Kimpton Hotel Arras and local artists today unveiled, “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music,” a locally created, life-size stainless steel sculpture located outdoors on the corner of Lexington and Patton at Kimpton Hotel Arras. Inspired by the city’s vibrant street musicians and their lively drum circles, artists Chukk Bruursema and Ash Knight sought to bring the unique rhythms of Asheville to life through this striking, collaborative piece, which was commissioned by the hotel.

“Asheville Music,” the large steel djembe drum sculpted by Chukk Bruursema, has West African roots, where the djembe is traditionally played as part of an ensemble, invoking feelings of community and togetherness. Adorning the drum is “Asheville Music,” Ash Knight’s five musical buskers depicted playing the spoons, the string washtub, jug, washboard, and the fiddle, with a dog observing from the ground below.

“We are pleased to officially introduce the “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music” sculpture, a defining art piece that truly represents the spirit of our city, to the Asheville community,” said Kimpton Hotel Arras General Manager David McCartney. “This piece is an exciting addition to the hotel and expands our local artwork program, which works to highlight and supporting the work of local artists and purveyors.”

Following the unveiling, tours of the additional local artwork displayed throughout the hotel were offered with the artists in attendance to speak to their pieces, including John Wayne Jackson and Peter Roux. Kimpton Hotel Arras commissioned more than a dozen pieces of local artwork curated by local art consultant Liz Barr of Art Resouces.

Click HERE to view photos of “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music” from the unveiling.

The Center is offering free, unguided visits and affordable tours of its exhibitions to the public. Guests can pre-register for a 30-minute visit to explore the current exhibitions, learn more about the Center’s national impact in their Craft Research Fund Study Collection, and enjoy interactive activities.

Sleight of Hand, curated by Center for Craft 2020 Curatorial Fellow Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, centralizes humor in the creative exploration of some of our most pressing contemporary social issues. On view beginning October 23 in the Bresler Family Gallery, the show highlights six artists of color currently working in mixed media, primarily clay, to approach issues like culture, race, tradition, and resilience through irreverent, absurd, ironic, cute, anthropomorphized, and eccentric objects.

In her statement about the show, Vizcarrondo-Laboy, includes two definitions for the phrase “sleight of hand”: “a cleverly executed trick or deception,” and “a conjuring trick requiring manual dexterity.” The show’s six artists draw viewers into their works through their use of whimsical forms, only to reveal deeply serious issues tied to current events and conversations. Vizcarrondo-Laboy explains, “For these artists, humor is not merely an aesthetic strategy; it is also a tool of resistance, resilience, and healing.”

“We are so pleased to have supported Vizcarrondo-Laboy through the Center’s 2020 Curatorial Fellowship program,” says Center for Craft Assistant Director and Curator Marilyn Zapf.  “Her visionary, thoughtful, and research-driven approach to Sleight of Hand presents and contextualizes current artistic strategies and timely conversations in craft that propels the field forward.”

The exhibition updates the irreverent approaches of anti-establishment Bay Area Funk artists like Robert Arneson and David Gilhooly with a new group of young, emerging artists shifting the field and future of ceramics to re-centralize makers of color within an ever-diversifying landscape of visual arts.

Artists in the exhibition include Chicago-based Salvador Jiménez-Flores, whose piece, La resistencia de los nopales híbridos (The Resistance of the Hybrid Cacti), explicitly references Arneson’s iconoclastic self-portraiture, while also commenting on Jiménez-Flores’ own Mexican heritage and issues facing the Latinx community. Los Angeles-based artist Diana Yesenio Alvarado slyly remixes symbols familiar from popular culture, like clowns and Disney characters, to explore the sometimes contradictory depths of human experiences, particularly in her hometown of East L.A. Iraqi-American artist Maryam Yousif’s Puabi Palms Pot playfully imagines a figure of ancient history, Queen Puabi of Sumer, as a famous modern-day pop star whose visage graces ceramic vessels festooned with iconography of the Middle Eastern landscape.

Besides the ceramic works, the exhibition also features a video installation from Colombian-American artist Natalia Arbalaez, as well as a two-dimensional painted work from Mexican-American artist Yvette Mayorga, which also incorporate the history and uses of ceramics, both traditionally and experimentally.

This is the second exhibition from this year’s 2020 Curatorial Fellowship recipients. Each year, the Curatorial Fellowship recognizes up-and-coming curators working at the cutting edge of craft. Three recipients organize shows at the Center for Craft as part of the Center’s larger conversation around craft and its evolution. Learn more at centerforcraft.org.

Beginning October 7, the three-hour documentary-styled art installation Question Bridge: Black Males will be on view at the Asheville Art Museum. This innovative transmedia project facilitates a dialogue between Black men from diverse and contending backgrounds, and creates a platform for them to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. The work will be on view during regular public hours from October 7, 2020 through March 15, 2021.

Question Bridge: Black Males is a project that explores critically challenging issues within the African American male community by instigating a transmedia conversation among Black men across geographic, economic, generational, educational, and social strata of American society. Question Bridge provides a safe setting for necessary, honest expression and healing dialogue on themes that divide, unite, and puzzle Black males today in the United States.

Adonna Khare, Pool Party, 2015, carbon pencil on paper, 6 × 20 feet. Collection of the Artist. © Adonna Khare, image Phil Hatten.

An exhibition highlighting the works of John James Audubon juxtaposed with the work of 21st-century artists who continue his tradition of animal allegories and metaphors is currently on view at the Asheville Art Museum. The exhibition features more than 40 works and will be on display in the Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall through November 30.

The Asheville Art Museum presents Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture on view at the Museum November 4, 2020 through April 5, 2021. The 25 works in this exhibition—curated by associate curator Whitney Richardson—highlight the Museum’s Collection of sculptural ceramics from the last two decades of the 20th century to the present. Each work illustrates the artist’s ability to push beyond the utilitarian and transition ceramics into the world of sculpture.

North and South Carolina artists featured include Elma McBride Johnson, Neil Noland, Norm Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Cynthia Bringle, Jane Palmer, Michael Sherrill, and Akira Satake. Works by American artists Don Reitz, Robert Chapman Turner, Karen Karnes, Toshiko Takaezu, Bill Griffith, and Xavier Toubes are also featured in the exhibition.

Virtual Visits for Students

Groups of pre-K–12 students are invited to schedule an interactive Virtual Visit to the Museum! Led by volunteer docents with Museum staff, our inquiry-based, conversational Virtual Visits introduce the Museum’s galleries with a 3D tour and challenge students to hone their observation skills. All pre-K–12 Virtual Visits make connections to the NC Standard Course of Study.

Virtual Visits for pre-K–12 groups are $50 for 5–25 participants from one or multiple devices through Zoom or Google Meet. Virtual Visits are available Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, and last 30–45 minutes. At least two weeks’ advanced notice is required.

For more information about Virtual Visits for adults, college, and university students, click here. For Virtual Visits for family and friend groups with children, click here.

Due to the ongoing global health crisis, Iliza’s The Forever Tour event at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in has been rescheduled for July 29, 2021. All tickets for the original performance will be honored, so patrons should hold on to their tickets. Refunds will be available at point of purchase for 30 days, beginning August 12, 2020. For ticket and refund inquiries, please contact point of purchase. Refund Request: https://bit.ly/3cVa5ZO

Iliza is one of today’s leading comedians with a fan base who show their loyalty by creating their own Iliza inspired swag to wear to her shows. On November 19, 2019, she premiered her 5th Netflix stand up special Unveiled, which delves into her journey of getting married. Her past specials include War Paint, Freezing Hot, and Confirmed Kills. Iliza’s last Netflix special, 2018’s Elder Millennial, is the subject of Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over, her “fan-u-mentary” which is currently streaming and gives fans an inside look into what goes into the making of one of her specials. She recently wrapped production on The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show for Netflix which will premiere in April 2020.

The Magnetic Theatre is thrilled to announce the triumphant return of the wildly popular and hysterically funny game show, where questionable people give questionable answers to questionable questions. From the creators of The SuperHappy Radio Hour, this live show features some of Asheville’s best comedians and improv performers competing for laughs, with a game show format in the tradition of Wait, Wait! Don’t Tell Me, and celebrity trivia shows of the 70’s and 80s, like Match Game and The Hollywood Squares. Please join us for ALL the fun, at The Hi-Wire Big Top in Biltmore Village, for two unique performances of this crazy show.

Kimpton Hotel Arras and local artists today unveiled, “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music,” a locally created, life-size stainless steel sculpture located outdoors on the corner of Lexington and Patton at Kimpton Hotel Arras. Inspired by the city’s vibrant street musicians and their lively drum circles, artists Chukk Bruursema and Ash Knight sought to bring the unique rhythms of Asheville to life through this striking, collaborative piece, which was commissioned by the hotel.

“Asheville Music,” the large steel djembe drum sculpted by Chukk Bruursema, has West African roots, where the djembe is traditionally played as part of an ensemble, invoking feelings of community and togetherness. Adorning the drum is “Asheville Music,” Ash Knight’s five musical buskers depicted playing the spoons, the string washtub, jug, washboard, and the fiddle, with a dog observing from the ground below.

“We are pleased to officially introduce the “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music” sculpture, a defining art piece that truly represents the spirit of our city, to the Asheville community,” said Kimpton Hotel Arras General Manager David McCartney. “This piece is an exciting addition to the hotel and expands our local artwork program, which works to highlight and supporting the work of local artists and purveyors.”

Following the unveiling, tours of the additional local artwork displayed throughout the hotel were offered with the artists in attendance to speak to their pieces, including John Wayne Jackson and Peter Roux. Kimpton Hotel Arras commissioned more than a dozen pieces of local artwork curated by local art consultant Liz Barr of Art Resouces.

Click HERE to view photos of “Ode to Buskers & Asheville Music” from the unveiling.

The Center is offering free, unguided visits and affordable tours of its exhibitions to the public. Guests can pre-register for a 30-minute visit to explore the current exhibitions, learn more about the Center’s national impact in their Craft Research Fund Study Collection, and enjoy interactive activities.

Sleight of Hand, curated by Center for Craft 2020 Curatorial Fellow Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, centralizes humor in the creative exploration of some of our most pressing contemporary social issues. On view beginning October 23 in the Bresler Family Gallery, the show highlights six artists of color currently working in mixed media, primarily clay, to approach issues like culture, race, tradition, and resilience through irreverent, absurd, ironic, cute, anthropomorphized, and eccentric objects.

In her statement about the show, Vizcarrondo-Laboy, includes two definitions for the phrase “sleight of hand”: “a cleverly executed trick or deception,” and “a conjuring trick requiring manual dexterity.” The show’s six artists draw viewers into their works through their use of whimsical forms, only to reveal deeply serious issues tied to current events and conversations. Vizcarrondo-Laboy explains, “For these artists, humor is not merely an aesthetic strategy; it is also a tool of resistance, resilience, and healing.”

“We are so pleased to have supported Vizcarrondo-Laboy through the Center’s 2020 Curatorial Fellowship program,” says Center for Craft Assistant Director and Curator Marilyn Zapf.  “Her visionary, thoughtful, and research-driven approach to Sleight of Hand presents and contextualizes current artistic strategies and timely conversations in craft that propels the field forward.”

The exhibition updates the irreverent approaches of anti-establishment Bay Area Funk artists like Robert Arneson and David Gilhooly with a new group of young, emerging artists shifting the field and future of ceramics to re-centralize makers of color within an ever-diversifying landscape of visual arts.

Artists in the exhibition include Chicago-based Salvador Jiménez-Flores, whose piece, La resistencia de los nopales híbridos (The Resistance of the Hybrid Cacti), explicitly references Arneson’s iconoclastic self-portraiture, while also commenting on Jiménez-Flores’ own Mexican heritage and issues facing the Latinx community. Los Angeles-based artist Diana Yesenio Alvarado slyly remixes symbols familiar from popular culture, like clowns and Disney characters, to explore the sometimes contradictory depths of human experiences, particularly in her hometown of East L.A. Iraqi-American artist Maryam Yousif’s Puabi Palms Pot playfully imagines a figure of ancient history, Queen Puabi of Sumer, as a famous modern-day pop star whose visage graces ceramic vessels festooned with iconography of the Middle Eastern landscape.

Besides the ceramic works, the exhibition also features a video installation from Colombian-American artist Natalia Arbalaez, as well as a two-dimensional painted work from Mexican-American artist Yvette Mayorga, which also incorporate the history and uses of ceramics, both traditionally and experimentally.

This is the second exhibition from this year’s 2020 Curatorial Fellowship recipients. Each year, the Curatorial Fellowship recognizes up-and-coming curators working at the cutting edge of craft. Three recipients organize shows at the Center for Craft as part of the Center’s larger conversation around craft and its evolution. Learn more at centerforcraft.org.

Beginning October 7, the three-hour documentary-styled art installation Question Bridge: Black Males will be on view at the Asheville Art Museum. This innovative transmedia project facilitates a dialogue between Black men from diverse and contending backgrounds, and creates a platform for them to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. The work will be on view during regular public hours from October 7, 2020 through March 15, 2021.

Question Bridge: Black Males is a project that explores critically challenging issues within the African American male community by instigating a transmedia conversation among Black men across geographic, economic, generational, educational, and social strata of American society. Question Bridge provides a safe setting for necessary, honest expression and healing dialogue on themes that divide, unite, and puzzle Black males today in the United States.

Adonna Khare, Pool Party, 2015, carbon pencil on paper, 6 × 20 feet. Collection of the Artist. © Adonna Khare, image Phil Hatten.

An exhibition highlighting the works of John James Audubon juxtaposed with the work of 21st-century artists who continue his tradition of animal allegories and metaphors is currently on view at the Asheville Art Museum. The exhibition features more than 40 works and will be on display in the Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall through November 30.

The Asheville Art Museum presents Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture on view at the Museum November 4, 2020 through April 5, 2021. The 25 works in this exhibition—curated by associate curator Whitney Richardson—highlight the Museum’s Collection of sculptural ceramics from the last two decades of the 20th century to the present. Each work illustrates the artist’s ability to push beyond the utilitarian and transition ceramics into the world of sculpture.

North and South Carolina artists featured include Elma McBride Johnson, Neil Noland, Norm Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Cynthia Bringle, Jane Palmer, Michael Sherrill, and Akira Satake. Works by American artists Don Reitz, Robert Chapman Turner, Karen Karnes, Toshiko Takaezu, Bill Griffith, and Xavier Toubes are also featured in the exhibition.

Best of all, Porch Portraits by Suzanne will donate $15 of every session to our great friends at Flat Rock Playhouse. My goal is to raise $15,000 for the Playhouse by the end of the year so any money over and above the price of $65 will go straight to them.

Perhaps most exciting, an extremely generous Playhouse donor has agreed to a MATCHING GIFT CAMPAIGN up to $36,000.18! This incredibly generous donation draws on the magic of Chai, the Jewish belief that multiples of 18 bring good luck. Meaning that every session booked will result in at least $30 for the wonderful folks at Flat Rock Playhouse.

For decades, Flat Rock Playhouse has been opening their collective hearts and sharing their fabulous talents to bring joy and entertainment to western North Carolina. This is an opportunity to show our gratitude at a time when they really need our support.

Together, let’s make magic happen! Help us kick off this campaign by contributing today.

Virtual Visits for Students

Groups of pre-K–12 students are invited to schedule an interactive Virtual Visit to the Museum! Led by volunteer docents with Museum staff, our inquiry-based, conversational Virtual Visits introduce the Museum’s galleries with a 3D tour and challenge students to hone their observation skills. All pre-K–12 Virtual Visits make connections to the NC Standard Course of Study.

Virtual Visits for pre-K–12 groups are $50 for 5–25 participants from one or multiple devices through Zoom or Google Meet. Virtual Visits are available Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, and last 30–45 minutes. At least two weeks’ advanced notice is required.

For more information about Virtual Visits for adults, college, and university students, click here. For Virtual Visits for family and friend groups with children, click here.

Asheville Gallery of Art’s November show, “Opening Up to Art,” is a multi-member show featuring each artist’s personal exploration into being part of this world during uneasy times. The show runs November 1-30 during gallery hours 12-5 p.m. Thursday thru Sunday. You can also make arrangements for a private tour by emailing a request to [email protected].

On second Thursdays, local musicians enliven our spaces with music to complement your visit. As you stroll the galleries, a variety of tunes adds new dimensions to your viewing experience. A native of Durham, NC, Jeremy Loeb embraced his lifelong love of piano when he launched his second career as a musician. Now living in Asheville, Loeb specializes in French and Chinese piano music. More info at ashevilleart.org/events.

$12/person with minimum Covid-Safe Seating 2-top and 4-top tables only

Slice of Life Comedy and The Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge brings you Asheville’s premier comics.

Hosted by Cody Hughes.
Featuring
Petey Smith McDowell & Cary Goff
plus even more professional comedians to keep you laughing!

Rabbit Rabbit is an awesome place to safely social-distance. Created by The Orange Peel Events and Asheville Pizza Company, Rabbit Rabbit Outdoor Venue is home of the Asheville Taco truck and Rabbit themed specialty cocktails. This powerhouse of Asheville entertainment will now host THE place to laugh-while-you-cry about the apocalypse.

The comedy show is a ticketed event on Rabbit Rabbit’s outdoor rooftop, with very limited table seating. Come early and get sunset dinner and drinks!

Your comedy ticket includes your own sanitized headphones. You will not miss a minute show while looking stylishly futuristic!

[Rabbit Rabbit Silent Comedy tickets include 1 pair of RF wireless personal headphones so that you can listen to the comic’s audio without violating time limits on amplified sound. The headphones are sanitized thoroughly with an EPA-approved cleaning agent between our weekly events, and stored in a no-touch, safe and sealed manner to allow further decontamination so that they are completely safe, between our once per week silent comedy nights.]

For more info contact Michele at [email protected], and check out sliceoflifecomedy.com

Ticket link is available at www.rabbitrabbitavl.com