The Asheville Art Museum is a community-based nonprofit visual art organization in Western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

(WNC) and is accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The Museum is located on the center square of downtown

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, 2 South Pack Square at Pack Place.http://www.ashevilleart.org The official Asheville Art Museum website The Asheville Art Museum presents exhibitions and public programs based on its permanent collection of 20th and 21st century

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

. The Museum features regional and national artists through special exhibitions, and showcases works of significance to Western North Carolina’s cultural heritage including

Studio Craft Studio craft is the practice of craft methodology in an artist's studio. Traditional craft tends to generate craft objects out of necessity or for ceremonial use while studio craft produces craft objects at the whim of the maker or intended owner ...

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

artists. Educational programs for children and adults are also offered.

History

Incorporated in 1948, the original home was a three-room building on Charlotte Street, once the land sales office of E.W. Grove, developer of the

Grove Park Inn The Omni Grove Park is a historical resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina. It has been visited by various presidents of the United States and many other notable ...

. By 1950, the Museum began acquiring a permanent collection. Quickly, the collection outgrew its home, and the Museum moved to donated space on the 15th floor of the Northwest Bank, now the BB&T building. Forced to move in 1970, the Museum purchased property in the

Montford Area Historic District The Montford Area Historic District is a mainly residential neighborhood in Asheville, North Carolina that is included in the National Register of Historic Places. History According to the National Park Service the origin of the name Montford ...

of Asheville. A first full-time Director was hired, and exhibitions became more regional in scope. Programming and attendance expanded, but the aging 40-year-old building presented problems. When plans for the

Asheville Civic Center The Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, previously known as the U.S. Cellular Center and originally as the Asheville Civic Center Complex, is a multipurpose entertainment center, located in Asheville, North Carolina. Opened in 1974, the compl ...

were announced in 1972, the Museum Board accepted an invitation to be one of the three cultural agencies in the center. In 1976, the Museum opened a facility in the Civic Center. In 1984, the Asheville Art Museum became one of few of its size to be accredited by the

Henry-Richardson-Asheville-Art-Museum-plaza-glass-sculpture

In 1992, the Museum opened in a 1925

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style building with contemporary additions that was once a library. That facility includes of space at Pack Place in downtown Asheville. A modest capital expansion, completed in 1999, added space from Pack Place and the adjacent Legal Building, creating new classroom and studio facilities, an art library, a teacher resource center, a community gallery and a new entrance. Following this expansion, the museum occupied of space. Between September 2016 and November 2019, the museum had another major expansion project, increasing its size to 54,000 square feet. During this expansion, the permanent collection grew to comprise 8,000+ works (a 31.5% increase since 2017). The Museum reopened on November 14, 2019. The first public art installation in the plaza is the six-foot diameter chiseled glass orb entitled "Reflections on Unity" by the artist Henry Richardson.

References

External links

Asheville Art Museum
- official site * {{authority control Museums in Asheville, North Carolina

Art museums and galleries in North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east ...

Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums of American art 1948 establishments in North Carolina Art museums established in 1948