Asheville contingent in the spotlight at Montana festival




Beautiful Western North Carolina is nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains and steeped in historical creativity as the home to Black Mountain College. Legendary even in its own time, Black Mountain College attracted and created maverick spirits, some of whom went on to become well-known and extremely influential individuals in the latter half of the 20th century.

Black Mountain College was one of the most fabled experimental institutions in art education and practice, launching a remarkable number of the artists such as Buckminster Fuller, who spearheaded the avant-garde in 1960s America, and held a multi-disciplinary focus, much like HATCH.

Notable artists from the college include people such as Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef and Anni Albers, Jacob Lawrence, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Cy Twombly, Kenneth Noland, Ben Shahn, Franz Kline, Arthur Penn, M.C. Richards, Francine du Plessix Gray, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Dorothea Rockburne and many others, who have impacted the world in a significant way.

The greatest boom period in Asheville history came during the 1920s with the development of residential subdivisions and new buildings such as the Jackson Building, City Building, Buncombe Courthouse, Grove Arcade, Battery Park Hotel and the Flatiron Building. More art deco architecture built in the late 1920s and early 1930s can be found in downtown Asheville than any other southeastern city except Miami Beach.

WNC ’s landscape is breathtaking, and possible a good reason for our region’s thriving arts scene. Asheville offers a wide spectrum of experiences with the arts, whether it is traditional, performance, media arts or design. Check out the River District which has a gritty and hip flavor, as well as a slew of interesting galleries, the architectural grandeur of the Saint Lawrence Basilica, music venues such as the Orange Peel and the Grey Eagle, local fashion divas like Brooke Priddy and Ship to Shore, even the ever-changing music and faces of our street performers the list goes on and on.

The River District, holds the old and vacant warehouses along the French Broad River in Asheville. These are now becoming a source of pride once again, with many being converted into studios and living quarters for aspiring artists. Today, more than 100 working artists have set up shop in the River Arts District. Many of these studios are open on a regular basis.