River Arts District artists
The first artists set up businesses in Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD) in the 1980s. Fourteen years later, a group called River Arts District Artists (RADA) met to organize the first Studio Stroll.
In 2017, RADA members elected Andrea Kulish to marketing chair, a position responsible for creating the annual Studio Guide, maintaining the RADA website and running the group’s social media.
“More than 240 RADA artists span a range of media and disciplines and offer workshops in everything from painting and jewelry to pottery and cold wax,” says Kulish. “The RAD now welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year.”
With the addition of the Greenway, the RAD is now entirely walkable and bikeable, and the artistic culture of the area has become a vital part of Asheville’s identity.
Encompassing a one-mile stretch along the French Broad River, the River Arts District contains 23 buildings of working studios, galleries and eateries. For a map and more information about artists and events, visit RiverArtsDistrict.com.
