placed in larger infrastructure and surveillance systems that mediate, manipulate, and control desire.

Adrian counts queer fiber art, BDSM and kink culture, theatre, camp horror, puppetry, and drag among his many influences. Works in RIPSTOP, like the modernist bounce house sculpture A Fallible Complex (2021), evoke spaces for play, beckoning visitors in through their alluring aesthetic and then blocking their entrance or revealing structural instabilities, like missing floors. Others, like The Sensational Inflatable Furry Divines (2017-19), use sensual materials, like faux fur, spandex, and pleather, which connect to theatrical performance and counterculture. The materials “play on people’s initial associations and serve as a gateway into greater conversations about identity construction, performance, desire, and technology,” he shares.Pieces also nod to the history of quilting, including the AIDS Memorial Quilt, another influence on Adrian’s work. “Even when pieces aren’t explicitly making quilt references, I want the history of quilting and sewing-based craft to be part of the conversation of the work,” he says. “Craft is so much about the processes and histories behind materials. It’s about connecting with communities of people who practice those techniques. It’s about material and technique being a doorway into a greater relationship with an object.”

Themes of transformation—of structures, identities, and bodies—run throughout the show. “What I love about drag and puppetry is the sense of transformation and play, specifically with bodies,” Adrian says. “Within these art forms, a body can become mutable and capable of performing and becoming in unexpected states.” The sculptures also transform throughout viewers’ experiences, going through stages of inflation and deflation and existing in many different states.

RIPSTOP’s constant interplay between surface and depth, assumption and reality, are all a part of what Adrian describes as “looking behind the curtain,” which they trace back to the theatre. “When I’m thinking about systems, and the systems desire fits into, I’m thinking of stage construction, the backstage, the things that go on behind the show, and performance of our desires,” they explain.

As a craft artist, Adrian’s philosophy “comes down to having an intentional relationship with material, process, and technique,” he says. “Those aspects of art making are just as – if not more – important than an intellectualized concept being illustrated by an artwork.”

“Broadened definitions of craft that highlight communities of practice are foundational for the Center for Craft’s new strategic direction,” explains Executive Director Stephanie Moore. “Max Adrian’s work in RIPSTOP exemplifies the expansive and meaningful forms craft can take.” The Center for Craft is an institution Adrian credits for their professional growth. “The Center for Craft has felt like such a supporting institution for me specifically and for so many other craft artists I know,” they note. “To be able to bring this amount of work to Asheville is pretty cool.”

See Max Adrian: RIPSTOP at the Center for Craft Beginning July 26. A reception will be held on August 15. RIPSTOP is organized by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and curated by Sarah Darro.

# # #
ABOUT CENTER FOR CRAFT Founded in 1996, the Center for Craft’s mission is to resource, catalyze, and amplify how and why craft matters. As a 501(c)3 national nonprofit that increases access to craft by empowering and resourcing artists, organizations, and communities through grants, fellowships and programs that bring people together. The Center is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential organizations working on behalf of craft in the United States. For more information, visit www.centerforcraft.org.
Oui Jar Basket-making class
Sep 17 @ 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Folk Art Center
Interested in the craft of basketry? Southern Highland Craft Guild member, Susan Taylor, will be hosting multiple basketry classes in 2024 at the Folk Art Center!
Join Susan for a Oui Jar Basket-making class! Folk Art Center Boardroom. To register, call or text Susan at 828-284-5524. Fee: $95 – includes all materials, tools, and supplies.
About the Instructor
Susan is a native of the coal mining village of Shady Spring, West Virginia. As a child, she watched her mother, Mae Alice Taylor, weave functional baskets. In 2002, after back surgery limited Mae’s mobility, it was time for mother to pass to daughter her precious knowledge of the art of basket weaving. Susan describes that time as “finally coming home”. The combination of fibers and artistry had opened a new avenue of self-discovery for her. Susan’s baskets are known for their quality, attention to detail, and visual excitement. A ‘natural’ in 3-dimensional arts, Susan also enjoys pottery, gourd projects, jewelry making, beadwork, wood turning, and felting wool.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
ASAP: How Does Western North Carolina Shop for Food SURVEY
Sep 18 all-day
online

ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) has released a survey to learn more about how people in Western North Carolina shop for food and why they choose the food they do. The survey, part of a three-year project by ASAP’s Local Food Research Center, is for any resident of Western North Carolina over the age of 18, no matter where or how they shop for food. It can be completed online at surveymonkey.com/r/WNCFoodASAP or over the phone by calling ASAP at 828-236-1282. It should take approximately 8 to 12 minutes to complete and will be open through Oct. 31, 2024. Respondents are encouraged to share the survey widely with families, friends, and co-workers.

 

“By completing this survey, you are helping local farmers understand and connect with consumers,” said Amy Marion, ASAP Associate Director and lead researcher. “The challenges of our food system are constantly evolving. Improving it requires active participation from all community members. With this research we can better understand consumer values and the barriers they face, and help farmers and food producers improve communications with their customers and their communities.”

 

The survey is part of a three-year research project, “Connections in Direct Markets: Assessing the feedback loop between consumer values and farmers’ marketing strategies,” which will examine and improve communication and alignment between farmers and consumers in Western North Carolina. The research phase will also employ consumer focus groups, farmer interviews and case studies, and more targeted surveying. The broad consumer survey provides an update to the last consumer survey conducted by the Local Food Research Center in 2014. Results from the current research project will be shared in 2025.

 

ASAP founded the Local Food Research Center in 2011 to study the economic, environmental, and social impacts of localizing food systems. From its inception, ASAP’s programs and services have been grounded in research and evaluation, adjusting based on a strong feedback loop and observation of current conditions in the food system.

 

This project is supported in part by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2022-38640-37488 through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number LS23-382. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider.

The Art League of Henderson County announces: “Red, White and Blue”
Sep 18 @ 9:00 am
Henderson County Library

Artists are invited to create artworks with the theme of “Red, White and Blue.“  Apply these patriotic colors at the center of your subjects, however there are no limits to your creativity, your artworks don’t need to be primarily patriotic theme, but viewers should be able to spot the use of recognizable amount of red, white and blue colors.

Exhibition on Display: Class of 2024 – Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program
Sep 18 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Located on the second floor until September 18th, the show continues the historical relationship between the Southern Highland Craft Guild and Haywood, an educational center of the Guild. This new generation of craft is led by instructors Amy Putansu in fiber, Brian Wurst in wood, Emily Reason in clay, and Robert Blanton in metals & jewelry. Students of the Haywood program come from all over, with or without prior experience of craft, and sometimes pursuing it as a second or third career. The course of study is challenging, combining craft concentrations with supplemental classes in design, drawing, craft history, business, marketing and photography.

Haywood Community College and the Southern Highland Craft Guild share a history that documents the role of craft education in preserving traditional culture, creating economic opportunity and fostering professional practice. All of the artists represent the vitality and creativity of craft practice today, which is the ultimate purpose of both institutions. Many Haywood graduates have become individual members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and have served the Guild in various capacities.

Instructor Brian Wurst of the Professional Crafts Wood program says, “Our programs have thrived for nearly five decades, and our relationship with the Craft Guild has been a key part of that. We’re always thrilled to have work showcased at the Folk Art Center, and in turn scores of our alumni have gone on to become active Guild members. The Graduate Show is the capstone of two hard years by these students, and it’s a delight to share it in this beautiful space.”

Haywood Community College is located in Clyde, North Carolina, just west of Asheville. The college’s Professional Crafts Program began in recognition of the region’s strong craft heritage. It was envisioned that students would learn the basics of craft media and how to transform that craft into a business. The clay studio was the first to open in 1974. With the addition of jewelry, wood and fiber studios, a comprehensive curriculum was in place by 1977.

Anyone interested in taking courses at Haywood Community College can contact the success coach, Farrah Rodriguez [email protected] 828.627.4505.

The Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program, Graduate Show, Class of 2024 is a free exhibit at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville. For more information, visit www.craftguild.org or call 828-523-4110. For more information about the Professional Crafts Program, call 828-627-4674 or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

Max Adrian: RIPSTOP
Sep 18 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft
The Center for Craft is thrilled to announce the opening of Max Adrian: RIPSTOP. Adrian (he/they), a textile artist who was awarded a Windgate-Lamar Fellowship by the Center in 2015 and a Career Advancement Fellowship in 2022, will bring the playful, experiential, and provocative solo exhibition of textiles and inflatable sculptures to the Bresler Family Gallery beginning July 26, 2024 through March 29, 2025.

Pieces made from nylon fabric ripstop, which keeps tears from spreading, invite viewers into created, fantastical worlds, only to highlight the complex—even impossible—architectures of their construction. Before the pandemic, Adrian primarily focused on personal experiences and interrogations of queerness, identity, and sexuality. Since then, the work has zoomed out in its scope, still centering identity but placed in larger infrastructure and surveillance systems that mediate, manipulate, and control desire.

Adrian counts queer fiber art, BDSM and kink culture, theatre, camp horror, puppetry, and drag among his many influences. Works in RIPSTOP, like the modernist bounce house sculpture A Fallible Complex (2021), evoke spaces for play, beckoning visitors in through their alluring aesthetic and then blocking their entrance or revealing structural instabilities, like missing floors. Others, like The Sensational Inflatable Furry Divines (2017-19), use sensual materials, like faux fur, spandex, and pleather, which connect to theatrical performance and counterculture. The materials “play on people’s initial associations and serve as a gateway into greater conversations about identity construction, performance, desire, and technology,” he shares.Pieces also nod to the history of quilting, including the AIDS Memorial Quilt, another influence on Adrian’s work. “Even when pieces aren’t explicitly making quilt references, I want the history of quilting and sewing-based craft to be part of the conversation of the work,” he says. “Craft is so much about the processes and histories behind materials. It’s about connecting with communities of people who practice those techniques. It’s about material and technique being a doorway into a greater relationship with an object.”

Themes of transformation—of structures, identities, and bodies—run throughout the show. “What I love about drag and puppetry is the sense of transformation and play, specifically with bodies,” Adrian says. “Within these art forms, a body can become mutable and capable of performing and becoming in unexpected states.” The sculptures also transform throughout viewers’ experiences, going through stages of inflation and deflation and existing in many different states.

RIPSTOP’s constant interplay between surface and depth, assumption and reality, are all a part of what Adrian describes as “looking behind the curtain,” which they trace back to the theatre. “When I’m thinking about systems, and the systems desire fits into, I’m thinking of stage construction, the backstage, the things that go on behind the show, and performance of our desires,” they explain.

As a craft artist, Adrian’s philosophy “comes down to having an intentional relationship with material, process, and technique,” he says. “Those aspects of art making are just as – if not more – important than an intellectualized concept being illustrated by an artwork.”

“Broadened definitions of craft that highlight communities of practice are foundational for the Center for Craft’s new strategic direction,” explains Executive Director Stephanie Moore. “Max Adrian’s work in RIPSTOP exemplifies the expansive and meaningful forms craft can take.” The Center for Craft is an institution Adrian credits for their professional growth. “The Center for Craft has felt like such a supporting institution for me specifically and for so many other craft artists I know,” they note. “To be able to bring this amount of work to Asheville is pretty cool.”

See Max Adrian: RIPSTOP at the Center for Craft Beginning July 26. A reception will be held on August 15. RIPSTOP is organized by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and curated by Sarah Darro.

# # #
ABOUT CENTER FOR CRAFT Founded in 1996, the Center for Craft’s mission is to resource, catalyze, and amplify how and why craft matters. As a 501(c)3 national nonprofit that increases access to craft by empowering and resourcing artists, organizations, and communities through grants, fellowships and programs that bring people together. The Center is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential organizations working on behalf of craft in the United States. For more information, visit www.centerforcraft.org.
Honoring Nature: Early Southern Appalachian Landscape Painting
Sep 18 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the early 1900s, travel by train and automobile became more accessible in the United States, leading to an increase in tourism and a revitalized interest in landscape painting. The relative ease of transportation, as well as the creation of National Parks, allowed people to experience the breathtaking landscapes of the United States in new ways. Artists traveled along popular routes, recording the terrain they encountered.

This exhibition explores the sublime natural landscapes of the Smokey Mountains of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. While there were several regional schools of painting around this time, this group is largely from the Midwest and many of the artists trained at the Art Institute of Chicago or in New York City. Through their travels, they captured waterfalls, sunsets, thunderstorms, autumn foliage, lush green summers, and snow-covered mountains—elements that were novel for viewers from cities and rural areas. Though some of these paintings include people, they are usually used for scale and painted with little to no detail, highlighting the magnificence of nature.

Rudolph F. Ingerle, Mirrored Mountain, not dated, oil on canvas, 28 × 32 inches. Courtesy of Allen & Barry Huffman, Asheville Art Museum.