ArtsvilleUSA

If you’ve ever rounded a corner in Asheville and come face-to-face with a monumental ripple of forged steel, chances are you’ve stumbled across the handiwork of Rachel David of RED Metal. In a city teeming with murals and microbreweries, her abstract public sculpture “Fluvial”—a centerpiece of ArtsvilleUSA’s Open // Air exhibition —refuses to be neatly filed away in the usual taxonomy of public ar...

This episode is a special rerun, originally published on May 16, 2024, in celebration of the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Graduate Show . The show is hosted online at ArtsvilleUSA in collaboration with the Southern Highland Craft Guild, with the in-person exhibition on view at the Folk Art Center through September 16. Ask any working artist what they wish they’d learned in art sch...

What happens when you toss perfectionism out the window and invite adults to play with glue sticks and torn paper? You get ArtFolk, the Weaverville-based collective where “making art is the only qualification to become an artist.” In this episode, ArtsvilleUSA Executive Director Elise Wilson joins ArtFolk founders Kelly Reese and Jennifer Jacey in Jen’s delightfully chaotic studio to talk about re...

Are you sitting comfortably? Because this week, we’re taking a closer look at how the Hominy Creek Comfort Makers and their Enka-Candler Library partners are combining craft and community service. Host Elise Wilson cozies up with founder Pat White, along with local library legends Kate Spratt (branch manager) and Theresa Wallace (librarian and program master), for a conversation about how a group...

Just a year ago, fall festivals were disappearing right and left from event calendars in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hurricane Helene may have thrown a wrench in Western North Carolina’s 2024 festival season, but 2025 is back and better than ever. This weekend marks the triumphant return of the LEAF Global Arts Festival for its 30th anniversary at Lake Eden in Black Mountain. Join host Elise Wilson...

In the wake of natural disasters, art can serve as a lifeline for communities in urgent need of healing. Today, we’re chatting with the curators behind A Tale of Two Cities , a cross-cultural exhibition commemorating the anniversaries of hurricanes Helene in Asheville and Katrina in New Orleans. Our guests include Kenn Kotara, an artist based in Asheville; Jan Gilbert, an artist from New Orleans;...

Editor’s note: This episode was originally published in April 2024. We’re revisiting our conversation with Candace Reilly, founder and executive director of the North Carolina Glass Center, as part of our July 2025 coverage themed around the Blue Ridge Craft Trails . This episode is also part of our partnership with the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area . North Carolina's crafts scene has long bee...

Editor’s note: This episode was originally published in June 2024. We’re revisiting our conversation with Scott “Doc” Varn, founder and executive director of Preserving a Picturesque America, as part of our outdoor art-themed coverage in June 2025. What’s more exciting than an epic treasure hunt, searching for America’s wild places? Today’s guest, Scott “Doc” Varn, is the founder and executive dir...

Editor’s note: This episode was originally published in April 2022. We’re revisiting our conversation with Sarah Wells Rolland, owner, founder, and resident potter of The Village Potters Clay Center, as part of our clay-themed coverage in May 2025. In the face of adversity, creativity has a remarkable way of shining through. No one embodies this spirit more than Sarah Wells Rolland, owner and foun...

What do New Orleans and Western North Carolina have in common? Both regions were rocked by historic hurricanes, which left lasting impacts on their communities and environments. Today, host Louise Glickman explores the transformative role of art and creativity in community recovery, comparing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to the recovery efforts following recent storms in Weste...

Art and crafts are emerging as vital engines for recovery in the wake of Hurricane Helene's devastation in Western North Carolina. Join host Louise Glickman as she chats with Angie Chandler, executive director of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, and Robin Johnston, the Crafts Trails coordinator, to explore how small towns and artists are working to revive their communities through creative e...

Excuse our language, but 2024 was a whirlwind—literally. Our final episode of the year explores the sweeping impact of Hurricane Helene on the Asheville arts community. NOT REAL ART founder Scott “Sourdough” Power joins ArtsvilleUSA director Louise Glickman to discuss the challenges faced by local artists and art organizations, emphasizing the urgent need for support and funding to sustain their c...

In the wake of Hurricane Helene's devastation, Asheville can draw valuable lessons from New Orleans, a city that faced its own struggles after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In this month’s podcast episode, ArtsvilleUSA director Louise Glickman sits down with Michael Manes of Asheville’s Blue Spiral 1 and Arthur Roger of New Orleans’ Arthur Roger Gallery to discuss the future of Asheville’s arts commu...

When natural disasters strike, they don’t just destroy homes; they can devastate entire communities, livelihoods, and creative legacies. In this special edition of Art World Horror Stories, Asheville-based photographer Michael Freas shares the harrowing tale of Hurricane Helene’s destruction, which left hundreds of local artists without studios or income. Having survived multiple hurricanes, Micha...

Making a living from the arts can be a tough gig. Most art schools rightfully focus on studio skills and critical thinking but place very little emphasis on their real-world applications. Artists often double as their own marketers, using dated information that doesn't translate to tech advances in social media or the contemporary arts industry. In today’s podcast episode, Asheville printmaker Jam...

When Sue Dolamore started painting, she joined a small group of Asheville-area plein-air artists. Under her leadership, the outdoor painting group ballooned from 12 members to nearly 400 over a five-year period. All the while, Sue learned to capture the breathtaking mountain vistas of Western North Carolina by working outdoors. These days, Sue also works inside a studio, but her abstract landscape...

Ask any artist what they need to succeed; nine times out of 10, they’ll say “marketing.” In today’s podcast episode, marketing wunderkind Sarah Benoit of JB Media Institute joins us to discuss the practical tools artists and creative entrepreneurs need to grow their businesses in the digital era. Key Points From This Episode: How Sarah got into the marketing business as an “appreciator of the crea...

In this episode, we sit down with Wendy Neuman and Stephanie Munn to discuss the importance of art in building and strengthening communities based on their personal experiences. Stephanie is the Director of the Ferguson Family YMCA in Candler, North Carolina, and Wendy is a photographer, fashion designer, volunteer, and marketing expert. In our conversation, Stephanie delves into the mission of th...

In this episode, we introduce two bright young artists, Elizabeth Walton and Amy Massey, who are making waves in Western North Carolina and beyond. Both Elizabeth and Amy recently graduated from Artsville’s First Virtual Gallery of Artists Cohort program, a digital and live marketing initiative designed to help artists succeed in the business of art. Elizabeth is a talented jewelry designer, with...

Artworks are regularly sold at auctions around the world for record sums of money, but today’s guest believes that auctions serve a greater purpose than just growing the highest bidder’s collection. Every object is an invitation to consider our personal and collective histories through the unique and often fascinating story it has to tell. Today, you'll hear from a local auctioneer, Sout...

You wouldn’t think that a town of under 500 people could be home to a thriving art gallery, let alone two competing ones across the road from one another. But in Bakersville, North Carolina, that is exactly the case. Joining us today is Andy Palmer, who co-owns the In Tandem gallery with his wife Silvia Ferrari-Palmer on the main street, and Vicki Essig, who runs Mica, another beautiful gallery ju...

If you’re a regular listener of the Artsville Podcast, you are already familiar with the rich creative spirit of Asheville and the historical significance of arts and crafts in the region. We like to shout it from the rooftops! But did you know that Asheville is a world-class tourism destination for so many other reasons too? Today, we are joined by Marla Tambellini, Senior VP of Marketing at Expl...

In today’s episode of Artsville, you’ll hear from Gina Phillips, a dear friend and someone who has played an integral part in the growth and development of Mitchell County, North Carolina. Gina’s commitments to the Penland School of Craft, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and rural education efforts in Mitchell County helped birth the idea for Hilloween, a countywide event that...

How did Asheville become Artsville? The magic is in our partnerships! Together with our collaborators, we’re able to promote the work of emerging and established artists from our respective regions to an ever-growing audience. Today’s guest is one of those collaborators and someone who is deeply committed to helping artists build their brands and share their stories with other artists and art love...

Today’s episode is many months in the making. We are very excited because this is the culmination of a series of features we have written about Jim McDowell and his Face Jug: A story about how it has traveled throughout our audience and how Susan and Michael Hershield made it possible to give it to the Nasher Collection. We heard from the collectors, the artists, and the museum. We are trying to d...