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.

Thursday, June 29, 2023
Center for Craft and the University of North Carolina Asheville: Regional Art Grant Program
Jun 29 all-day
online w/ Center for Craft

he Center for Craft is excited to announce an innovative partnership with the University of North Carolina Asheville’s UNC Gillings Master of Public Health  (MPH) program, to explore the community vitality impacts of engaging with craft.  Six awarded artists, artist collectives, or art organizations will be selected for $2,200 grants to use craft to engage with regional communities in Western North Carolina.

Center for Craft Executive Director Stephanie Moore conveys “Craft contributes significantly to the vitality of community by fostering creativity, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting social connections.” Through the practice of traditional and contemporary crafts individuals develop skills, express their artistic abilities, and find a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Craft also plays a crucial role in preserving cultural traditions and strengthening identity, passing down knowledge from one generation to the next. Craft activities bring people together for social interactions and collaboration that create a sense of belonging. This collaboration is an opportunity to better understand the ways in which craft acts as an indicator of and pathway to a healthy, resilient future.

Proposals from artists, collectives, and organizations in Western North Carolina are encouraged to submit a letter of interest to be selected for the pilot program. Proposed projects should take place between September – November 2023, and engage the community with craft in some way. Each selected project will be paired with a UNC Asheville MPH student who will use methods they are learning in their coursework, taught by UNC Asheville faculty member and MPH co-director Dr. Ameena Batada, to explore and measure impacts of each project.

https://www.centerforcraft.org/event/2023-craft-and-community-vitality-virtual-information-session

virtual session July 7, 3-4pm

Charlotte + Bob Otto 2023 Apprentice Match
Jun 29 all-day
online w/ Flat Rock Playhouse

Support one of the greatest traditions at Flat Rock Playhouse!

2023 Apprentice Benefactors Charlotte and Bob Otto will match your gift 1:1 up to $25,000.

Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2023 Apprentice Program! Don’t miss this chance to DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!

For over 65 years, a select group of college-age performers participate in an intensive summer at Flat Rock Playhouse that includes on-stage performance and mentoring from FRP professionals. They also perform Rootabaga stories four times a week at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and take original educational programs out to schools in four area counties. Apprentices come from prestigious theatre schools across the country and are chosen from more than 1000 students who audition.

Apprentice graduates have gone on to major professional engagements on and off-Broadway, on national tours, and in regional theatres. Notable alumni who have played on Broadway include Michael Luwoye (Hamilton in Hamilton, An American Musical), Adam Kaplan (A Bronx Tale), Ginna Claire Mason (Glinda in Wicked), Jared Goldsmith (Dear Evan Hansen) and Ben Hope (Once). 

Help us keep our community cool: Support YWCA’s fundraiser
Jun 29 all-day
online

The YWCA recently learned that our aging HVAC system can no longer reliably heat and cool our building. This means more than discomfort for members and staff – we are required to maintain a consistent and healthy temperature in the building for the well-being and safety of the children in our childcare programs. We are asking for your help to address the immediate need for $60k to replace the first five of our 24 HVAC units and ensure that both of our Childcare programs can continue to provide accessible childcare to working families and the work of the YWCA can continue without disruption.

Inqwiry: Outdoor Wire Sculptures by Josh Coté
Jun 29 all-day
Grovewood Village

Grovewood Gallery will present Inqwiry, an outdoor exhibition of wire animal sculptures by Bakersville, NC, artist Josh Coté. This event is open to the public and free to attend. Inqwiry will remain on view through August 13, 2023.

MANNA’s Outpace Hunger campaign
Jun 29 all-day
online

Let’s get you registered for Outpace Hunger!

Mountain Housing Opportunities Fundraising Challenge Announced: Dollar for Dollar match from Biltmore
Jun 29 all-day
online
$35,000 Fundraising Challenge Announced: Dollar for Dollar match from Biltmore

Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) is excited to announce a special philanthropic commitment from The Biltmore Company in honor of MHO’s 35th Anniversary: a $35,000 Matching Gift Challenge.

Beginning in June, Biltmore will match all donations made to MHO on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $35,000. This special matching gift will DOUBLE the impact of individual donations and will result in at least $70,000 raised to support MHO’s affordable housing programs and services.

“The need for affordable housing in our region has never been greater. We are excited to partner with Biltmore to bring greater awareness to this urgent need and inspire others to donate what they can.” said Scott Dedman, MHO’s President and Executive Director. “Philanthropic support from individuals and  business partners like Biltmore help to fuel MHO’s efforts to create more opportunities for residents of western North Carolina to find and keep affordable housing and to build generational wealth through more equitable paths to homeownership.”

Biltmore’s history of community engagement and philanthropy dates back to its founding nearly 130 years ago. “We continue the Vanderbilt tradition of giving back and by supporting our community’s economic growth,” shared Tim Rosebrock, Vice President of Compliance and Legal Services at Biltmore. “Biltmore’s philanthropy is a demonstration of our core values in action. We are honored to support Mountain Housing Opportunities’ work to create and preserve affordable housing for the people who call this region home. And we hope the opportunity to have your donation matched encourages more of our neighbors to pitch in with their own contributions, as well.”

All donations received from individuals, including gifts in support of MHO’s upcoming 35th Anniversary Celebration, are eligible to receive a 100% match from Biltmore, up to $35,000. This includes gifts from family foundations and donor advised funds. Gifts from businesses are not eligible for the match.

“We are grateful for this generous and timely contribution from Biltmore in honor of MHO’s 35 years in business,” said Allison Rollison, Director of Philanthropy at MHO. “Biltmore’s reputation for excellence, service, and stewardship is unparalleled. We are honored to be aligned with a company that centers the dignity and well-being of the people of western North Carolina. This $35,000 match will catalyze generosity from others in our community who also believe that everyone – no matter their income—deserves a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.”

Pardee Hospital Foundation 2023 Annual Gala Silent Auction Preview
Jun 29 all-day
online w/ UNC Health Pardee Hospital
There are so many great items to bid on at this year’s gala: Golf foursomes, vacations, restaurants, local vendors, and more! Remember, no need to be present to win.
Silent Auction Preview | Paradise Island
Discover the hidden world of Atlantis with a three-night stay in The Royal, Run of the House room at Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas, including airport land transfers in the Bahamas upon arrival and departure! The resort features the world’s largest man-made marine habitat, Dolphin Cay and the Aquaventure Water Park. Atlantis offers a variety of gourmet restaurants, a relaxing spa, sports center, and the most exciting casino in the Caribbean.
Value: $1,900
Silent Auction Preview | It’s Greek To Me!
Enjoy a luxurious four-night stay in a Sea View Room with direct poolside access, complete with breakfast, at the Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort in Greece’s stunning island of Crete! The resort features air-conditioned rooms with verandas, marble bathrooms, stocked refrigerators, satellite television, hair dryers, and in-house music. Just a short 45-minute drive from the airport, the resort is situated near two private, sandy beaches and a marina.
Value: $1,320
Pisgah Legal Together We Dream Giving Challenge
Jun 29 all-day
online

According to a study by Syracuse University, North Carolina ranks last in the country for people likely to have legal representation in their immigration cases. Here in Western North Carolina (WNC), nonprofit Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) provides most of the free civil legal aid for area immigrants and is working to raise $100,000 by July 1st to support this important work.

“Pisgah Legal Services provides life-changing – and sometimes life-saving – legal representation for immigrants and asylum seekers, and that help is scarce and very hard to come by,” says PLS Chief Development Officer Ally Wilson. “We only have three immigration attorneys to serve our entire 18-county region, and Pisgah Legal provides the majority of free legal aid for immigrants in WNC.”

She continued, “Thanks to generous supporters who have already come forward, we have raised $30,000 towards the $100,000 goal by July 1 for our Together We Dream Giving Challenge. We need additional charitable contributions to keep families together and educated about their rights, to secure legal immigration status and work authorizations and to stop the violence and abuse that many come to the United States to escape.”

Gifts made in the coming week will be matched! “A generous donor has stepped forward to help us build momentum to reach our goal,” says Wilson. “From now until Wednesday, June 21st, all gifts will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. Give today and your gift will have double the impact!”

Want to Help?

Giving online is fast, easy and secure at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/dream or contact Chief Development Officer Ally Wilson by phone 828-210-3444 or via email: [email protected].  Checks may be mailed to Pisgah Legal Services, P.O. Box 2276, Asheville, N.C.  28802

Biltmore Estate: Ciao! From Italy Sculptural Postcard Display
Jun 29 @ 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!

Chalk it Up
Jun 29 @ 8:30 am – 11:30 am
Main St. Hendersonville NC

“Chalk It Up!” began with 3 children drawing in front of their mother’s store. It has blossomed into one of the most beloved and endearing events that our town has to offer. It is a unique way to experience beautiful downtown Hendersonville, N.C. Every summer, 150 artists of all ages draw for prizes and fun in this great contest designed to promote Hendersonville as “a city with a heart for art”. Registration begins June 6, 2023 “Chalk It Up!” event date: 7/15 Rain dates 7/22 and 7/29.

Eidolon art exhibition
Jun 29 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tyger Tyger Gallery

Exhibition dates: June 9 – July 23

Hours: Tuesday-Saturdays from 10-5 pm, Sundays 11-4 pm

Eidolon is an ancient term from Greek -oeidēs “form”. Early meanings included “mental image”, “appearance”, and “reflection” (as in a mirror or pool), and later, “apparition” or “imaginary entity”, among other things. Expanding beyond the definition pointing to a phantasm or specter, eidolon also sounds like some kind of astral or idyllic place in a novel or poem about an imaginary world. Eidolon features the work of Jacqueline Shatz and Margaret Thompson.
Jacqueline Shatz’s small sculptures of ambiguous and hybridized figures float, entwine, swim, commune with animals and collapse into abstract arabesques and gestures, hinting at mythology, in-between states, and the permeable nature of existence. Margaret Thompson’s paintings are inspired by elements of the symbolist movement and magical realism; she channels dreams and the associative powers of the imagination into her practice, painting subjects that live between our physical realm and spaces beyond the categories of known experience: they are unrestrained, undefined, and free.

Exhibition: NEO MINERALIA
Jun 29 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

Sae Honda. Courtesy of the Artist.

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

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

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

Exhibition: Something earned, Something left behind
Jun 29 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

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

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

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

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

Exhibition: Crafting Denim
Jun 29 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

Photo credit:

Photograph by Bowery Blue Makers

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

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

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

Italian Renaissance Alive
Jun 29 @ 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

Quilting | Live Demo
Jun 29 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Connie Brown will be demonstrating dyeing cotton fabric with fresh indigo in the mornings (if her indigo is ready to harvest!), and hand quilting in the afternoons 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: 828-358-3192.

Black Mountain College and Mexico (BMC/MX): Exhibition
Jun 29 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Curators

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

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

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

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper
Jun 29 @ 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.

The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Jun 29 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Art of Food features works from important postwar artists, like Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, John Baldessari, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Jasper Johns, alongside the work of contemporary artists, like Alison Saar, Lorna Simpson, Enrique Chagoya, Rachel Whiteread, and Jenny Holzer, among others.

The Art of Food features more than 100 works in mediums that include drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and ceramics by 37 artists.

Each artist has a unique means of depicting food in their work that, when seen alongside others, creates a nuanced representation of the complex place food holds in everyday life. Cross-historical resonances between artists in the exhibition spark novel meditations on food and its discontents, while speaking to a broad range of audiences.

The Photographs of Anne Noggle
Jun 29 @ 12:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center
On Exhibit
TFAC’s JP Gallery
June 22 – August 18
Anne Noggle’s work consistently challenged the stereotypes and standard mythologies of women. She herself began her artistic career at age forty-three, to complement her already-established
profession as a pilot.
The exhibit is a joint presentation between TFAC, and the Tryon Arts & Crafts School and both locations are curated by Martha Strawn, president of the
Anne Noggle Foundation and art historian Lili Corbus.
Christmas in July: The Spirit of Giving Fundraiser Concert
Jun 29 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wells Event Center

Fundraising Concert for Children’s Grief Programs Features An Evening with Darren Nicholson

Haywood Hospice and the Haywood Healthcare Foundation are proud to announce a special community event taking place in Waynesville this July. “Christmas in July” is a fundraising concert to benefit children’s grief programs in Haywood County. Taking place at the Wells Event Center in Waynesville, North Carolina, on Saturday, July 29, “Christmas in July” invites the community to feel the spirit of giving and enjoy a night of music and fellowship for an important cause.

At 6:00 PM, the evening kicks off with a silent auction as well as a photo opportunity with Smoky Mountain Santa. Light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. Live music from Gary Mehalick, Stephen Feron, and Lizzy Ibarra begins at 7:30, followed by featured performer Darren Nicholson. 

Friday, June 30, 2023
“Year of the Rabbit” – Solo Exhibition for Hunt Slonem
Jun 30 all-day
Bender Gallery

Bender Gallery is happy to present the “Year of the Rabbit,” a solo exhibition featuring the lush Neo-Expressionist works of internationally celebrated artist Hunt Slonem and his newly released book, Butterflies. Slonem’s opulent textural paintings of his iconic birds and butterflies and his wildly popular rabbits, as well as unique sculptural works, give us a glimpse into Slonem’s colorful maximalist world and artistic empire. This exhibit will be on view at Bender Gallery June 1 – 30, and we hope to see you there!

Asheville Regional Airport: art exhibit highlighting local artists
Jun 30 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.

Call for Sculptors – 37th Annual Sculpture Celebration
Jun 30 all-day
online w/ Caldwell Arts Council

The Caldwell Arts Council announces a call for sculptors to participate in its 37th Annual Sculpture Celebration scheduled from 9am-4pm on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at the Broyhill Walking Park in Lenoir, North Carolina.

 

Sculptors are invited to enter up to 3 works in the competition that will be judged by renowned sculptor Kyle Van Lusk of Brevard, NC and offers $11,000 in cash awards. Sales and commissions are allowed with 100% of proceeds going to the sculptors. All sizes of works in all materials are welcome. In addition, large-scale outdoor works can be entered for a second exhibition and sales opportunity at the Western NC Sculpture Center.

 

Registration includes FREE help in unloading, installation, and removal of work; admission to the Friday night Sculptor’s Reception & Dinner; and a continental breakfast on Saturday. Local lodging options are available, as well as free camping at the Western NC Sculpture Center.

 

Held rain or shine, this annual family-friendly event attracts sculptors and buyers from all over the eastern United States, with attendance as high as 4,000 people. It is funded in part by generous sponsors, the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Early registration discounts are available and special rates are provided for students. For complete details, visit www.caldwellarts.com, or contact the Caldwell Arts Council at 828-754-2486 or [email protected].

 

Center for Craft and the University of North Carolina Asheville: Regional Art Grant Program
Jun 30 all-day
online w/ Center for Craft

he Center for Craft is excited to announce an innovative partnership with the University of North Carolina Asheville’s UNC Gillings Master of Public Health  (MPH) program, to explore the community vitality impacts of engaging with craft.  Six awarded artists, artist collectives, or art organizations will be selected for $2,200 grants to use craft to engage with regional communities in Western North Carolina.

Center for Craft Executive Director Stephanie Moore conveys “Craft contributes significantly to the vitality of community by fostering creativity, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting social connections.” Through the practice of traditional and contemporary crafts individuals develop skills, express their artistic abilities, and find a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Craft also plays a crucial role in preserving cultural traditions and strengthening identity, passing down knowledge from one generation to the next. Craft activities bring people together for social interactions and collaboration that create a sense of belonging. This collaboration is an opportunity to better understand the ways in which craft acts as an indicator of and pathway to a healthy, resilient future.

Proposals from artists, collectives, and organizations in Western North Carolina are encouraged to submit a letter of interest to be selected for the pilot program. Proposed projects should take place between September – November 2023, and engage the community with craft in some way. Each selected project will be paired with a UNC Asheville MPH student who will use methods they are learning in their coursework, taught by UNC Asheville faculty member and MPH co-director Dr. Ameena Batada, to explore and measure impacts of each project.

https://www.centerforcraft.org/event/2023-craft-and-community-vitality-virtual-information-session

virtual session July 7, 3-4pm

Charlotte + Bob Otto 2023 Apprentice Match
Jun 30 all-day
online w/ Flat Rock Playhouse

Support one of the greatest traditions at Flat Rock Playhouse!

2023 Apprentice Benefactors Charlotte and Bob Otto will match your gift 1:1 up to $25,000.

Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2023 Apprentice Program! Don’t miss this chance to DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!

For over 65 years, a select group of college-age performers participate in an intensive summer at Flat Rock Playhouse that includes on-stage performance and mentoring from FRP professionals. They also perform Rootabaga stories four times a week at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and take original educational programs out to schools in four area counties. Apprentices come from prestigious theatre schools across the country and are chosen from more than 1000 students who audition.

Apprentice graduates have gone on to major professional engagements on and off-Broadway, on national tours, and in regional theatres. Notable alumni who have played on Broadway include Michael Luwoye (Hamilton in Hamilton, An American Musical), Adam Kaplan (A Bronx Tale), Ginna Claire Mason (Glinda in Wicked), Jared Goldsmith (Dear Evan Hansen) and Ben Hope (Once). 

Help us keep our community cool: Support YWCA’s fundraiser
Jun 30 all-day
online

The YWCA recently learned that our aging HVAC system can no longer reliably heat and cool our building. This means more than discomfort for members and staff – we are required to maintain a consistent and healthy temperature in the building for the well-being and safety of the children in our childcare programs. We are asking for your help to address the immediate need for $60k to replace the first five of our 24 HVAC units and ensure that both of our Childcare programs can continue to provide accessible childcare to working families and the work of the YWCA can continue without disruption.

Inqwiry: Outdoor Wire Sculptures by Josh Coté
Jun 30 all-day
Grovewood Village

Grovewood Gallery will present Inqwiry, an outdoor exhibition of wire animal sculptures by Bakersville, NC, artist Josh Coté. This event is open to the public and free to attend. Inqwiry will remain on view through August 13, 2023.

MANNA’s Outpace Hunger campaign
Jun 30 all-day
online

Let’s get you registered for Outpace Hunger!

Mountain Housing Opportunities Fundraising Challenge Announced: Dollar for Dollar match from Biltmore
Jun 30 all-day
online
$35,000 Fundraising Challenge Announced: Dollar for Dollar match from Biltmore

Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) is excited to announce a special philanthropic commitment from The Biltmore Company in honor of MHO’s 35th Anniversary: a $35,000 Matching Gift Challenge.

Beginning in June, Biltmore will match all donations made to MHO on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $35,000. This special matching gift will DOUBLE the impact of individual donations and will result in at least $70,000 raised to support MHO’s affordable housing programs and services.

“The need for affordable housing in our region has never been greater. We are excited to partner with Biltmore to bring greater awareness to this urgent need and inspire others to donate what they can.” said Scott Dedman, MHO’s President and Executive Director. “Philanthropic support from individuals and  business partners like Biltmore help to fuel MHO’s efforts to create more opportunities for residents of western North Carolina to find and keep affordable housing and to build generational wealth through more equitable paths to homeownership.”

Biltmore’s history of community engagement and philanthropy dates back to its founding nearly 130 years ago. “We continue the Vanderbilt tradition of giving back and by supporting our community’s economic growth,” shared Tim Rosebrock, Vice President of Compliance and Legal Services at Biltmore. “Biltmore’s philanthropy is a demonstration of our core values in action. We are honored to support Mountain Housing Opportunities’ work to create and preserve affordable housing for the people who call this region home. And we hope the opportunity to have your donation matched encourages more of our neighbors to pitch in with their own contributions, as well.”

All donations received from individuals, including gifts in support of MHO’s upcoming 35th Anniversary Celebration, are eligible to receive a 100% match from Biltmore, up to $35,000. This includes gifts from family foundations and donor advised funds. Gifts from businesses are not eligible for the match.

“We are grateful for this generous and timely contribution from Biltmore in honor of MHO’s 35 years in business,” said Allison Rollison, Director of Philanthropy at MHO. “Biltmore’s reputation for excellence, service, and stewardship is unparalleled. We are honored to be aligned with a company that centers the dignity and well-being of the people of western North Carolina. This $35,000 match will catalyze generosity from others in our community who also believe that everyone – no matter their income—deserves a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.”