all levels of experience. free, donations

Join our supportive circle of poets. Whether you want to share a favorite work by a poet, get critiques of your own work, or cheer one another on, this is the group for you! Weather permitting, we’ll meet outdoors on the library lawn, so bring a blanket or chair.

We are thrilled to announce our Group Fitness Schedule is live with several offerings and more coming. Class options range from high-intensity strength training to water aerobics, there is something for everyone. Reservations are required and can be made 24 hours in advance using our free app or calling (828)-254-7206 and speaking with a Fitness Associate. Visit our website to learn more.

Hourly Child Care is available while you are onsite Monday – Thursday 8 am – 8 pm and Fridays 8 am – 5 pm. Reservations are required and can be made in advance by calling (828) 254-7206 x 113.

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

A Life in the Wild  features more than 30 large-format images from award-winning nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, who has devoted decades of his life to documenting wild places across the globe and the remarkable creatures that inhabit them. For this traveling retrospective exhibition of his works, Mangelsen has hand-selected several legacy photographs from his portfolio of more than 40 years, during which time he has captured thousands of breathtaking images of wildlife under natural — and sometimes harsh — conditions. With subjects ranging from black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains to plains zebras in the savannas of East Africa, this collection of photographs serves to remind us all to slow down and take a moment to connect with nature near and far. Named the 2011 Conservation Photographer of the Year by Nature’s Best Photography, among other accolades, Mangelsen has his work featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C..

A Life in the Wild is on display daily, May 15 – September 5, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Face coverings are required for visitors ages 5 years and older.

Exhibit support for A Life in the Wild is provided in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, Asheville Citizen-Times, Biltmore Farms Hotels, Gasperson Moving & Storage, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine. 

THOMAS D. MANGELSEN – A LIFE IN THE WILD, produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C., David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

Calling all Leicester artists! The Leicester Library is celebrating its 20th anniversary in November 2021. To celebrate this beautiful library and its pastoral views, we are seeking local artist perspectives for a fun project.

20 Views of the Leicester Library is looking for artists to create pieces that celebrate the views from the inside and of the outside of the library.

Art can be in any medium, by any artist, of any age. Paintings, photography, drawings, collage, sculpture, needlework, etc. are all welcome. We are looking for heartfelt, fun and creative views of this branch that show what it has meant to patrons and community members. We welcome art by self-taught artists as well as trained artists. Examples could be a photo of a child reading a book in the library, a watercolor painting of the mountains off in the distance, or a charcoal sketch of the building itself. Or something totally abstract and unusual – that would be welcome too!

We are looking for anything that captures the essence of what this library represents to you, the Leicester community.

Artists are welcome to visit the grounds or come inside to gather inspiration during the library’s open hours. The library is currently open Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m-8 p.m., Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

All submitted art will be featured on the library’s social media accounts and displayed in the library as part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration in November 2021.

In addition, the Leicester Library will be offering a series of art classes at the library in August and September. The first class is Aug. 7 at 2 p.m. and will be a Creative Collage Workshop with visiting artist Evelyn Dufne. This class is free, but registration is required.

To participate or for more information, come by the library or email [email protected] for more information.

Graduate Show 2021: Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program

Bender Gallery is honored to present One Day I Will Disappear, a solo exhibition of current paintings by Czech American artist Tom Pazderka. His captivating work is deeply personal and is an elegant metaphor for life’s darker side: of landscape, of nature, of memory. The exhibition runs from July 3 through August 31 during regular business hours. There will be an opening reception for Pazderka on Saturday July 3, from 6 to 9 PM by RSVP only.

Pazderka is a painter, an installation artist, an intellectual, and a writer who spent his undergraduate years in the Asheville area. He was born near Prague in 1981 during the waning of the Communist era in Czechoslovakia. He lived in a panelák, a Soviet-style concrete apartment block, until emigrating to the US in 1994 at the age of twelve. Contrary to what we may envision in America, Pazderka has fond memories of his time there. Although life was basic and creativity was not encouraged, his family was never in need and they enjoyed regular visits to their family cottage in the country. However, most of Pazderka’s life has been lived in the US and he also considers himself American. His work and life are deeply influenced by what he describes as the “incompleteness of the immigrant experience”. Pazderka explores humanity’s quest for a universal truth. The work reflects his reverence for history and the failed Soviet promise of utopia of his native land. It is thus a balancing act between this history and his assimilation into the capitalist consumer culture of the United States.

The works shown in One Day I Will Disappear consist of oil, ash, and charcoal paintings on burned panel and paper. They feature clouds, mountains, portraits, ephemera, and remnants of nature. They are conceptually dark, yet haunting and beautiful at the same time. Pazderka uses humble materials such as found plywood panels that he burns with a torch before beginning the painting process. He transforms the painting surface with the destructive, yet creative power of fire. He states, “Materials and process are components of the work that are as important as the image and what the work is about”.

Pazderka chooses to work in a colorless palette reminiscent of aged black and white photographs. He explains, “Photographs interest me because it is a tangible memory, but photographs are really residue of the photographic process.”  They are themselves a memory of a memory. Much of Pazderka’s work is based on old family photographs and photos taken from nature and architecture relaying the past, the present, and the hope of a better future. The work appears otherworldly and fleeting, like ghosts of his memories. In Pazderka’s words, “The present is all there is in the end.”

Pazderka holds a BFA from Western Carolina University and an MFA from U.C. Santa Barbara. He has received many awards and fellowships and has held residencies in the US, France, and the Czech Republic. He lives and works in Ojai, CA.

11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays.

Public Domain: Photography and the Preservation of Public Lands presents works drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection by artists looking both regionally and nationally at lands that are either state or federally managed or have become so. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery May 19 through August 30, 2021. 

“The Asheville Art Museum’s growing collection of photography features a variety of artworks that consider humankind’s impact on our environment and world,” said Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The imagery featured in Public Domain reminds us of the critical role that artists play in environmental activism and preservation, affecting change at a range of levels”. 

Through images capturing the beauty, changes, and even devastation to the American landscape, photographers have played a vital role in advocating for the preservation of nature via the establishment and maintenance of state parks, national parks and monuments, and other federally protected lands. From George Masa and Timothy McCoy’s photographs of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to a selection of works from Robert Glenn Ketchum’s Overlooked in America: The Success and Failure of Federal Land Management series, these artworks provoke contemplation of both nature’s beauty and a calling to protect it. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bureau of Land Management whose mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. 

Photographers include Robert Glenn Ketchum, George Masa, Timothy McCoy, Benjamin Porter, Sally Gall, and more. 

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. 

Artist Walter B. Stephen (Clinton, IA 1875–1961 Asheville, NC) contributed to Western North Carolina’s identity as a flourishing site for pottery production and craftsmanship in the early 20th century. Walter B. Stephen Pottery: Cameo to Crystalline features art pottery and functional vessels from each stage of Stephen’s career, from his origins discovering the medium alongside his mother Nellie C. Randall Stephen in Shelby County, TN from 1901 through 1910 to his multi-decade production just outside of Asheville. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Debra McClinton Gallery July 28, 2021 through January 17, 2022.

In 1926, Stephen founded his third and last pottery studio, Pisgah Forest, in Arden, NC, which he operated until his death in 1961. It was at this studio that the artist perfected the “cameo” decoration technique for which he became best known. His hand-painted images, achieved with layers of white translucent clay, often feature American folk imagery, from covered wagons and livestock to cabins and spinning wheels. A selection of works from the Museum’s Collection showcase his innovation in form and in decorative surface details, including experimentation with crystalline glazing.

MARA Meetings (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous)

 Blue Ridge Humane Society knows how difficult the loss of a loved pet can be, and to support grieving pet owners, is offering a new peer support group with a professional group moderator.

The free program will provide a safe and non-judgmental space for members of the community to come together to support one another through their loss and grief of their beloved pet(s).

Sign-up is required and the sessions are limited to 20 participants. Sessions will be held via Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month, 6pm-7pm. Registration will be open for the first session until Friday, May 28, 2021, or until full, whichever occurs first. Registration is available at www.blueridgehumane.org/pet-loss-support/

“Pet loss is the worst part of being a pet owner. Our pets are family. Every pet is different and brings a unique light into our lives. The loss of that light can be devastating. Coping with grief, especially in today’s world, is a difficult process,” shares Angela Prodrick, Executive Director of Blue Ridge Humane Society. “We at Blue Ridge Humane Society feel it is important to help people navigate that time of mourning and offer what support we can.”

The sessions will be moderated by BRHS staff and led by Judi Moolten. Judi is a former clinical social worker, with a PhD certificate in Stress and Somatic Psychology. In addition to being a stress coach Judi lives and resides in Hendersonville. Judi comes to BRHS as a volunteer, but also as a pet parent who uses animals to help heal stress and more! Judi also has suffered many losses during COVID-19 and beyond and will be available to just listen, or when requested offer feedback.

Pet loss and grief can trigger intense emotional responses that may need to be addressed with professional resources which is beyond what BRHS is able to provide through the Peer Support group. This cannot to take the place of professional counseling and therapy.

Additional info or support for those who have suffered the loss of a pet can be found at The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement https://www.aplb.org/.

If you feel that you’re in distress or having thoughts about harming yourself, please call:

• 2-1-1. A 24/7 national free and confidential service that helps you find the resources you need including crisis and emergency.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call (800) 273-8255. The lifeline offers 24/7 free and confidential support for people in distress