Upcoming Exhibitions
The Bascom’s major exhibitions highlight the work of the artists who live and work in our region, Bascom instructors and students, Artist Fellows and Residents, as well as world-renowned artists whose work might not otherwise be seen in this region. The Bascom's 3 galleries and the Winkler Sculpture and Nature Trail are host to approximately 10 exhibitions each year, which pair with our Outreach and Education departments to attract 20,000 visitors to The Bascom. Free guided tours are available upon advanced request.
The Bascom's 2024 Annual Theme: Legacies
Our 2024 season is a celebration of legacies. The arts thrive when artists have opportunities to engage with and influence one another – and, in turn, when audiences have the chance to experience traditional arts and new approaches, techniques, and innovations in conversation.
Artists leave the legacy of their work and its impact on our collective visual imagination. Through their teaching, they encourage and shape the growth, development, and visibility of young artists. Some leave the mark of innovations that transform their fields and expand what is possible for other practitioners. This year we will see those impacts, influences, and inspirations in an array of exhibitions and symposia that celebrate the multiple ways artists create the visual worlds that we as viewers experience.
This year’s exhibitions and symposia celebrate the legacy of artists as educators in the annual exhibition, Emergence, which brings together university faculty and student artists from across the Southeast. We will witness the mutual support and influence of contemporary printmakers from the Asheville Area. Audiences will be able to see works of the American Studio Glass movement, including those of technical innovator and “father” of the glass movement, Harvey Littleton, his son and daughter-in-law John Littleton and Kate Vogel, as well as North Carolina glass makers. This year we will also collaborate with the Blue Spiral Gallery (Asheville) and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts to celebrate the legacy of Will Henry Stevens, for whom the Bascom covered bridge is named. Stevens was a Southern artist who worked in the North Carolina Mountains and the bayou of Louisiana, and whose work as an educator of artists had lasting impacts.
Not to be missed – our Bascom Clay Symposium, which brings together three contemporary ceramic artists and celebrates the Craft and Art of Clay and its vibrancy in our region.
Always available – our Outdoor Sculpture Program, which begins a two-year rotational cycle in 2024– on The Bascom campus and at selected sites in Cashiers, NC.
The Bascom’s 2024 Photography Artist in Residence, Erik Mace, is a visual artist who uses photography, graphic design, and book arts as his tools of inquiry. As an experimental visual thinker, he is deeply curious about the power of photography and adjacent media, and how to take advantage of their limitations. Mace’s exhibition will destabilize viewer expectations of familiar sensory material, transforming images, sounds, and other media into photographs to explore perceptions of the natural world.
- GALLERY: Joel Gallery
- ON DISPLAY: April 20, 2024
- THROUGH: August 24, 2024
- MEDIUM(S): Photography
This exhibition celebrates the rich tradition of glass art in the region, showcasing the journey of world-renowned artists, including Harvey Littleton, John Littleton, and Kate Vogel. It offers a blend of historical context, current achievements, and a glimpse into what lies ahead for glass art in Western North Carolina. Viewers have the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the diverse and dynamic world of glass artistry, fostering a deeper understanding of the artists and their contributions to the region’s cultural heritage. Curated by Alysia Fischer.
- GALLERY: Bunzl Gallery
- ARTIST(S): Various
- ON DISPLAY: May 11, 2024
- THROUGH: August 3, 2024
- MEDIUM(S): Glass
- GUEST CURATOR(S): Alysia Fischer
Asheville Printmakers is an independent alliance of artists who express themselves through the medium of the print. Its membership encompasses both experienced and emerging artists, as well as those new to printmaking. The participants define “the print” broadly to encompass a wide range of processes and content, from traditional to experimental, and classic to contemporary.
- GALLERY: Thompson Gallery
- ARTIST(S): Various
- ON DISPLAY: May 25, 2024
- THROUGH: August 17, 2024
- MEDIUM(S): Printmaking
- GUEST CURATOR(S): Asheville Printmakers
Will Henry Stevens’ life (1881-1949) began and ended in a small riverboat community along the Ohio River, but the years between spent in New Orleans and Western North Carolina were defined by his tireless pursuit of a visual language for his vast creative energy. His enduring curiosity about the natural world, and his belief that there was a purpose – a design – in nature, led him effortlessly between representational and abstraction as he freely adjusted both style and medium to convey nature’s essence.
- GALLERY: Bunzl Gallery
- ARTIST(S): Will Henry Stevens
- ON DISPLAY: August 17, 2024
- THROUGH: January 11, 2025
- MEDIUM(S): Various
- GUEST CURATOR(S): Michael Manes
Bascom member artists pay homage to the legacies of visual traditions that have influenced them in this annual juried exhibition.
A free public reception will be held September 12 | 5 pm
Image credit: Marti Grinberg
- GALLERY: Thompson Gallery
- ARTIST(S): Bascom Members
- ON DISPLAY: August 31, 2024
- THROUGH: November 30, 2024
- MEDIUM(S): Various
Feel the Heal Art offers many different artistic interpretations of human resiliency including illness, loss, and grief. The Feel the Heal initiative is based on the belief that art has the power to heal, inspire, provoke, and challenge. This initiative raises awareness about how art is a catalyst for positive change and enhances the wellbeing of individuals, society, and the environment through artists’ creativity. This exhibition will give “Heartists” an opportunity to share their journey with all those who visit The Bascom. Come and Feel the Heal with us!
- GALLERY: Joel Gallery
- ARTIST(S): Various
- ON DISPLAY: September 7, 2024
- THROUGH: January 4, 2025
- MEDIUM(S): Various
- GUEST CURATOR(S): Feel the Heal
Current Exhibitions
Biennial Outdoor Sculpture Program 2024 - 2026
In its fourth year, The Outdoor Sculpture Program features new works by celebrated local and regional artists on The Bascom Campus along the Horst Winkler Sculpture Trail...
See More
Emergence: A Survey of Southeastern Studio Programs 2024
Emergence celebrates the role of teaching and mentoring in artistic development, highlighting works by faculty mentors and their students. The 35 pairs of artists presented...
See More
Satellites & Salamanders IV
Through sculptures, films and cut text works, Satellites & Salamanders IV attempts to re-member hidden and lost parts of artist Walker Tufts’ legacies. The installation...
See More
Sign Up for Our Newsletter
Visit: 323 Franklin Road
Highlands, NC 28741 (Map It)
Call: 828-526-4949 (Main)
828-787-2892 (Ceramics Studio)
Funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Learn more at SouthArts.org.
Funding is due in part to a Tourism Grant with Visit Highlands, NC. Learn more HighlandsChamber.org