submitted by Pamela L. Myers Executive Director, Asheville Art Museum 

Support Public Investment in the Arts 

We believe the arts make a difference in our lives and in our community. Art inspires, enriches and enlivens us; it gives hope for the future and reminds us of our shared humanity. We know that you feel the same way. 

Dear Arts Supporter,

President Trump's proposed budget cuts all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute for Museum & Library Services (IMLS), among other agencies and programs. These cuts would have serious negative implications for the Asheville Art Museum and its ability to fulfill its mission to transform lives through art with innovative exhibitions and programming.

Please consider contacting your elected officials to let them know how important the arts are to our communities. Share your passion for the arts and include some of the facts below. We also encourage you to share this information with your social media networks to help spread the word that the arts matter.

Funding that Supports the Asheville Art Museum

From 2007-2017, the Asheville Art Museum received the following amounts from federal funding sources -- funds that are critical to the Museum's mission:

•         NEA – $135,000
•         IMLS -- $93,355
•         NEH -- $4,839

Below is some additional information from the Association of Art Museum Directors:

Reach of the NEA / NEH / IMLS

• No other arts funder -- public or private -- sends funds to every congressional district in every state and to all the U.S. territories.
• The NEA and NEH don't tell states what to do with the funds they receive. The states set their own priorities.
• The NEA and NEH's investment in state and regional arts organizations helps to bolster a strong arts and culture ecosystem in United States. 
• The loss of the NEA / NEH / IMLS would have the greatest impact on rural areas, low-income areas, and schoolchildren, seniors, and veterans.

Economic Factors 

• Taxpayer investment in the NEA and NEH is minimal, just 94 cents per capita, less than the cost of one cup of coffee each year.
• The NEA has a huge impact for that minimal investment. On average, each dollar awarded by the NEA to an arts organization enables that organization to leverage nine dollars from other sources. 
• This makes the NEA an economic driver, generating more than $600 million annually in these matching funds.

Thank you for your support of the arts.

Sincerely,
Pamela L. Myers
Executive Director, Asheville Art Museum 

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum Announces 2017 Movies at the Museum Film Series

March 13, 2017 - Blowing Rock Art and History Museum (BRAHM), 159 Chestnut Street in Blowing Rock NC, introduces the 2017 Movies at the Museum film series.  Movies at the Museum features films by North Carolina filmmakers, films about the arts and films about the history and culture of the Appalachian region. Complimentary popcorn will be provided, and the film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by a special guest speaker.

March 23 at 7 PM:  America's First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment. America's First Forest tells the story of how Carl Schenck, a German forester, came to America in 1895 to manage the forests at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. He not only helped restore the land there, he established the country’s first forestry school and helped launch the American conservation movement. The documentary film is produced for the Forest History Society by Bonesteel Films. The speaker for the movie is Bill Alexander, Landscape and Forest Historian at the Biltmore Estate. GET MORE INFORMATION HERE.

Enjoy a Thursday night in Blowing Rock with dinner and a movie. Here’s how it works: pick up your ticket anytime during museum hours on the day of the film, and present it at Bistro Roca for a 10% discount on your meal (offer only valid the day of the film). Then, come on over to BRAHM for a film and discussion.

 Additional March Events at BRAHM:

March 21 at 11 AM - Coffee with the Curator, featuring Selections from the Collection



March 20 at 11 AM -  Family, Food, and Place: The Winebarger Mill and Agricultural History in Watauga County, North Carolina.

Heartwood Gallery Final Winter Sale and Spring Cleaning

This is the final week of the Winter Sale at Heartwood Gallery, 21 East Main Street in Saluda NC. Sale items have been further reduced. Pottery, glass, wearables, wood, jewelry, holiday items and more up to 60% off. Sale ends Sunday, March 5, 2017. 

Spring cleaning begins on Monday, March 6 when the shop will close for painting and cleaning and re-open on Saturday March 11, 2017 at 10 AM. 

Heartwood Gallery offers a variety of local and American handmade crafts including wearables, jewelry, paper, paintings, fine porcelain, stoneware, glass, metal and wood. The Gallery is a destination well worth considering when you're looking for a special indulgence for yourself, your home or a friend. One of a kind describes not only the items found at Heartwood, but also the unique quality of the Gallery itself. 

 

Asheville Art Museum February Events

February 11,2017 from 10 AM-2 PM: Introduction to Screen-Printing. One of the most versatile printing methods, screen-printing uses simple tools and can be applied to a wide range of materials. Participants in this workshop are introduced to the practical and artistic forms of screen-printing and techniques such as open screen, photo silkscreen, paper block-outs and flocking through demonstrations, experimentation and discussion.

Instructor Kevin Hogan was born in Liverpool, England. He makes sculptural installations, paintings, prints, drawings and mixed-media artwork. His earlier work was almost entirely black and white, focusing more on line and shape within the work. His experimentation with printmaking led to an exploration of color. He has exhibited in North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, New York, France and Germany.

Space is limited; register by February 7. Click here to register or call 828.253.3227, ext. 122 for more information.



February 19,2016 at 3 PM at Biltmore United Methodist Church - Pianoforte with Les Downs. Dr. Leslie Downs is active as both a solo and a collaborative pianist. He has performed in solo, lieder, chamber, and choral concerts throughout the United States and in Canada. He has also served as music director for regional musical theatre productions. For 16 years he worked as a freelance pianist/teacher/vocal coach in New York City. He currently serves as Music Director for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville.

The program will include works by Joseph Haydn, Manuel de Falla, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin and Isaac Albéniz.

Pianoforte concerts fill up quickly; click here to purchase tickets online or call 828.253.3227, ext. 122.

February 24, 2017 from 5:30-8:30 PM at Hi-Wire Brewing Big Top, 2 Huntsman Place in Asheville NC - TOAST Asheville. As the Museum is "Making It New" during construction, they are also re-inventing the annual TOAST Asheville event and are excited to be partnering this year with Hi-Wire Brewing. The evening will be a festive gathering with plenty of unique Hi-Wire beers and partner wines to sample, local tasty food, brewery tours, and a silent auction. Entertainment is generously provided by Appalatin, whose foot-stomping, hip-swinging sounds organically unite Appalachian folk and high-energy Latin music.

All proceeds from this event support the Asheville Art Museum’s ongoing exhibitions and programming. For tickets to this event, you may purchase online or call 828.253.3227.



Asheville Art Museum Work of the Week: Squid Under Pier by Minna Citron. Minna Citron (1896-1991) was a painter and printmaker best known for her Social Realist images of New York City. Citron studied at the Art Students League with John Sloan and Kenneth Hayes Miller, and she later was associated with a group of Realist painters known as the 14th Street School. In the late 1930s she taught art and painted murals for the Works Progress Administration. By the early 1940s, abstraction became her primary style.

Minna Citron, Squid Under Pier, 1948, Color Intaglio and Stencil, 16 x 19.5 inches. 2010 Collectors’ Circle Purchase. Permanent Collection. 2011.01.01.60.