The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts

Summer Exhibition Reception

Join us tomorrow, Thursday, June 11, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. for our Summer Exhibition Reception, a chance to spend unhurried time with the work currently filling our galleries and to connect with fellow art enthusiasts.

Take in the Photography Resident Exhibition, "realism succumbing to abstraction or is it the other way around," "I Sing Behind the Plow: A Century of Teaching Craft and Traditional Culture at the John C. Campbell Folk School" in Bunzl Gallery, and "Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026" in Thompson Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.

All exhibitions are free and open to the public. Come explore.
📍 323 Franklin Road, Highlands, NC
🔗 TheBascom.org

Pictured:
Another Mischievous Mountain Man, 2017
Students in Brant & Karen Barnes’ class “Beginning to Intermediate Wheel Throwing”
Stoneware
8.5” x 4.5”
Collections of the JCCFS Fain Archives

Lamp and Clock by: Desmond Suarez

untitled by: Dean Kessmann

CALL TO ARTISTS!

The 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival introduces a new category this year: photography. We invite photographers of any age or experience level to submit one work for consideration. Selected works will be exhibited in The Bascom’s Education Gallery during the Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Ribbons will be awarded by a juror.

Works must be matted, framed, and ready to hang. Works that are not properly presented will not be exhibited.

Deadline: August 8

Learn more at: https://bit.ly/dahliaphoto

Kiln-fired glass. Jewelry. Furniture. Painting. The first installment of the 2026 Atrium Series brings five artists into the Greehey Atrium, each working in a different medium and a different material world. Kimberly Adams's glass vessels are shaped by gravity as much as by hand; Robert Doe's jewelry carries the weight and warmth of metal worked deliberately. Bill Farmer contributes furniture, Ann Strub and Mische paintings. These works are available now through July 11 — stop by the Shop and take your time with them.

At just 15 years old, Christian Palazzolo is already earning international recognition for his automotive photography. His photograph 911 Sunset — a dusk portrait of a rare teal Porsche 911 GT3 Touring — took second place in the International Photography Awards, Auto Category. His photo London Fog, a Blue Bentley captured in Cashiers, NC, placed in the prestigious Top 100 of the Auto Photo Awards among thousands of entries worldwide. Palazzolo’s work is on view in the Bascom Shop throughout June. Join him for a trunk show June 12–13, when a featured Porsche from Porsche Asheville will be on display outside.

https://thebascom.org/all-events/events-by-type/special-events/meet-the-artist-christian-palazzolo

"I Sing Behind the Plow: A Century of Teaching Craft & Traditional Culture at the John C. Campbell Folk School"

As the John C. Campbell Folk School celebrates its 100th anniversary, this exhibit highlights the range of craft and other traditions taught at this Appalachian institution. 50 objects on display represent a variety of media including blacksmithing, weaving, woodcarving, woodworking, dance, instrument making, pottery, enameling, basketry, and paper arts. This exhibit honors the many instructors who have been part of the Folk School during its first century, passing down their craft to new generations of artists and tradition bearers.

Join us for our Summer Reception on Thursday, June 11, at 5 p.m., and spend some time with the work. Details at TheBascom.org.

John C. Campbell Folk School

Three days, a pile of discarded materials, and a whole lot of creative problem-solving. Last week, young artists ages 7–12 joined Caryn Raming at The Bascom for Free the Arts, a free workshop exploring what's possible when you look at a cardboard tube, a bit of wire, or a scrap of fabric and ask: what could this become?
The results were exactly what you'd hope for, imaginative, messy, and entirely their own.

Now on display.

"Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026"

As Georgia is known for its peaches and New Orleans for its jazz, so too is Western North Carolina known for its high quality craft. What makes WNC a center of craft is the artists’ knowledge of natural materials and their connection to the place that provides them. Their hand skill and imagination nurture both innovative and traditional handcraft practices that exist side by side in a thriving creative economy.

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026

Artist Spotlight: Gayle Barker Woody is a retired art teacher from Smoky Mountain High School. Today, Woody is a printmaker and creates paper from wasp nests and grass. She finds inspiration for her artwork in the beautiful flora and fauna around her home.

View the work of Woody and 19 other Blue Ridge Craft Trails artists at The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts in Highlands, NC, now through July 25th.

More than 60 people joined us Saturday for a Dahlia Growers Talk with growers Peggy Boruchow Arnette and Libby Eustis, and it's safe to say dahlias are having a moment on the Plateau. The conversation covered everything from how to take a rooted cutting to the unexpected advantages of growing dahlias in fabric grow bags, a method that promotes better root development and dramatically reduces the risk of overwatering. Kim Daugherty, one of the Dahlia Festival's most dedicated volunteers, was on hand to answer questions about the 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival this September. Thank you to everyone who came out and made it such a fun and engaging afternoon.

If you missed Saturday's talk, mark your calendar for August 29. Peggy and Libby return for What Makes a Blue Ribbon Bloom? — a free, hands-on judging talk tailored for novice and experienced growers alike. The session walks through the full arc of the exhibition dahlia, from final weeks in the garden to the show table at the Single Bloom Competition. Bring two or three dahlias from your own garden for hands-on guidance in selection, evaluation, and staging. Free. 11 a.m.–noon at The Bascom.