Kenny Pieper, artist
Beginning Wednesday, July 2, Mars Landing Galleries will host Returning to the Ridge: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational through September 28. For this first-time craft exhibit for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area (BRNHA), organizers of the event invited artists from Madison, McDowell, Yancey, Mitchell, Buncombe, Haywood and Jackson counties and the Qualla Boundary to participate. “From there, interested artists responded to the call, and our curator, Anna Fariello, selected works from each artist,” says Robin Johnston, Blue Ridge Craft Trails coordinator. “Visitors can expect to see 60 pieces from 33 artists spanning a diverse range of craft mediums, including fiber art, glassblowing, pottery, printmaking, woodworking, metalworking (including jewelry) and basketry.” An opening reception will be held Thursday, July 10, from 6–8 p.m.
Lena. Ann Hord-Heatherley, artist
A site on the Blue Ridge Craft Trails, Mars Landing Galleries offered a perfect venue for the event. “We have known Miryam Rojas [owner of Mars Landing Galleries] as an innovative gallerist and have been looking for ways to partner,” Fariello says. “Mars Landing’s spacious galleries can accommodate a large amount of work, and showing craft pieces in a contemporary environment gives the audience a new perspective.” Fariello will hold a curator talk during the exhibition, and artist talks are also planned throughout, with dates for these events still being determined.
This event follows in the wake of the 2024 Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational at the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, DC. “We will be organizing another invitational exhibit, at The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, in Highlands in the summer of 2026,” Johnston says. “While we certainly hope to encourage people to travel, we also want to make local communities aware of the talent in their midst. The invitational in Mars Hill will bring together artists and communities in the Central Mountains region, while the exhibition in Highlands will focus on the Far West.”
Desmond Suarez, artist
“The opportunity to support and collaborate with such an esteemed entity as the Blue Ridge Craft Trails [an initiative of BRNHA] is an honor,” says Rojas. “I am so thrilled that Mars Landing Galleries has the space to serve the BRCT artist members, and the greater WNC community in general.”
During exhibition months, downtown Mars Hill will hold three First Friday events—on July 4, August 1 and September 5—during which Mars Landing Galleries will be open from 5–8 p.m. Other local shops, restaurants and galleries will also be open for evening shopping and dining.
“Any time we can connect craft artists with opportunities to exhibit their work, it exposes them to a larger audience and potential customers,” says Fariello. “It is always valuable to highlight this region’s talented craft artists and rich craft heritage in a way that is accessible to visitors and locals alike. Since the impact of Hurricane Helene, giving craft artists as many opportunities as we can to recover from the economic hardship they have all endured is of utmost importance. This event points to the resilience and rebuilding that the region’s artists are facing head-on, creating new works and bringing more beauty into the world.”
Mars Landing Galleries is located at 37 Library Street, Mars Hill. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at MarsLandingGalleries.com. For more information about the Blue Ridge Craft Trails and the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, visit BlueRidgeHeritage.com.
