2017: A Year of Chance and Change

Dance Heginbotham at {Re}HAPPENING 7 (photo by Duncan Chaboudy)

Dear Friends,

As we look forward to 2018, we want to take a moment to thank you for your support this year. 2017 was a pivotal year for BMCM+AC, and whether it was through your presence at one or more of our events or your advocacy for our exciting new ventures, your support has been invaluable. With your help, we have accomplished so much this year:

  • 5 exhibitions across two galleries with 22 related programs and 3 original catalogues including Begin to See: The Photographers of Black Mountain College, distributed by Duke University Press
  • 25,000+ engagements with local, national, and international audiences
  • 7th Annual {Re}HAPPENING with 750 attendees, featuring Third Coast Percussion, Dance Heginbotham and dozens of local artists
  • The launch of our new Performance Initiative in partnership with UNC Asheville with The Brooklyn Youth Chorus’ Southeast Premiere of Black Mountain Songs
  • The 9th Annual ReVIEWING Conference with 200+ attendees and keynotes from conceptual artist Mel Chin and the creative team behind Black Mountain Songs
  • Martha McDonald: Process + Performance, the inaugural exhibition, publication, and performance of our ACTIVE ARCHIVE initiative
  • Awarded a $200,000 grant from the Buncombe County TDA for our upcoming move to 120 College Street
  • Over $600,000 in funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts, Windgate Charitable Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Horowitz Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, Beattie Foundation, North Carolina Arts Council, New Music USA and Asheville Area Arts Council

We would not have accomplished any of this without you! Like Black Mountain College, we work together as a community to make these programs happen, and we thank you for being a part of our community.

Gerald van de Wiele, “Odyssey,” 2016, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 32”. Collection of the Artist.

2018 promises to be even better! We will reopen {56 Broadway} on January 19th with the exhibition Gerald van de Wiele: VARIATIONS – Seven Decades of Painting (1951-2017) followed by the exhibition Shared History, opening on June 1st. This final exhibition at {56 Broadway} will celebrate the 25-year history of BMCM+AC and our many collaborations, partnerships, and projects.

Our Performance Initiative will continue with Principles of Uncertainty, a collaboration between Dance Heginbotham and writer/illustrator Maira Kalman. This evening length dance performance about life, death, and everything in between will be held at Diana Wortham Theatre on March 16th and 17th. A week later, the 8th Annual {Re}HAPPENING will be held on March 31st at the historic Lake Eden Campus, featuring the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and dozens of installations and performances from local and national artists.

We look forward to the Grand Opening of 120 College Street on September 28, 2018 with the opening of Between Form and Content: Perspectives on Jacob Lawrence and Black Mountain College, the first exhibition to examine the acclaimed African American artist’s 1946 Summer Session at BMC. This exhibition will also feature original commissions from three contemporary artists: animator/filmmaker Martha Coburn, composer/performer Tyondai Braxton, and music curator/writer Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture) who will expand pathways into Lawrence’s paintings. The exhibition and Grand Opening will be complemented by the 2018 ReVIEWING BMC Conference, September 28-30.

BMCM+AC will open its doors at 120 College Street in September 2018 (photo by Alice Sebrell)

Our new, permanent home at 120 College Street will be a renovation and expansion to 6,000sf at the center of Downtown Asheville, adjacent to Pack Square Park. The new BMCM+AC will feature a large gallery/event space, a permanent BMC history and research center, an expanded library, on-site storage for the permanent collection, and a larger retail bookshop. With the help of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, plus $200,000 contributed by our board, and ongoing community support, we have begun construction to renovate 120 College Street. This project will help solidify the museum as a strong and vital international art center, and further cement Asheville as a major cultural destination.

All of this is only possible through your financial support. We rely on individual donations, in addition to membership dues, to fund these incredible opportunities. Our deepest thanks to everyone who has already given so generously.  Take a look through the slideshow below to see everything we have accomplished this year with your support!

 

Happy New Year from all of us at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center!

– Jeff, Alice, Kate, and Molly