The Asheville Art Museum has tapped Brooklyn-based independent curator Jason Andrew as lead curator of a major survey of contemporary art.
Appalachia Now! an interdisciplinary survey of contemporary art in Southern Appalachia will celebrate the Asheville Art Museum’s new state-of-the-art facility opening in late 2018.
Jason Andrew is known for his exhibitions of interdisciplinary artistic practices. Since 2004, he has headed the Estate of artist Jack Tworkov and has curated recent one-person exhibitions of Tworkov’s work at The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (2016), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown (2016) and the Asheville Art Museum (2015), among others. Mr. Andrew is currently editing the catalogue raisonné of complete works by the artist and launched the online catalogue raisonné project in 2009. Since 2016, he has also led the Estate of Elizabeth Murray.
In 2004, Mr. Andrew co-founded with choreographer Julia K. Gleich the non-profit arts organization Norte Maar, whose founding mission is to encourage, promote and present new collaborations in our time through exhibitions of and performances by emerging and mid-career artists. As Founding Director, a role he maintains today, Mr. Andrew organized major loan exhibitions, including To be a Lady: a survey of forty-five women in the arts (2013), which featured striking examples by historic protagonists alongside works by contemporary women artists. In 2015, Mr. Andrew with Norte Maar launched a new initiative in the rural village of Jay, NY highlighting the local arts community through the Au Sable River Valley Studio Tour and the Jay Invitational of Clay.
In 2014, Brooklyn Magazine included Mr. Andrew in the Top 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture. For his curatorial projects, he was voted Best Exhibitionist by the Village Voice (2011), and for his promotion of cross disciplinary arts, he was featured in L Magazine’s article “Who Made the New Brooklyn” (2011). His exhibitions have been critically reviewed by Artforum, Art in America, Art News, Hyperallergic, and The New York Times among others. As lead curator, Mr. Andrew brings his expertise and cross-disciplinary emphasis to continue the Asheville Art Museum’s commitment to providing support for and appreciation of artists living and working in Southern Appalachia.
Appalachia Now! will feature emerging and established artists from North Carolina and its bordering states: Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The exhibition includes artists of all media, such as painting, sculpture, new media, dance and film. Public programs and performances will be held in conjunction with the exhibition. A full color catalogue featuring the selected works along with narratives from the lead curator, staff and selected institution and community leaders will be made available online.
Under Mr. Andrew’s guidance, the exhibition will include a review of artists recommended by art professionals in Southern Appalachia and an open call for online art submissions, which will evolve into a living registry of Appalachian artists. The registry will include links to the artists’ websites and galleries, providing an unparalleled tool for national recognition for Southern Appalachian artists. The Museum will facilitate studio visits for Mr. Andrew as he pursues art expressing the Now! in Southern Appalachia. Both The Museum and Mr. Andrew will expand the depth and reach of information about the works featured in the exhibition through social media and blog posts.
After the current renovation and expansion project is complete, the Museum’s new facility will garner national attention for its 21st century architecture and provide an exceptional platform for global attention for its exhibitions and collections. Appalachia Now! is the first exhibition in the history of the Asheville Art Museum or any other institution to have such a broad focus on the artists living and working in Southern Appalachia.
We would like to thank the following individuals for their support of this project: Stephen C. Wicks, Nandini Makrandi, Emma-Leigh Evors, Chesnee Klein, Jenine Cuilligan, Amy G. Moorefield, Chris Brooks, Beccy Hamm, and Nandini Makrandi.
Appalachia Now! is funded in part by grants from The John and Robyn Horn Foundation and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.