The Asheville Area Arts Council (AAAC) presents New Vision, New Hope: Asheville Artists in Recovery, beginning with an opening reception on Friday, September 7, from 5–8 p.m. (artist talk at 6:30 p.m.) and running through September 29 at the Thom Robinson and Ray Griffi n Exhibition Space. The show, which promotes healing through art, is curated by Pedro Esqueda, who believes that recovery and relapse prevention are encouraged by the replacement of consumption with creation.

“More than 20 artists from all walks of life and stages of recovery will take part in the show,” says Esqueda. “Like me, they thought there might not be creativity in sobriety, but, deep down, they knew they could fl ourish if they managed to put down the thing that bound them.”

The WNC recovery community is continually growing, with more than 100 recovery/living sober meetings per week in Buncombe County alone. Esqueda and the participants, who represent a wide range of media, aim to reach people who lost hope in their creative careers while in the clutches of addiction.

“Art is unbelievably helpful to so many people in recovery,” says AAAC communications manager Dana Schiffman. “It’s amazing to see these individuals from Buncombe County take their work to the next level.”

The Thom Robinson and Ray Griffin Exhibition Space is located in the Refinery Creator Space at 207 Coxe Avenue, Asheville. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at ashevillearts.com, facebook.com/ashevillearts andinstagram.com/ashevilleareaartscouncil@AshevilleAreaArtsCouncil.