CURRENT HAPPENINGS

March Exhibition "Scrapped"

Exhibition timeline: March 3rd - 28th

Join us for the opening reception! Enjoy good company, fresh artwork, music, and refreshments!

Scrapped is a group art exhibit featuring upcycled creations, showcasing the beauty of repurposing materials and environmental sustainability. The exhibition features pieces of varied media from local artists to raise awareness about recycling and the potential of transforming discarded items into meaningful artwork.

Artists:
Nancy Brittelle
Anna Buckner
Jessica Brown
Vonnie Fielder
Andi Dandelion

Thank you to guest curator and artist Jessica Brown for organizing this exhibit! You don't want to miss it! 

FEATURE AUTHOR
The HCW author at the March reception is Barbara Arntsen.

Barbara Arntsen is an award-winning journalist and public relations professional. Currently enjoying retirement, she dedicates her time to crafting the books that were left incomplete during her public career. Residing in the scenic mountains of North Carolina, she embraces the tranquility of her surroundings as she continues to pursue her passion for writing. The Birthmark series was inspired during a childhood visit to Norway. Her new novel The Birthmark: Magic Awakens, is a time-travel historical fantasy that takes thirteen-year-old Kate back to ten-century Norway on a quest to reconnect with her missing father.

WAC News

New Series of Art Talks Starts THIS MONTH!! 

We are excited to launch a series of Art Talks featuring professional artists. These talks aim to inspire fellow creatives and provide space for our creative community to be inspired, meet new friends,and collaborate on projects. 

Feature Artist: Joshua White, Photographer 
Location: Wildwood Community Market
Date/Time: Friday, March 15th, from 9:00-10:00

What to Expect: Meet, mingle, artist presentation, Q&A, more mingling. Wildwood Community Market will provide coffee and refreshments. (THANK YOU!, Wildwood!)

Josh White Preview: Born in southeastern Indiana, award-winning banjo player Joshua White had no idea he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He can remember running through corn fields and playing with lawn darts, and he was nearly arrested for the attempted trafficking of endangered turtles at a young age. He watched his brother shoot a bumblebee with a BB gun (he’s pretty sure it was an accident) and almost got run over by a train after swimming in the Ohio River with his friends, Chris and Timmy. He’s a dad and a husband and really wants a telescope for his birthday. He lives and works in western North Carolina, where he is the Interim Chair of the Art Department at Appalachian State University. 

https://www.joshuawhiteart.com

Follow us on FB and Instagram for updates as well. 

Call for Art

OFFICIAL CALL FOR MURAL PROPOSALS

Watauga Arts Council is working with the Downtown Boone Development Association to plan a mural in collaboration with the Center For Biological Diversity as part of their Endangered Species Mural Project. We are seeking proposals for a mural that includes the Hellbender Salamander.  

This mural will be on Magic Cycles/High Life Building on Howard Street. The mural can be designed on the wall that faces the alley and/or the side of the wall that faces Howard Street. 

More details and specifications for the design will be released next week. Please subscribe to our artists-only email list for opportunities like this.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

CALL FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

How might our photography hold the tenderness and complexities of our connections, both human and beyond? What does it look like to nurture and care for those relationships? 

How can we create images that allow us to dream of a future where these interconnections are our most cherished commitment?

Thank you to guest curator Shauna Caldwell for organizing this thoughtful exhibit. 

HOW WE CARE: Visualizing Our Loving Community  

For consideration, please submit all works by midnight on April 1st.

Artists will be notified of acceptance by April 15th.

More Info and Submit Your Work

ART EDUCATION

MARCH CLASSES STARTED THIS WEEK 

We can add students to Tuesday and Wednesday's Youth and Middle School classes anytime. Contact us if you need a coupon code to adjust the class price to reflect the number of classes you want your kid to take. 

More Classes have already been added for April. Sign up today! 

See full list of Classes and Register

Call for Strategic Planner

WAC is seeking a dynamic individual to help us create a Public Arts Master Plan for our "Art in the Outdoors" initiative. This plan must be completed by June 2024. 

We aim to cultivate engaging experiences celebrating diversity, fostering connection, and transforming public spaces into dynamic canvases of creativity and community engagement. 

We want to hear from you if you have a proven track record of conceptualizing and implementing impactful initiatives! We have money in our budget to work with a public art consultant to lend expertise as we build our plan. We need someone who will help us get boots on the ground gathering key stakeholders and helping us create a plan for identification of sites, content, and funding for public art in Watauga County that we can ennact in the coming years. Join us in shaping the future of public art and creating a lasting impact in our communities. Please get in touch with us for more information.

Please Consider a Monthly Donation

We are doing a lot of work creating systemic change for the arts in our community while also creating space for creatives to gather, work, and learn. 

We keep a tight budget, but there are real costs of doing business and our need for paid staff continues to grow as our mission and impact grows. 

Please consider a monthly donation to ensure we can continue the good work that has begun. We need "Friends of the Arts". 

Your contributions allow us to advocate, educate, engage, and inspire Art within our community. 

Become a sustaining donor to help continue WAC's growth and successes!

All gifts are tax-deductible and are so appreciated.

D O N A T E N O W

Click Here for more information.