150,000 Free Illustrations of the Natural World You Can Now Download
The artworks, collected by the open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, range from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies.
THE MOST IMPORTANT BLACK WOMAN SCULPTOR of the 20th century deserves more recognition
Unfortunately, little of her work survives
Augusta Savage started sculpting as a child in the 1900s using what she could get her hands on: the clay that was part of the natural landscape in her hometown of Green Cove Springs, Florida. Eventually her talents took her far from the clay pits of the South. She joined the burgeoning arts scene of the Harlem Renaissancewhen her talents led her to New York.
WNC LEGACY: FINE ART &CRAFT- On a Personal Note: John Cram
By Jim Murphy in The Laurel of Asheville 2016
In the early 1970s, John Cram visited Asheville and says, “I fell in love with the place.” He moved here and found that Asheville was sitting squarely between the mountains and the doldrums. Beyond the town’s natural attractions, there was not a lot to love. And there was not a lot of demand for a 25-year-old holding a communications degree with a concentration in film. (John calls it “a bachelor’s degree in nothing.”) But just beneath that liberal arts background lurked the soul of an entrepreneur.
The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie and the Reverse Underground Railroad
By Meilan Solly in Smithsonian.com
Harriet Tubman’s first act as a free woman was poignantly simple. As she later told biographer Sarah Bradford, after crossing the Pennsylvania state boundary line in September 1849, “I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”
Asheville and Western North Carolina COMMUNITY THEATRE, MUSIC & ART from A – Z
“Children need art and stories and poems and music as much as they need love and food and fresh air and play. “
Wise words from Philip Pullman, who received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2005:
Children need art and stories and poems and music as much as they need love and food and fresh air and play. If you don’t give a child food, the damage quickly becomes visible. If you don’t let a child have fresh air and play, the damage is also visible, but not so quickly. If you don’t give a child love, the damage might not be seen for some years, but it’s permanent.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice – Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)
This is an experience that touches the heart and soul – not to be missed!
This information and pictures are offered by Ed Raiola
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
Central Park’s first-ever female statue is coming in 2020
The women behind the first statue of a woman from history to be erected in New York City’s Central Park discuss its groundbreaking importance.
In 1995, the artist Meredith Bergmann was working on a film set in Central Park when she noticed something was off.
“I noticed then there were no statues of women,” said Bergmann. “There was a wonderful Alice in Wonderland sculpture, but there were no sculptures of actual women of note and accomplishment.” Click here to continue reading
BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER for the ARTS
“Ours is a community arts center with a mission of “bringing arts to the people and people to the arts.”
The Black Mountain Center for the Arts (BMCA) was the dream of a small group of visionaries, who in 1993 organized and found a way to save the Old City Hall from destruction. They obtained the building, raised over a million dollars and succeeded in renovating the 6,000-square-foot facility into a welcoming and vital landmark. BMCA was incorporated in 1995 and opened its doors in October 2000. In 2009, the Old City Garage was also renovated and made into a clay studio behind the main building. This community arts organization has sought to create a physical place for the arts to come together and flourish in the Swannanoa Valley in Buncombe County. See our website for more information
Featured Book “THESE TREES” by Ruthie Rosauer
Book title: These Trees
Photography and Poetry
Editor and Photographer: Ruthie Rosauer
Publisher: Rose River Press Publication date: June 2017 Number of pages: 176 Price: $25
Why Have There Been No Great Women Cinematographers (According to Hollywood)?
By Justine Smith in Hyperallergic
As the Cinémathèque Québécoise pays homage to some of the notable women who have stepped behind the camera and “painted with light,” critic Justine Smith considers why their work is often underrecognized.
WNC LEGACY: VISUAL ART Norma Bradley and The Earth Quilt Project 1986-2008
Quilts tell the stories of our lives through their shapes, colors and textures. They hold a history of their makers as well as the people who care for them. They become sacred treasures.
A Viral List of Hundreds of Opportunities for Artists, Compiled by One Person to Encourage Community
By Sarah Rose Sharp in Hyperallergic
Everest Pipkin has made public their “Big Artist Opportunities List” — a collection of over 400 opportunities for artists across the globe.
With the overwhelming reality that artists are expected to somehow maintain a practice, store and ship work, support their scene, self-promote, manage open accounts with galleries — all generally on spec, at least starting out — plus do whatever it takes to pay their bills, who has the time or bandwidth to keep track of opportunities to further one’s practice?
PENLAND SCHOOL of CRAFTS – Workshops Offered
Penland is a national center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Penland offers one-, two-, and eight-week workshops in books & paper, clay, drawing, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking and letterpress, textiles, and wood.
‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ review: Irresistible voice of beloved writer shines through
By Moira Macdonald at Seattle Times
The Nobel Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison has a voice like a warm blanket, and it spreads across the documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” irresistibly; when it’s over, you feel like a beloved friend has left the room. In Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ film, Morrison is seated squarely facing the camera and speaking to it, while the other voices in the film – friends, fellow writers, critics, academics – are shot at a more traditional angle. The result is an intimate directness, a sense of a genuine conversation.
CENTER FOR CRAFT – Keeping Asheville Creative Artspace Survey Findings Ripple out into Asheville’s Development Sector
The landmark survey, taken by 1,265 individuals and 170 organizations, documents the immediate need for affordable spaces for makers, designers, and performers in Asheville. The study found that a majority of artists (86%) and arts organizations (78%) would be interested in renting space in a multi-use arts facility in Asheville, North Carolina (see the full survey results here). Click here to continue reading
Featured Book TRANSFORMING HATE: AN ARTIST’S BOOK by Clarissa T. Sligh
Transforming Hate is a project comprised of folded origami cranes, photographs, installations, artist books, other image-text narratives, and workshops with local community organizations. In this work, historical elements are used as a framing device to construct the evolution of our shared identity… Origami cranes were folded from pages of white supremacist books.
ASHEVILLE AREA ART Exhibitions and Events
Innovative programming utilizing an outstanding collection of American art of the 20th and 21st centuries has established the Asheville Art Museum as a leader in the arts for Western North Carolina and the Southeast. It is the only organization of its kind providing cultural and educational experiences for residents and visitors to the 24 county region.Established by artists and incorporated in 1948, the Asheville Art Museum is committed to being a vital force in community and individual development and to providing life-long opportunities for education and enrichment through the visual arts. Click here for our website
NORTH CAROLINA ARTS COUNCIL
The North Carolina Arts Council launched its work in 1967 as awareness of the importance of arts to all citizens was becoming a national movement. In the ensuing nearly 50 years the arts in North Carolina have come to be valued as one of our state’s most durable and productive assets.
Oprah Winfrey and the Immortal Reach of Henrietta Lacks
Deborah Lacks grew up without her mother, who died when she was only 2 years old. Her longing for details about her mother’s life is a key aspect of the new HBO film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, with Oprah Winfrey as co-star and an executive producer.