Calendar of Events

An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Luzene Hill advocates for Indigenous sovereignty—linguistically, culturally, and individually. Revelate builds upon Hill’s investigation of pre-contact cultures. This has led Hill to incorporate the idea of Ollin, the Nahuatl word for the natural rhythms of the universe, in Aztec cosmology in her work. Before Europeans arrived in North America, Indigenous societies were predominantly matrilineal. Women were considered sacred, involved in the decision-making process, and thrived within communities holding a worldview based on equilibrium.

Ollin emphasizes that we are in constant state of motion and discovery. Adopted as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies, Ollin guides individuals through a process of reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation. This exhibition combines Hill’s use of mylar safety blankets alongside recent drawings. Capes constructed of mylar burst with energy and rustle with subtle sound, the shining material a signifier of care, awareness, displacement, and presence. Though Hill works primarily in sculpture, drawing has increasingly become an essential part of her practice as she seeks to communicate themes of feminine and Indigenous power across her entire body of work. The energy within her drawings extends to the bursts of light reflecting from her capes or the accumulation of materials in other installation works.

Luzene Hill was born in Atlanta, GA, in 1946. She received her bachelor of fine art and master of fine art from Western Carolina University. She lives and works on the Qualla Boundary, Cherokee, NC.

Natural Collector is organized by the Asheville Art Museum. IMAGE: Christian Burchard, Untitled (nesting bowls), 1998, madrone burl, various from 6 × 6 × 6 to ⅜ × ⅜ × ⅜ inches. Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.76.01.

Natural Collector | Gifts of Fleur S. Bresler features around 15 artworks from the collection of Fleur S. Bresler, which include important examples of modern and contemporary American craft including wood and fiber art, as well as glass and ceramics. These works that were generously donated by contemporary craft collector Bresler to the Asheville Art Museum over the years reflect her strong interest in wood-based art and themes of nature. According to Associate Curator Whitney Richardson, “This exhibition highlights artworks that consider the natural element from which they were created or replicate known flora and fauna in unexpected materials. The selection of objects displayed illustrates how Bresler’s eye for collecting craft not only draws attention to nature and artists’ interest in it, but also accentuates her role as a natural collector with an intuitive ability to identify themes and ideas that speak to one another.” This exhibition presents work from the Collection representing the first generation of American wood turners like Rude Osolnik and Ed Moulthrop, as well as those that came after and learned from them, such as Philip Moulthrop, John Jordan, and local Western North Carolina (WNC) artist Stoney Lamar. Other WNC-based artists in Natural Collector include Anne Lemanski, whose paper sculpture of a snake captures the viewer’s imagination, and Michael Sherrill’s multimedia work that tricks the eye with its similarity to true-to-life berries. Also represented are beadwork and sculpture by Joyce J. Scott and Jack and Linda Fifield.

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.

Asheville-born and Raleigh-Durham-based interdisciplinary artist Sherrill Roland’s socially driven practice draws upon his experience with wrongful incarceration for a crime he did not commit and seeks to open conversations about how we care for our communities and one another with compassion and understanding. Through sculpture, installation, and conceptual art, Roland engages visitors in dialogues around community, social contract, identity, biases, and other deeply human experiences. Comprised of artwork created from 2016 to the present, Sherrill Roland: Sugar, Water, Lemon Squeeze reflects on making something from nothing, lemonade from lemons, the best of a situation. A reference to a simple recipe from the artist’s childhood, the title also speaks to Roland’s employment of materials available to him while incarcerated, such as Kool-Aid and mail from family members. In the face of his personal experiences, he invites viewers to confront their own uncomfortable complicity in perpetuating injustice. Roland’s work humanizes these difficult topics and creates a space for communication and envisioning a better future. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator, in collaboration with the Artist. This exhibition is funded, in part, by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

In the past 50 years in the United States and beyond, artists have sought to break down social and political hierarchies that include issues of identity, gender, power, race, authority, and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, these decades generated a reconsideration of the idea of pattern and decoration as a third option to figuration and abstraction in art. From 1972 to 1985, artists in the Pattern and Decoration movement worked to expand the visual vocabulary of contemporary art to include ethnically and culturally diverse options that eradicated the barriers between fine art and craft and questioned the dominant minimalist aesthetic. These artists did so by incorporating opulence and bold intricacies garnered from such wide-ranging inspirations as United States quilt-making and Islamic architecture. Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the vibrant and varied approaches to pattern and decoration in art. Artworks from the 21st century elucidate contemporary perspectives on the employment of pattern to inform visual vocabularies and investigations of diverse themes in the present day. Artworks drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection join select major loans and feature Pattern and Decoration artists Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, and Miriam Schapiro, as well as Anni Albers, Elizabeth Alexander, Sanford Biggers, Tawny Chatmon, Margaret Curtis, Mary Engel, Cathy Fussell, Samantha Hennekke, John Himmelfarb, Anne Lemanski, Rashaad Newsome, Peter Olson, Don Reitz, Sarah Sense, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Mickalene Thomas, Shoku Teruyama, Anna Valdez, Kehinde Wiley, and more. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler.

March 9, 2023 at 10 a.m. & 12 p.m.

Recommended for Grades K-5

Limited availability

When the class gets lost on the way to the planetarium, Ms. Frizzle saves the day by blasting into outer space for an epic interplanetary field trip! Hop on the Magic School Bus for a musical adaptation of the popular series, and join the gang as they pull together (with lessons in communication, music, science, and social studies) to return safely to planet Earth.

Reservations for individuals (10 people or less): $12 each. To reserve, call the box office at 828-257-4530 ext. 1, email [email protected], or complete the Student Series Reservation Form.

Reservations for groups (11 people or more): $11 each. To reserve, download and complete the Student Series Reservation Form. Please note that all group reservations require a deposit of $1 per ticket. Please contact the box office if you have questions.

View the Study Guide here.

Prepare for your visit, learn about the theatre, and get the most out of each performance with this Guide to the Wortham Center.

Performance Length: 60 minutes

Join this new group of supportive local writers for fiction writing practice, sharing & feedback.

This group will meet the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month 1-3 PM beginning January 26th- April 13th. 

Each session will include readings, critique, and creative writing prompts as time allows. This is a new group for all, and no pre-registration is necessary.  Light refreshments will be served.  Email [email protected] with questions.

Urban Design with Birds in Mind:

Bird-Friendly Community Practices and Climate Resilience

March 9, 2023 1 p.m – 5 p.m

Reception to follow

The Collider, 1 Haywood St

Asheville, NC

The Coalition for a Bird-Friendly Asheville, in partnership with the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter and CASE Consultants International, invites you to learn about bird-friendly community practices that benefit both migratory birds and their human communities. 

How can we build climate resilient communities that support and enhance biodiversity?

Bird-friendly community practices help reduce energy use and costs, increase wildlife habitat, and mitigate the effects that climate change has had on our feather friends’ flyways. Representatives from a variety of public, private, and non-profit sectors will describe  actions we can take to protect migratory birds from detrimental effects of light pollution, non-native landscapes, glass surfaces and other human built-environmental threats, while also benefiting our communities. These actions, at broad, multifaceted scales, help Asheville lead the way in building climate resilient, bird-friendly cities.

Presentations Include:

• National and State Audubon Society: Climate Resilience and Bird-Friendly Community Policy
• The American Bird Conservancy: Glass Collisions Program
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (invited)
• Coalition for a Bird-Friendly Asheville: Lights Out! Asheville and bird-friendly communities
• Asheville Chamber of Commerce

Following the presentations, a panel of experts convene to answer questions from the audience. A reception with light refreshments follows. Vendors are on hand to present materials on glass and window treatment products!

This is a hybrid event. A link to attend virtually will be sent via email prior to the event.

Treat yourself to a social afternoon filled with whimsy and fun while sampling the exquisite, in-house offerings at the rooftop Perspective Café!

⁣Indulge in local selections from the Asheville Tea Company, as well as fresh house-made tea sandwiches, scones, and petit fours. Create your own Fascinator Hat in our guided studio session, or bring your favorite to wear while strolling the galleries!

Pre-registration is required. Tabletops of 4 or 6 only. Ticket includes Museum admission, studio time, tea and accompaniments, and gratuity. Members receive 10 percent discount.

SCHEDULE

2–3pm • Fascinator hat making in the John & Robyn Horn Education Center. (We also welcome bringing your own favorite hat and arrive for tea at 3pm)

3–5pm • Tea Party in Perspective Café

5–6pm • Stroll the galleries & Museum Store

We are seeking volunteers to assist us in our small after school program for children in West Asheville in low-income housing.  We provide a safe and nourishing environment, healthy snacks, and creative activities.  Our program currently meets during the school year on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. You may volunteer for one or two days a week. 

Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Assist with serving snacks
• Interact with children during activity time
• Supervise games and outdoor free time
• For people with background in education, there is also an opportunity to assist with curriculum development and program planning and administration

Requirements:

• Background check
• Orientation booklets will be provided
• Masks are required if unvaccinated

Barbara Francois’ bold and colorful paintings are created using ‘the dot style’ and reflect a seemingly 3D image akin to tactile woven fibers while Montagne Handwoven Rugs. Lyn Sterling Montagne’s exquisite handwoven linen Tapestries reflect an artisanal kinship to a painted masterpiece. Michael and Zuzana Montagne create rugs with a delicate use of color that are at once timeless and modern.

Every Thursday Live Music with Aaron Lafalce at 131 Main Restaurant, 6:00 p.m.

Trivia, Singo, tailgate games, and more! Our games are sure to challenge you, but c’mon… it’s not rocket science!

Come have a drink and experiment with art materials while connecting with your community! Asheville Art Museum will host Open Studio at Different Wrld on the the first Thursday evening of each month throughout the year.

This free drop-in program, which is facilitated by the Asheville Art Museum and hosted at Different Wrld, aims to expose and engage participants with the Museum’s Collection and changing exhibitions. Attendees must be 21 or older to participate. The Asheville Art Museum will provide all instruction, supplies, and materials.

Taste of Asheville 2023 
Presented by Cheney Brothers, Inc.

AIR’s signature culinary event is back and better than ever, celebrating 20 years of supporting Asheville’s independent restaurants!
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, AIR will mark its 20th year of advocating for and supporting Asheville’s independently owned restaurants with the return of its beloved signature culinary event, Taste of Asheville, presented by Cheney Brothers, Inc.

In its first appearance since 2019 after a pandemic hiatus, Taste of Asheville 2023 will take place 6-9 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in a brand-new location — the beautiful and spacious Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center on the A-B Tech campus.

Don’t miss out on:

• Delicious bites and sips from about 60 AIR member restaurants and beverage vendors
• Musical entertainment from Asheville’s sensational Firecracker Jazz Band
• Silent auction
• Featured live auction item: Dinner for eight with wine pairings prepared in the winner’s home by renowned Asheville chefs and AIR co-founders Michel Baudouin and Eric Scheffer.

Space is limited and tickets are likely to sell out, so click below or scan the QR code to get yours now before they’re gone!

For a list of participating restaurants, visit airasheville.org/taste-of-asheville/.

Throughout every culture and time period, art and spirituality have been intertwined. Art influences how we conceptualize the divine, beauty, and ourselves (and vice versa!).

In this event, I will bring a series of images from across multiple faiths, cultures, and subject matter for discussion.

$5 donation recommended but not required. All proceeds go to St. Mary’s as a thank you for hosting us!

LED BY ELLE BLACKBURN, O&G BAR MANAGER

With the popularity of January’s Cocktail Class: “Call Me Old Fashioned”, we’re bringing it back for March! With three new featured Old Fashioned recipes to learn, this class is perfect for beginners to the experts. On March 9th, we’re tackling the granddaddy of all Oak and Grist cocktails, the Old Fashioned! This class will focus on the science behind creating your favorite stirred cocktails & empower you to concoct your own unique libations at home.

We’ll start with the original Oak and Grist Old Fashioned recipe, diving into dilution, stirring, proper pouring technique, and an in-depth garnish presentation to keep your cocktails looking sharp. Students will then have the opportunity to taste four distinct Old Fashioned variations utilizing unique sugar, spirit, & bitter combinations. The class culminates with you creating & enjoying your new signature Old Fashioned. Cheers!

Please direct any and all questions to [email protected] and we’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW

All O&G Cocktail Classes are 21+. Photo IDs are required to participate in our Cocktail Classes so make sure you bring yours to each class. Don’t forget to arrive early to get settled in & sip on a cocktail before the class starts.

Please reach out to [email protected] about any allergies or accessibility accommodations when booking the event and we will do our best to accommodate.

Doors open at 6:00 pm before the start of the event and will start promptly at 6:30 pm. Classes are taught in pairs and make for the perfect night out for couples, besties, or families. Paired tickets are offered at a discounted price!

There are options for both paired and solo tickets, so if you’re coming with a friend, please make sure you purchase the correct ticket. One ticket per participant is required. Classes are capped at a maximum of 12 people per class.

Oak and Grist Distilling Co. reserves the right to refuse service to any guest who appears or acknowledges to be intoxicated.

All cocktail class students will receive a complimentary barware goodie, take-home recipes, a hand-crafted cocktail, & a 15% discount in our Bottle Shop so you can keep your home bar stocked!

Story Parlor of West Asheville will host Black Diamond Enterprise in presenting
Black Poetry Theatre for Black History Month. Feb. 9th @7pm join us for the production of RAISING BLACK where via poetry, skits and monologues we explore the Joy, Pain, Sunshine & Rain of life. Come for the encouragement, a good time & singing!
Call Story Parlor for tickets (828) 367-9377.

Thomas Wolfe Short Story Discussions are a partnership between the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. Our text is The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe, edited by Francis E. Skipp with a Foreword by James Dickey (New York: Scribner’s, 1987).​

Workshop: MOVEMENT FOR ACTORS AND IMPROVISERS
Presented by Ripley Improv w/ instructors Mary Chieffo and Madi Goff
Learn the tools for becoming a dynamic performer and creating ensembles that spin improvised adventures from absolutely nothing in Ripley’s Movement for Actors and Improvisers Workshop.

Starting with the basics of Alexander technique, actors and improvisers will learn to energetically connect to the body and voice. Then, using improvisation along with select lines from Shakespeare’s plays, students will explore tools for stage presence and moment-to-moment work, enhancing their connection to fellow performers and the audience. Finally, in improvised scene work, students will put it all together and discover how connection, emotion, and stage picture creates story.

Bios for Instructors Mary Chieffo and Madi Goff:

Mary Chieffo (Ripley Guest Artist) is a Juilliard alum, studied Shakespeare enthusiast, and Star Trek: Discovery actor.

Madi Goff (Ripley Company Member) is Groundlings Sunday alum and current performer in The Groundlings Crazy Uncle Joe Show.

March 9, 2023
Thursday at 7pm

  vs. 

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are much more than a professional hockey franchise playing in Upstate South Carolina; it is truly Greenville’s hockey team. Formerly known as the Road Warriors, the club rebranded to the Swamp Rabbits on August 26, 2015 in an effort to really ingrain itself in the fabric of the community. The name is inherently Greenville – specific to the city and unique in the sports world.

It’s the electrifying energy and unstoppable passion of Swamp Rabbits fans inside The Well combined with the award-winning game presentation that make attending a Swamp Rabbits game the BEST fan experience in the ECHL! From the moment you step inside the arena, you’ll find FREE concourse activities for the whole family, including sign-making, temporary tattoos, interactive games, music and there’s always a good chance you’ll run into the Swamp Rabbits mascot Stomper! Throughout the season, fans can also expect a lineup of special theme nights and exciting giveaways.

Join us as we welcome acclaimed celtic fiddler KEVIN HENDERSON from the Shetland Islands and NEIL PEARLMAN whose music inclues celtic, Cape Breton, jazz and other styles.

Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary traditional music. Described as “a tremendous pianist” on BBC Radio Scotland and “a force to be reckoned with” by WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan, Neil is best known for his groundbreaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. Motivated by a deep musical curiosity and a love of collaboration, his playing is continually evolving and spontaneous without losing its roots in the traditional piano styles of Atlantic Canada, New England and Scotland. He has appeared at major festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Celtic Colours in Cape Breton, the Orkney Folk Festival, and has recorded, performed or otherwise collaborated with such artists as Natalie MacMaster, Darol Anger, Seamus Egan, Alasdair Fraser and many more.

Growing up in a musical family, Neil was immersed in Scottish and Cape Breton music and dance from the start. He began dancing at the age of 3 and the piano followed soon after. Joining his parents and siblings on stage as the family band Highland Soles, Neil learned the art of performance early at festivals and concert halls across New England. At the age of 11, he appeared several times as a dancer in Natalie MacMaster’s high-powered show alongside his mother Laura Scott and a few years later released his first album with his father, fiddler Ed Pearlman. Already at that age he was exploring a passion for other styles of music, especially a lifelong love of jazz that has always played a role in his creative voice.

Today Neil’s musical projects run the gamut from deeply traditional to refreshingly contemporary. His podcast TradCafe is a series of conversations and collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. In 2021 TradCafe launched a video series featuring one-off musical collaborations between Neil and artists such as Troy MacGillivray, Jenna Moynihan, Begona Riobo, Anxo Pintos, Yann Falquet and Alasdair White. His 2020 release Burden Lake with acclaimed Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson received 5 stars from The Scotsman. He tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians.

“Dazzling piano chops … Fingers absolutely soar across the keys”

–Portland Press Herald

“A mix of jazz and jigs that will raise a toast and get you on the dance floor.”

–George W. Harris

Jazz Weekly

“I was watching Neil’s hands on the piano and it was like watching two spiders… on crack!”

–Jerry Holland

———————————-

Kevin Henderson is a fiddler who draws on the rich fiddle music tradition of his native Shetland and his experience with leading bands including Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers Bid, Session A9 and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to create an expressive and adventurously individual musical style.

Brought up in the Shetland schooling system, whose concentration on fiddle music and encouragement to participate still inspire him, Kevin benefited in his teens from the teaching of the legendary Willie Hunter. Lessons with Hunter could comprise chatting over coffee and biscuits and even extend to being taught survival skills, as well as learning both the essentials and the finer points of playing Shetland reels, and every Saturday Kevin came away motivated to emulate his mentor.

With school friends Chris Stout, Andrew Gifford and Maurice Henderson, Kevin formed Fiddlers Bid, a band that – almost thirty years, innumerable gigs and four enthusiastically received albums on – continues to represent the finest of Shetland fiddling allied with harmonic invention, creative subtlety and enthusiastic vigour.

It was Kevin’s clear understanding of and feeling for the Shetland tradition that led to him being invited, in 2001, to join the long-established Irish-Scottish band Boys of the Lough, alongside the Irish national treasure Cathal McConnell, an experience that has enriched his musical appreciation and love for a strong melody.

Since moving to Norway, while maintaining links with the Boys, the Bid and Session A9, one of Scotland’s finest fiddle ensembles, Kevin has put his heart and soul into Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, a meeting of three very distinctive musical styles where simplicity and directness are key. Their blend of Norwegian, Swedish and Shetland accents and their command of varying tones and voicings have led to ecstatic receptions on both sides of the North Sea and across the Atlantic.