Calendar of Events
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.
The MHU Political Science Department and the Madison County League of Women Voters will host a debate between David Wheeler and Ralph Hise, the candidates for the NC Senate District 47 race.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2168076466835994/
The League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County and the 28th Judicial District Bar are co-hosting a discussion between two legislators about the six proposed amendments on this election’s ballot. Senator Terry Van Duyn (D) and a Republican legislator will present the views of their respective political parties and take questions. This event is not a debate or a political forum. It is an information session to help voters better understand the proposed amendments and their potential impact on North Carolina residents.
The six proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution which will
be on the ballot in the upcoming elections have already been the focus
of a lot of discussion and debate. The courts sent some of them back to
the NC Assembly for re-write. Two of them would make significant change
in which part of state government has certain responsibilities. One of
them brings back the previously court-rejected voter ID concept.
Carl Mumpower, the Chair of the Buncombe County Republican Party, and Senator Van Duyn will present the their views and the views of their parties. If you want information on the amendments and what they could mean for North Carolina residents, come to this co-hosted event where both the major political parties will be represented and audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions to the speakers.
Note: This event is not a candidate forum or a political debate. It’s an informational program.
Paid parking is available at the College St. Parking Deck.
Learn something new and support arts education! All proceeds from this workshop benefit our connecting the ANDs community art classes!
In this workshop, un-block your creativity and learn printing techniques on fabric and paper.
Suggested donation of $10-25, all materials supplied!
Our Creating Change Community Classes are sliding scale to encourage access to the arts. These classes are taught with donated time from the instructors so that we can use all of the proceeds in our outreach efforts!
https://www.facebook.com/events/164462144477800/
Genre: Blues/Rock, American Funk, Soul
Tickets: adv. $13 / dos. $15
Show: 7:30PM (Doors: 7PM)
Ages: 21+
ANA Popovic
Guitarist, singer Ana Popovic is back on the road promoting her new album ‘Like It On Top’, that focuses on empowered, successful, inspiring female role models.
Recorded in Nashville, TN, and produced by four-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’, the blues influenced album features guest appearances from Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robben Ford and Keb’ Mo’.
A trending theme in today’s world is women overcoming obstacles and breaking through the glass ceilings to reach the top. Like It On Top celebrates those that take initiative, develop, inspire and motivate. But it also credits the men who are motivated and enlightened enough to support women in their quest to be their best versions of themselves.
“I hope that my music inspires others to motivate ladies all over the world to be successful, energetic, empowered women on a mission, and to motivate men to give them that chance,” Popovic says. “The majority of women need to work harder than men to prove themselves or need to cope with a feeling of constant pressure to never make a mistake and be perfect. I believe that women no longer only have the right to earn a living and to take care of themselves and their families. The time has come to step it up. Becoming the outstanding leaders of tomorrow. Corner-office ladies in business, politics, and the electric guitar!”
Moving west
Ana has been moving west all her life. She fell in love with American blues as a kid, starting back home in Belgrade, Serbia (ex-Yugoslavia), then moved to the Netherlands to study at the conservatory of jazz and world-music. She lived in Amsterdam for over ten years, and then in a single-minded pursuit of her art and career, she relocated to Memphis, TN to record and work with Southern musicians. Finally, two years ago, she moved her family to Los Angeles, California where she now lives.
Called “one helluva a guitar-player” by Bruce Springsteen and nominated for six Blues Music Awards, Ana has appeared on the covers of Vintage Guitar and Guitar Playermagazine. Her albums ‘Can You Stand The Heat’ and ‘Unconditional’ were USA Today Picks-Of-The-Week and featured on NPR Weekend Edition, who praised her “Fiery technique on the Stratocaster”. Nearly all of Ana’s albums reached the top of the Billboard Blues Charts. She and her six-piece band have toured tirelessly, sharing stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa and many others.
web: anapopovic.com
vid: youtu.be/9K7mpFh4RAc
https://www.facebook.com/events/1372128996253584/
Geeks Who Drink brings the nation’s best live hosted pub quiz to Craft Centric Taproom & Bottleshop starting on September 13th! Join us for 8 rounds of audio, visual and live hosted trivia. Our weekly quiz is free to play and we’ll be giving away free drinks for answering bonus questions and gift cards for our top teams at the end of the night. Geeks Who Drink rules limit the total number of players on your team to 6, so gather your smartest friends and come down.
**We are continuing to do our Tuesday Theme Trivia as well**
https://www.facebook.com/events/2156429521274841/
Celtic duo, The Reel Sisters, will be making their Asheville debut at Isis Music Hall as a part of Pan Harmonia’s Celtic Corner series. Join the Reel Sisters to experience the rollicking fun, love, heartbreak, and simple pleasure of this beloved tradition from the British Isles and Appalachia.
https://www.facebook.com/events/327876084416935/
You are invited to join the Mars Hill University Wind Symphony for their fall concert October 11th at 7:30 in Moore Auditorium. The concert is free and will include selections by Holst, Vaugh Williams, Bach, Balmages and others.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1861365053932076/
You know the drill but in case you don’t here it is! Every month on the second Thursday we have a show called The Workshop. It’s a series of acts from stand-up to improv and all things in between.
The show kicks off with a 20 minute set from your hosts Blank Slate followed by each of the acts who have signed up for the month. Each act gets about 10 minutes of stage time. This month will be all improv from two-person to groups!
The show is FREE ,starts at 8pmish and is at Habitat Tavern and Commons. If you’re interested in being on next month’s show reach out to Clifton Hall ([email protected])!
https://www.facebook.com/events/154064238866208/
Paul and John from Dirty Dead perform acoustic versions of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia’s music.
https://www.facebook.com/events/684927981871867/
WHERE: THE BLOCK off biltmore, 39 S. Market St, 28801
WHEN: Thursday October 11, 2018
TIME: 8pm
GENRE: Classic Country & Country Blues
AGES: 21+
SEATS: general seated admission / standing room
TICKETS: $10
WEB LISTING: http://theblockoffbiltmore.com/index.php/event/cowgirls
“EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES”….CONTINUES- Songs by The Women of Classic Country & Country Blues, featuring Mare Carmody, Peggy Ratusz and Ellen Trnka! Featuring Alec Fehl on guitars and Paul McIntyre on violin.
Mare Carmody is a songwriter, and one half of the WNC duo Carver & Carmody. She has been part of the music scene in southeastern Virginia, Memphis Tennessee, Little Rock Arkansas, opening for folks like David Crosby, Jesse Winchester, and The Seldom Scene, and now works the clubs and breweries in the greater Asheville area. She’s a mixture of blues and country, declarations and observations on life.”
HEAR SOME MUSIC: www.reverbnation.com/carvercarmody
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/uauzyk9fkpY
Ellen Trnka is a vocal musician from the NYC area residing in WNC since 2002. She’s been singing professionally for over 30 years in blues and jazz bands, trios, duos and as a solo singer songwriter. Trnka’s extensive experience has landed her dates in prestigious venues from NYC all the way down the Eastern seaboard. Ellen has opened for international acts Pheobe Snow, Saffire-”The Uppitty Blues Woman, Marshall Tucker Band and John Pizzarelli.
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/BOJf3dXun5c
Austin, Texas transplant, Peggy Ratusz has been pulling from the cream of the Asheville music crop since moving here in 2002. This “ruby throated” chanteuse has been a finalist in the International Blues Challenge in 2008, 2010 and 2016. She’s opened for Tedeschi-Trucks Band, Geoff Atchison, Denise LaSalle and the Beach Boys. As evidenced by her electric stage presence at festivals, concerts, clubs and showcases, she’s a willing servant to the music.
HEAR SOME MUSIC: www.reverbnation.com/peggyratusz
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/aF8-zmg1uVA
Guitarist, Alec Fehl earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Currently a guitar teacher and teen band mentor, he also teaches computer hardware and web application programing at AB-Tech and writes computer textbooks. He plays guitar in several bands including Bill Mattocks & The Strut and Deep River.
Electric and Acoustic Violinist, Paul McIntire has decades of varied experience. From his native California, across the USA, Europe and Asia, Paul has enjoyed sharing his instrumental passions. A third generation Musician and Performer, he was classically trained since the age of 6. His interests lean toward Jazz Improvisation, Celtic, and Electronic music. But he is also an award winning Country Fiddler, and has extensive credits in recording, and live performance.
https://www.facebook.com/events/310115236211514/
Hackensaw Boys
For almost two decades, the Hackensaw Boys have plowed the asphalt bringing their raw, gritty American vernacular sounds to the music halls and streets across the world. Twenty years later, the group continues their burning hot vision of American roots music into a new age, fueled as much by a rowdy punk spirit as by the traditional masters that first inspired them.
The music began in 1999 when four friends from Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley found their collective ways to the roots music hub of Charlottesville. They didn’t waste time getting going, playing a show on the street the day of their first practice. The group let the good times roll and started adding like-minded people until their ranks reached twelve players for their first US tour. As with the folk and punk traditions which form the foundation of their sound, they’ve always operated more as a collective than a band. All said, twenty-eight members have cycled through the group—you never quite know who might sit in as a guest on any given night.
Helmed by founding member David Sickmen, the Hackensaw Boys have always had more in common with bands like The Clash, who celebrated the working class roots of their own music, than they did with an overly-polished Nashville mainstream. As evidenced in the Hackensaws’ history, their music fit as easily backing Charlie Louvin as it did in backstage jams on tour with Modest Mouse and the Flaming Lips.
Kenny George Band
Music’s elders and icons established the initial template for Rock ‘n’ Roll, but it’s the newer generation that keeps it thriving and moving forward. So credit the Kenny George Band for doing exactly that. Comprised of Kenny George (lead guitar, vocals, songwriter), Bucky Brown (drums, harmony vocals), Center Ely (steel guitar), Brooks Andrews (bass) and Scott Rankin (rhythm guitar, harmony vocals), this hardworking ensemble has earned their stripes the hard way. Performing an average of 150 to 180 shows per year throughout the heartland, they bring their music to the masses one gig at a time.
https://www.facebook.com/events/300967240474579/
WHERE: Ambrose West, 312 Haywood Road, 28806
WHEN: Thursday October 11, 2018
DOORS: 7pm | SHOW: 8pm
GENRE: rock / pop
AGES: all ages
TICKETS: $8 adv. / $10 d.o.s.
SEATING: standing room only
WEB LISTING: www.ambrosewest.com/brook
The Brook & The Bluff:
WEBSITE: www.brookandbluff.com
HEAR SOME MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/the-brook-the-bluff
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/35TAeugKpdY
The Brook & The Bluff is a Birmingham-born, Nashville-based band that has quickly become characterized by its evocative blend of vocal harmony, soulful air and groovitational pull. These elements are readily apparent in the band’s early releases, which have helped spur the band forward in their musical pursuits.
Originally an acoustic duo in 2015, Alec Bolton and Joseph Settine started turning heads in their hometown of Birmingham, AL. In the spring of 2016, John Canada noticed the talent and potential of the duo and offered to play drums and sing for a couple of gigs. The trio instantly locked in and have been playing together ever since. With new bassist Fred Lankford, The Brook & The Bluff relocated to Nashville at the start of 2018.
Jordy Searcy:
WEBSITE: www.jordysearcymusic.com
HEAR SOME MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/jordy-searcy
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/BmZgl50BnWc
Jordy Searcy is a breath of fresh air in the form of a heavily touring singer/songwriter (think Jon Foreman + Ben Rector + Foy Vance.) He wears a lot of blue, loves tea, and usually plays barefoot. Enneagram type 4, Myers-Briggs type INFP. After a stint on NBC’s The Voice, he relocated to Nashville TN, where he began crafting his first EP, Dark in the City(2018).
Dark in the City is an inspiring and authentic collection of songs with a focus on story, beauty, and understanding. Shortly after the 2018 release, Jordy signed a publishing deal with Fair Trade Services.
Jordy has been hailed as a truly captivating live artist, playing 150 shows a year to college-aged audiences. From looping vocals through the soundhole of his guitar to silencing a crowded venue by playing unplugged, Jordy’s explosive stage presence is undeniable.
https://www.facebook.com/events/256594841762615/
The Milk Carton Kids
plus Anthony da Costa
Show: 8pm
Doors: 7pm
$27 – $30
All Ages – under 12 requires venue approval
All The Things That I Did at The Milk Carton Kids VIP Experience
-One Top Price Reserved Seat within the First 10 rows or General Admission Ticket Depending on Venue Configuration
-Access to a soundcheck party with The Milk Carton Kids
-Pre-Show meet & greet with The Milk Carton Kids
-Photo & autograph opportunities with The Milk Carton Kids
-VIP poster of The Milk Carton Kids
-One commemorative VIP laminate
VIP Tickets: https://bit.ly/2OvQSlf
Tickets & Info: www.theorangepeel.net/event/the-milk-carton-kids/
Waltzing into disaster and its aftermath, The Milk Carton Kids’ All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do arrives from ANTI- Records on June 29.
The new project marks the first time that acoustic duo Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale have brought a band into the studio with them. “We wanted to do something new,” Pattengale says. “We had been going around the country yet another time to do the duo show, going to the places we’d been before. There arose some sort of need for change.”
“Musically we knew we were going to make the record with a bigger sonic palette,” says Ryan. “It was liberating to know we wouldn’t have to be able to carry every song with just our two guitars.”
Since their last studio album, Monterey (ANTI- 2015), life has changed dramatically for The Milk Carton Kids. Pattengale has moved to, and is now producing records in Nashville. Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on “Live from Here with Chris Thile,” the reboot of “A Prairie Home Companion.” A break from years of non-stop touring, Ryan says, has yielded “space outside of the band that gives us perspective on what the band is.”
But it’s not just the addition of the band here that creates something new. National politics left Ryan feeling disoriented and mournful. Pattengale’s relationship of seven years ended, and he found himself unexpectedly needing surgery for cancer. (He is cancer-free now, and accidentally broke his cigarette habit in the process.)
Though they didn’t approach the new album conceptually, a theme of shattered realities began to emerge out of the songs that sparked to life. Recent events provided a bruising background for the record, yet the project is somehow bigger than any personal grief. Two-part harmonies ride acoustic guitars high above the haunting landscape created by the presence of the band, as if Americana went searching for a lost America.
Produced by Joe Henry and engineered by Ryan Freeland, All the Things That I Did and All The Things That I Didn’t Do was recorded in October 2017 in the Sun Room at House of Blues Studio in Nashville. Musicians who joined them there included Brittany Haas on violin and mandolin, Paul Kowert and Dennis Crouch on bass, Jay Bellerose on drums, Levon Henry on clarinet and saxophone, Nat Smith on cello, Pat Sansone on piano, mellotron, and Hammond organ, Russ Pahl on pedal steel and other guitars and Lindsay Lou and Logan Ledger as additional singers. Mixed by Pattengale, the album was mastered by Kim Rosen.
www.themilkcartonkids.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/439728909782098/
Give The Bass Player Some. A night of very diverse bass styles and approaches.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2211422312422371/
Front Country at The Grey Eagle
https://www.facebook.com/events/1656369587794452/
Juan John is a professional guitarist / entertainer captivating audiences through high energy world class acoustic guitar performances. uan John is currently touring the United States and Europe.
Juan John (JuanJohn De Hoyos) started playing guitar at the age of thirteen when he pulled his first guitar out of a dumpster in Phoenix, Arizona. On that discarded, broken instrument, John taught himself to play Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” on the three remaining strings.
After years of constant practice (eventually with six strings) he became heavily involved in the San Francisco blues scene and, by the age of eighteen, was opening for west coast mainstays like Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Robben Ford.
Deciding that he could move his career along faster with a move to Los Angeles, John soon became involved in network television and feature film soundtracks, composing music on guitar, bass and banjo for projects including Universal’s Spiderman 3, HDNet’s Dan Rather Reports, Animal Planet’s If I Ran a Zoo and Agora Entertainment’s The Final.
During this time, John became enamored with the acoustic guitar and began touring the U.S. and many foreign countries honing his skills as a solo acoustic entertainer, garnering accolades wherever he performed. In 2007, John became the only artist ever to perform for the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan while working with journalist Dan Rather. He continues touring to this day, recently opening for Grammy-winning, legendary flatpicker David Grier.
John has artist endorsement contracts with prestigious brands McPherson Guitars, Fishman electronics, GHS Strings, Shubb Kapos, and Westone Professional Music Products. He performs with and represents their products wherever he goes. John is currently touring as a solo acoustic entertainer.
Recently, John also finished recording for his forthcoming CD, Wound Tight and Wired, with legendary producer Michael Wagener, known for working with iconic acts such as Queen, Alice Cooper, Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne among many others. After they finished recording, Wagener is quoted on his site as saying “John De Hoyos is an amazing player. It was a pure pleasure to record him.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/1828417507238407/
Spellbound: A night of spooky music and dancing featuring DJs Grave Rose and Mr. Morrow.
https://www.facebook.com/events/311829726285454/
West Side Funk!!! (Open Jam) @ One World Brewing West.
Music starts at 9:00!
Bring your horn, guitar, bass or sticks and have some fun! Everyone is welcome!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1920207491419396/
GET READY!!!
‘Tuck It Up Buttercup’ is a Drag & Dancing spectacle you must see!
:: No Cover ✔️
:: Drag ✔️
:: Drink Specials ✔️
:: DJ ✔️
:: Dancing ✔️
DRAG QUEENS:
* Ginger Von Snap
* Nicole Sanchez
* Natasha Nightly
Music provided by Eric Stephens (DJ RexxStep) and emcee Margarita Del Encanto with Beer City Sisters, Abbey of All Souls bring you a night of interactive drag and dance music to fill your needs!
With an ever-changing lineup, each event will blend well-known, established queens with up-and-coming queens from the community and surrounding areas.
#drag #tuckitupbuttercup #drinks #dance #DJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/380729042463692/
GET READY!!!
‘Tuck It Up Buttercup’ is a Drag & Dancing spectacle you must see!
:: No Cover ✔️
:: Drag ✔️
:: Drink Specials ✔️
:: DJ ✔️
:: Dancing ✔️
DRAG QUEENS:
* Ginger Von Snap
* Nicole Sanchez
* Natasha Nightly (Lane Wagner)
Music provided by Eric Stephens (DJ RexxStep) and emcee Margarita Del Encanto with Beer City Sisters, Abbey of All Souls bring you a night of interactive drag and dance music to fill your needs!
With an ever-changing lineup, each event will blend well-known, established queens with up-and-coming queens from the community and surrounding areas.
#drag #tuckitupbuttercup #drinks #dance #DJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/431435420714082/?event_time_id=431435450714079
GET READY!!!
‘Tuck It Up Buttercup’ is a Drag & Dancing spectacle you must see!
:: No Cover ✔️
:: Drag ✔️
:: Drink Specials ✔️
:: DJ ✔️
:: Dancing ✔️
DRAG QUEENS:
* Ginger Von Snap
* Nicole Sanchez
* Natasha Nightly (Lane Wagner)
Music provided by Eric Stephens (DJ RexxStep) and emcee Margarita Del Encanto with Beer City Sisters, Abbey of All Souls bring you a night of interactive drag and dance music to fill your needs!
With an ever-changing lineup, each event will blend well-known, established queens with up-and-coming queens from the community and surrounding areas.
#drag #tuckitupbuttercup #drinks #dance #DJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/431435420714082/
White Oak Splits
whiteoaksplits.com
The Splits call Madison County home, and it’s from this lush high-country that they draw much of their inspiration; the craggy peaks, dark hollers, roaring rivers, and quiet meadows all serving as backdrops for their ever evolving soundscapes.
Each member boasts a musical interest unique from their bandmates, which lends itself to sonic collaboration and psychedelic experimentation ranging in styles from surf to country, blues to thrash, sludge to jazz, all of it swirling together into a style they refer to as Holler Boogie. No matter the set, bring your dancing shoes. It’s fixing to get loud.
West King String Band
westkingstring.com
West King String Band is made up of mandolinist AJ Fox, bassist Jesse Harman, and guitarist Jack Studer. After playing music together for years they formed in 2014 in Saint Augustine Florida.
For a few years they wrote songs and produced demos until releasing Achin’ in 2016. Inspired by a large array of music transcending genres, such as Old and in the Way and Del McCoury, to the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead, to Black Sabbath.
They incorporate their influences to diversify sounds of bluegrass, folk, country, and blues creating their own unique and original style. In the last several years they have spent the vast majority of their days touring, and have shown a lot of growth between their debut, which was recorded in the boys’ living room, and the newly released Staring at the Sun in 2017. This newest body of work features the accompaniment of fiddle, subtle percussion and ominous lap steel to give the listener a much fuller experience.
Always open to expanding and growing their sound, they have been traveling relentlessly and occasionally adding members to create a fuller live experince. The “Spooky” Fiddler as he is known and percussionist Kevin Ladd are currently jumping in on the tour. Stay tuned for a tour in your city and their relocation to Western NC in 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hIW-wLddIo
https://www.facebook.com/events/662305007466192/
This year, Eliada will maintain some beloved attractions including the tractor ride, which now drives all the way around the Corn Maze, jumping pillow, corn kernel sand box, spider web climber, tube slides, and corn cannons.
Tuesday – Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am- 8pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
Italian-born Valerio D’Ospina, widely considered one of America’s foremost contemporary artists, is the subject of a one-man exhibition at The Haen Gallery in downtown Asheville, NC. The exhibit will run through October 15.
Since July 2009, D’Ospina has been established in the US where he lives and works in Philadelphia. He is ranked by both national and international distinguished art magazines as one of the most significant painters of cityscapes and industrial scenarios in America. “Valerio D’Ospina: Patina of Energy” will open with more that than a dozen paintings that capture the pulse of the city, the energy of industry, and the patina of metropolitan life.
Open 7:30 – 11:30 p.m. Advance tickets are rquired. It’s safe, scary fun for the whole family! Kids will enjoy the Halloween shows and trick-or-treating. And take a chilling journey into the night on the Ghost Train – if you dare!
The leaves will be turning this October and the pumpkins will be ready to be carved! The PEANUTS gang returns to the GSMR Pumpkin Patch this October. Ready for some family fun? PEANUTS™ The Great Pumpkin Patch Express returns to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for 2018! The excursions, which are themed after Charles M. Schulz’s classic story “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” will be departing from the Bryson City Depot in October of 2018!
The Southeast Wise Women Herbal Conference, October 12-14, is a weekend for women to learn, celebrate and connect. For one weekend in autumn, we share inspiration, celebration and practical learning about earth-based healing and women’s health. Surrounded by the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains, our venue at Kanuga Lake offers a serene backdrop for over 60 workshops and classes in herbalism, nutrition, personal growth and natural healing. Our featured speakers include Rosemary Gladstar, Ubaka Hill, EagleSong-Gardner, Deena Hayes-Green and many more!
25 years ago, Flat Rock Playhouse debuted an exciting new program, Project Playhouse, with specially priced matinees for local students as well as regular evening performances for our patrons. The play was Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, a drama of great tenderness, charm and beauty and one of the most famous plays of the modern theatre.
Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM
Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM
Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731
Reclaimed Creations is a unique sculpture exhibit created by renowned artist Sayaka Ganz. Utilizing reclaimed plastic objects, such as discarded utensils, Ganz creates amazing sculptures that visually appear unified at a distance, but are in fact separated when examined up close. Described as using a “3D impressionistic” style, Ganz’s exhibit includes installations of animals in motion, which are in rich in color and energy, to create an illusion of form.
About the Artist
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Sayaka Ganz grew up living in Japan, Brazil and Hong Kong. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. A lecturer and teacher, Ganz’s work has been displayed at various institutions around the globe, including the Hermann Geiger Foundation in Cecina, Italy, the Isle Gallery in Isle of Man, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.
My work is about perceiving harmony, even in situations that appear chaotic from the inside. When observing my sculptures up close, one might see gaps, holes and items being held on only by small points; step away, however, and the sculptures reveal the harmony created when the objects are aligned to the same general (but not identical) direction. Similarly, it is important to gain perspective by stepping back from current problems and look at the larger picture. Then one can perceive the beauty and patterns that exist.”