Celebrate, 60!

The summer is right around the corner and another day cannot pass me by without blogging about three exciting events that are happening with the museum this season.

First and foremost: CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON! (or at least, anniversaries.) On Saturday June 27 we are hosting our Celebrate 60! anniversary party for the community at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville. This ain't your grandma's type of anniversary party, either. We're talking live music by the funk, soul, and Motown group the Free Flow Band; entertainment by local performance artists; a juggling troupe; and even live painting by Melissa "Padma" Glaze and Steve Lister. Oh, and if that wasn't enough you get TWO free drink tickets with admission. (Must be 21 and up for drink tickets... sorry kiddies). All are welcomed with a ticket price of 19.49- representing the year we opened. Come and see how the museum has grown from past to present and get a glimpse into our future. (Not too much, though we don't want all our secrets spoiled)

In conjunction with this pARTy we are also selling raffle tickets. Now there are a number of reasons people should purchase these raffle tickets. Of course the most important being that raffle ticket proceeds provide crucial support for museum programs and exhibitions. But let's get real, these prizes are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. My favorite: Caribbean Escape. Picture this; a sun-drenched beach, the calm Caribbean, a six bedroom penthouse apartment. Signing myself up now! Five other equally as stunning prizes are offered in this raffle: gifts for the community that has given us so much.

So, when will the winners of these lovely prizes be announced? Funny you should ask. On Sunday July 12, we are having our summer Family Art pARTy (We love to pARTy) Raffle winners will be revealed and a festival of events offered. Live music will be featured along with artist demonstrations, hands-on art activities and free Museum admission. It will be a celebration the whole family will enjoy.

So who says there is nothing big going on this summer! Your friendly neighborhood Asheville Art Museum has you covered for fun and excitement. Between partying at the orange peel, picking out the best raffle prize and a family-fun carnival, it should be a busy season for us all.

--Your Asheville Art Museum's "Social Media" intern!

A note about the blogger: As the new Summer Intern for the Asheville Art Museum Communications department, I have been given a variety of responsibilities. One being "blogging." Having never "blogged" before, I have decided to take the AAM blog into a new direction: A personal view into the happenings of the museum through the eyes of a summer intern. Through this blog, I hope I can make the community more aware of all the hard work that is put into the museum, and the exciting things it has to offer this summer all while using my personal "flair." I hope you will enjoy my posts and please feel free to comment.

Battery Park Book Exchange Hosts Asheville Art Museum Night this Thursday!!

The Battery Park Book Exchange graciously hosts Asheville Art Museum Night on Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. with 50% of the evening's proceeds to benefit the Museum.

The Battery Park Book Exchange features a large variety of titles on many subjects - including the arts! There is definitely a book, or more, for everyone. Enjoy the champagne bar serving wine, beer, non-alcoholic beverages, sparkling wines and true champagnes that visitors can enjoy in the store or in the beautiful spring weather by taking advantage of the outdoor seating section. Come enjoy fine wines and great reads and support your Museum!

The Battery Park Book Exchange is located at 1 Battle Square across from the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville.

Join us for an opening reception for Tradition/Innovation this Friday!

Join us for an opening reception with some of the artists in Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 22! The combination of contemporary craft and traditional art in this exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to explore the "threads" between two different approaches to creating artwork, and also to compare the approaches of traditional and contemporary artists.

Works by 58 master traditional artists and contemporary craftspeople from the Southern Arts Federation's nine partner states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) will be accompanied by a rich array of artist interviews, stories and background information on the artists and their processes. Visitors will view works in glass, clay, fiber, metal, wood, paper and mixed media. Among the works on display will be wooden books, a Mardi Gras Indian costume, a set of silver mint julep cups, ceramic face jugs, white oak and sweetgrass baskets, an iron apron, miniature teapots, glass sculptures, traditional quilts, a wooden half hull boat model, ceramic goblets and a sponge diving helmet. Don't miss it!

Image credit:
Charles "Jean" Horner, Mandolin, 2007, spruce, curly maple, ebony, mother of pearl, abalone mussel shell, 28 x 10.25 x 2.75 inches. Courtesy of the Southern Arts Federation. Photo by Luis Quiles.

Opening Reception + Artist Talk = Friday + Saturday at the Asheville Art Museum

Response and Memory: The Art of Beverly Buchanan will feature the bold, colorful and expressive drawings and sculpture of Beverly Buchanan. Buchanan is perhaps best known for her two- and three-dimensional interpretations of the sharecropper shacks that used to dot the back roads of the rural South. Join us for an opening reception with Ms. Buchanan today from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.!

Saturday, May 9 Beverly Buchanan will give a talk in the gallery featuring her solo exhibition. Join us at 1:00 p.m. for this special opportunity to meet Ms. Buchanan and hear her talk about her work.

Image Credit:
Beverly Buchanan, House Watching, 2006 oil pastel drawing, 15 x 22.5 inches. Given in memory of Eloise Sessions Griffin by Ray Griffin, Lynette Griffin Gershon and Thom Robinson. Asheville Art Museum Collection.