Story & Photos by Leah Shapiro
When you hear the term art, what comes to mind? Perhaps you imagine an artist painting on a canvas or you remember the last poetry reading you attended. While the term is undoubtedly loaded with meaning, so too is the way the arts are celebrated and shared with others. Many programs in the region build a foundation in the visual arts that help people express themselves and think more creatively in everyday situations.
Ginger Huebner, founding director of Roots + Wings School of Art and Design (rootsandwingsarts.com) in Asheville’s Oakley neighborhood, offers opportunities for students ages three through adult to participate in innovative design, dynamic art education, and community collaboration.
From the Visual Arts Preschool and After-School Community Design Lab to adult studio classes and INNOVATION HOUR that brings special programming into the classroom, Roots + Wings covers a range of exploration for all ages. With a background in visual art and architecture, Ginger seeks partnerships with area organizations to continue expanding the organization’s programs.
Ginger says so much of what we know about those who came before us is because of the art they left behind. “Art and design are huge parts of who we are as humans,” she explains. “If we keep saying it’s not important, then who is going to be saying it’s important later? We have to keep talking about it, we have to keep doing it. Otherwise I’m just not sure what things are going to look like in the future.”
At the Tryon Arts & Crafts School (tryonartsandcrafts.org), adult workshops usually take place on weekends, and six-week class sessions are year-round. The upcoming spring session, April 4 through May 13, features silversmithing, lapidary, pottery, and weaving.
Executive director Cathy Fischer says, “The opportunity to participate in the arts and crafts experience here at Tryon Arts and Crafts School often leads many of our students to a new, formerly undiscovered hobby or even a new creative vocation that they formerly may not have had time to investigate due to family or work obligations.” There is also a youth art camp that covers a range of crafts, from leatherwork to basketry.
Cathy describes art as a “vital creative and therapeutic outlet for personal expression.” The ability of art to transform lives is also evident at Open Hearts Art Center (openheartsartcenter.org) in Asheville, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering differently abled adults to reach their potential through the arts.
“We believe that the arts are important, and for each of our artists this importance looks different,” says cofounder Jessie Francis. “For some, art means that they can finally express what they aren’t able to say out loud due to the limitations of their disability. Art then makes opportunities and expressions boundless.”
Artists are exposed to a variety of experiences in the arts. A lead teacher at Open Hearts, Salley Williamson says, “Many of our visual arts classes are process-based—following modeled and verbal steps from beginning to completion. Some of our drama, dance, music, and yoga classes are more free-form and open. In addition to the classes and community activities, some artists choose to work individually on paintings with staff guidance.”
ArtSpace Charter School (artspacecharter.org) in Swannanoa is a tuition-free public charter school at which students in kindergarten through eighth grade receive an arts-integrated education. Josh Batenhorst, enterprise and development manager at the school, explains that students who might struggle with a concept when it is presented in a traditional setting can often understand it when they learn it through the arts. “The classes in the art form are integrated with other subjects as well, so their drama class might also be about a science concept—maybe they are making a play about animal habitats, life cycles, body systems, etc.”
Josh recently joined the board of The Asheville Area Arts Council (ashevillearts.com). Executive director Kitty Love says she is inspired by the work accomplished by arts education professionals in Buncombe County. “Josh served on the Future of the Arts subcommittee of the Buncombe Cultural Alliance and helped develop a meaningful set of recommendations for the expansion of arts education that the AAAC will present at the Creative Sector Summit April 8–9,” says Kitty, adding, “I hope our new arts education partnerships will support the beginning of creative careers that support a more innovative work force in Buncombe County’s future.”
