Museum from Home
Digital Exhibitions
Get started with A Brief Introduction to Black Mountain College, then dive in to these exhibitions to view selected works, explore exhibition themes, listen to oral histories, view recorded lectures and performances, and find additional resources.
Virtual Events
In addition to events hosted by BMCM+AC, we are sharing experiences from friends and collaborators that you can enjoy from home! Let us know which virtual events you’d like to see by connecting with us on social media or emailing info@blackmountaincollege.org.
2021 Black Mountain College Radio Artists
The 2021 Black Mountain College Radio Artists have been selected by BMCM+AC, AshevilleFM, and Make Noise for a series of innovative works for the radio inspired by the experimental spirit of BMC artists. This year’s artists are based in Western North Carolina, with a focus on pushing the limitations of sound art, music, and performance.
PERFORMANCE: DUET FOR THEREMIN AND LAP STEEL
Thursday, September 30 at 7PM Eastern | Streaming | Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel is Scott Burland (Theremin) and Frank Schultz (Lap Steel guitar). Burland and Schultz bring their mesmerizing duet to BMCM+AC for a live recorded session in the gallery. Presented in conjunction with the Fall 2021 exhibition Don’t Blame it on ZEN: The Way of John Cage & Friends.
FAITH IN ARTS INSTITUTE
October 13-16, 2021 | Virtual + In-person | Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and UNC Asheville – This four-day event will bring together acclaimed artists and scholars to explore the intersections of art, faith, and spirit. Public events will include performances, film screenings, community workshops, lectures, and more.
TALK: ART + RELIGION IN THE 21st CENTURY
October 13 at 7:30PM | Live at BMCM+AC and Zoom | Presented as part of the Faith in Arts Institute. It is time to set aside old assumptions about the antagonism between art and religion and look again with fresh eyes. In this lecture, Aaron Rosen, a leading scholar on religion and contemporary art as well as a practicing curator and critic, explores some of the key ways in which artists today are reframing how we think about religion and spirituality and driving new approaches to ethical issues including climate care and racial justice.
TALK: AFRICAN-AMERICAN & INDIGENOUS SPIRITUALITIES, CREATIVITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
October 14 at 2:30PM | Live at UNC Asheville Highsmith Student Union and Zoom | Presented as part of the Faith in Arts Institute. This presentation by Rachel Elizabeth Harding will explore thematic parallels in the work of painters John Biggers (1924-2001) and Daniel Minter (1961). Separated by more than a generation, and each with his own unique professional trajectory, these creative artists share Southern roots, diasporic visions, and sensibilities grounded in both the materiality and the mysticism of African American life.
FILM SCREENING: TESTIFY, BEYOND PLACE
October 14 at 7:30 PM | BMCM+AC (120 College Street) – Presented as part of the Faith in Arts Institute. Film screening and talk with Director Marie Cochran. “Testify, Beyond Place” pays homage to the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church as well as its relationship to Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC. The year the film was produced in 2021, marked the 85th anniversary of the church demolition and gravesite removal to make way for the expansion of the campus.
Net Art Commission
Instagram Takeovers + Discussions
Catch up on Instagram takeovers from artists and scholars inspired by Black Mountain College, historic looks into the BMC archives, and ongoing discussions on racial equity in the arts at @bmcmuseum
Performances
Revisit past performances and watch recordings featuring contemporary musicians and performers presented as part of the BMCM+AC Performance Initiative. You can also listen to works by featured musicians on Spotify.
Spotlights, Music + Podcasts
Learn about Black Mountain College history and works from our collection; listen to the composers who attended or taught at BMC; hear works by musicians who are part of the BMCM+AC Performance Initiative, and discover the words of the Black Mountain Poets through Black Mountain College Radio and these Spotify playlists.
Tune in to commissions from the 2021 BMC Radio Artists, selected by BMCM+AC, AshevilleFM + Make Noise for a series of innovative works for the radio inspired by the experimental spirit of BMC artists. This year’s artists are based in Western North Carolina, with a focus on pushing the limitations of sound art, music, and performance: Mike Holmes (Nostalgianoid), Thom Nguyen, Cilla Vee, Zazie Productions, and Michael Hatch.
Black Mountain College in Podcasts
Podcast episodes we love about the history of Black Mountain College (1933-1957) and the enduring legacy of individuals who converged there, by BMCM+AC and others. Some long, some short; some academic, some just for fun. Includes episodes from the 2017 BMCM+AC podcast series, Black Mountain College Radio.
BMCM+AC Performance Initiative
Featuring contemporary musicians whose works have been commissioned by and/or performed at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Learn more about the BMCM+AC Performance Initiative.
The Music of Black Mountain College
Featuring the composers whose work shaped the curriculum of Black Mountain College (1933-1957) and impacted the future of music, including John Cage, Lou Harrison, Ernst Krenek, Ursula Mamlok, Erik Satie, Arnold Schönberg, Roger Sessions, David Tudor, and Stefan Wolpe.
The Black Mountain Poets
The words of the poets associated with Black Mountain College and/or the Black Mountain Review. Includes readings of poems by Robert Creeley, Charles Olson, Joel Oppenheimer, Denise Levertov, Galway Kinnell, and Jonathan Williams.
The Journal of Black Mountain College Studies
Twelve volumes of BMCM+AC’s peer-reviewed open-access digital publication have been published to date. The latest release, Volume 12: Expanding the Canon, brings to light lesser told narratives of the college and its legacy. A mysterious Soviet faculty member, a poet’s little-known stint in Guatemala, the important role of the original students from Rollins College in shaping the new college, the originality and prolific output of the college’s print shop, and a range of contemporary creative responses to the BMC legacy—all these and more expansions of the normal Black Mountain College canon will be found in this issue.
Lectures + Keynotes
Learn more about Black Mountain College through this collection of keynote addresses from past ReVIEWING Conferences and live discussions hosted on Zoom as part of our Museum from Home Initiative.
Highlights from the Blog
Start exploring our blog by diving into these most-loved posts and the latest news.
CALL FOR ARTISTS: BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE RADIO ART
103.3 Asheville FM, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and Make Noise announce an opportunity for artists living in Western North Carolina (WNC) to create new short works for broadcast on the radio. We invite artists in WNC to propose projects that reflect the experimental and innovative spirit of Black Mountain College. Artists are encouraged to take risks. Projects should be between 3-5 minutes long and no more than 12 months old. New work is strongly encouraged. The work does not have to be music. Projects can include any sound recording, cellphone recording, field recording, meditation, movement score, text score, sound collage, spoken word, audio art, experimental DJ work, etc.. The LOI deadline is June 21, 2021.
BMCM+AC awarded NEH collections grant
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center has been awarded $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a pilot project creating online access to the museum’s Permanent Collection of over 4,000 artworks and ephemera from the famed liberal arts college and experimental community.
2020: A Year in Review
In a year marked by...
John Cage + the Rasa Aesthetic: Prepared Piano at BMCM+AC
Guest blog post from Casey...
Alma Stone Williams Collection
Within the BMCM+AC...
Myths and Legends of Black Mountain College
We’re clearing up the rumors. In this case, fact is often more fascinating than fiction.
Elaine and Willem de Kooning + The Summer of 1948
When the summer of 1948...
Unsung Women of the Bauhaus
It's a story that is...
FBI Investigations at BMC
FBI Investigations of Black Mountain College
At the height of mid-20th Century communist paranoia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a secret investigation into Black Mountain College. Students and faculty of the college have told stories of how troubling and ridiculous it was to see trenchcoat-wearing FBI agents sneaking around campus, but finally last year, the bureau declassified the investigation file at the request of the Carolina Public Press via the Freedom of Information Act. Now available for public viewing, the file elucidates the motives and methods behind the investigation.
Thank You for Your Support!
BMCM+AC is a nonprofit organization supported by a community that is passionate about the legacy of Black Mountain College. Our members and donors at all levels sustain our programs, collection, exhibitions and more.
If you have found value in these online resources, we encourage you to support our work in the following ways:
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center Museum from Home Initiative. Museum from Home. Museum from Home offers remote alternatives to our in-person exhibitions and programs. Museum from Home. Learn more about the global Museum from Home movement. Museum from Home.
Keep in Touch
Social Media
We’re sharing daily posts, updates, and articles on all three platforms, plus curator-led video tours of the exhibition Question Everything! The Women of Black Mountain College on Instagram Stories.
Join in on creative prompts and virtual events with the hashtag #BlackMountainAtHome.
E-mail Us
We would love to hear from you, whether it’s about BMC or just to lend an ear. Send us your thoughts!
Newsletter
Stay posted on news + events by joining our e-newsletter. Currently, we're sending weekly updates & insights into BMC history.