The edgy, avant-garde Asheville FringeArts Festival returns this month to a variety of venues across Asheville. The Festival pushes the boundaries of artistic endeavor through a variety of media: dance, words spoken and unspoken, visual, theatre, and others. Past Festivals have seen such diverse artistic acts as fire-dancing and mass mobs of poets.

First up is Picha Kucha (Japanese for “chitchat”) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 20, at the Asheville Art Museum. Several different presenters will each show twenty unpredictable images for 20 seconds each. The images might be of someone’s vacation, another’s artwork, or who knows what?

At 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights, January 21–22, the FringeArts Festival moves to Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, 56 Broadway in downtown Asheville. Performances will use a combination of media to explore the intersections and connections between genres and expression. Are you wondering what that means? You’ll have to find out for yourself!

Also on those same nights, and on Sunday evening, there will be Festival performances at the BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce Street, and at the Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 109 Roberts Street.

Jim Julien, of the Asheville FringeArts Festival, says the Festival’s mission is to pro- vide “artists with opportunities to explore the edges of their work, to collaborate across genres, and to bring new and innovative performances to culturally adventurous audiences.” If you’ve ever been to the FringeArts Festival, you’ll most likely agree, mission accomplished.

For more information about times, performers, and ticket prices, visit ashevillefringe.org.
(In Photo: John Crutchfield performing at the Asheville FringeArts Festival)