Below are just some of the community outreach programs hosted by or conducted in cooperation with our community partners. Please check this page for new programs and more details.
Aaron Shearer Foundation
Shearer Summer Institute’s Community Performance on The Bascom Terrace. Free Classical guitar performance for the public (Aug.)
Art League of Highlands-Cashiers
Free monthly artist lectures and demonstrations of work from this talented collective of artists. (Ongoing)
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Highlands-Cashiers
Providing one-on-one art lessons and hosting annual group events (Ongoing)
Blue Ridge School
Supplemental art education programs including exhibition tours and related hands-on programming. (Sep. - May, 1-2 visits)
Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau
Studio workshops, after-school field trips with exhibition tours, and summer workshops for children participating in BGC’s after-school and summer (Ongoing)
Cashiers Senior Center
Monthly senior art programs in partnership with the Jackson County Department on Aging. (Jan. - Dec.)
Community Barn Dance
The Bascom will be offering a low-cost bluegrass concert with a traditional square dance caller to be held on The Bascom Terrace. (Aug.)
Community Day
The Bascom’s Community Day invites friends and families in the community to a free event offering multiple interactive youth art activities on The Bascom Terrace. (July)
Dahlia Festival
The Bascom facilitates the annual Dahlia Festival poster art contest, hosts the poster contest winner reception, and hosts the annual Single Bloom competition and a dahlia expert presentation for the Highlands Historical Society’s Dahlia Festival. Following the judging the blooms are available for free public viewing. (Sep.)
Free Artist/Curator Talks
Learn about the work on display at The Bascom from featured artists and curators. (Apr. - Oct.)
Free-The-Art Camp
Locals join The Bascom for the summer’s kick-off to all things kid creative! Explore drawing, painting, mixed-media, and more! (Jun.)
Highlands Biological Station
Visiting undergraduate students participate in hands-on activities, tours and resident artist studio visits in partnership with the Highlands Biological Station and UVA’s winter creative writing program (Jan.)
Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival
The Bascom has hosted several performances in partnership with the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival (Jun.)
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust
Incorporating the arts and sciences, both groups create an integrated curriculum that reinforces connected themes and concepts in both fields. (1-2 sessions per year)
Hudson Library Kids’ Zone
Monthly visual literacy program. (Sep. - May)
International Friendship Center (IFC)
For years, The Bascom has hosted many IFC constituents, providing a creative outlet for our international community.
Junior Appalachian Musicians
The Bascom provides quarterly supplemental art activities for the Junior Appalachian Musicians program that speaks to musical themes being studied by the students in the program. (Quarterly)
Macon County Library
Free Fall and Spring after-school art program for 4th and 5th graders.
Mindful Origins - Presence, Trust, Awakened Heart, and Interconnection
In keeping with the Bascom’s annual theme, the 2023 Mindfulness Series will explore the origins of mindfulness through the lens of interconnection. Art and mindfulness each offer humanity the opportunity to step beyond isolation and into belongingness. (Jun., 4 sessions)
Performing Arts Center (PAC)
The Bascom and the Highlands PAC have collaborated on numerous community arts initiatives, recently bringing Artrageous to Highlands for a free program for 175 school-aged students.
Porchfest
The Bascom hosts three free musical performances in partnership with the Center for Life Enrichment each fall. (Sep.)
Read2Me Story Walk
Located along The Bascom Nature Trail, and connected to the Highlands Plateau Greenway, the Story Walk offers the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors while developing reading skills. (Ongoing)
Summit Charter School
Supplemental art education programs including exhibition tours and related hands-on programming. (Sep. - May, 1-2 visits)
Sylva Senior Center
The Bascom provides occasional free ceramics programming for visiting senior citizens in the Dave Drake Studio Barn. (4 visits)
Teacher Development Workshops
Two professional development opportunities for Macon and Jackson County Teachers. Teachers will actively engage with the arts and connect it to math or science leading to the acquisition of Continuing Education Units. (Mar. & Apr.)
The Bascom Clay Symposium
The Bascom’s celebrated Three Potters Symposium is marking its 14th year with a new identity: Bascom Clay Symposium. Audiences observe demonstrations and an exchange of ideas between artists on techniques, aesthetic goals, and professional practices.
The Literacy and Learning Center
Monthly supplemental art education for summer programs with The Bascom Education Fellow (Read, Write, Create Program). (Sep. - May)
Village Green
Hosted a free adult landscape painting workshop in winter of 2024.
