#12 River Arts District

#12-River Arts District (RAD)

      AmericanStyle magazine named Asheville the number one small city in the US for art in 2010. But the phrase wrong side of the tracks very aptly portrays our River Arts District.  Huge, ugly warehouses, mills and former factories have a neglected look, some buildings are still abandoned and there really is a railroad that runs thru the middle of the district. It is not an area of cute little stores selling art with regular business hours. But looks are very deceiving as this is an up and coming area of town that hosts many of our most creative residents busy at work in their studios.

   The area has been evolving for the past 25 years as a group of dedicated artists have worked to revive a neglected area of our riverfront and call it home. In 1985 Highwater Clays moved their business into the district. In 1987 the first artists bought a building that they named Warehouse Studios. The early 1990’s saw artists move out of the pricey downtown Asheville area to the RAD. The most unique feature of the area is that most of the buildings are owned by the artists that work in them so there is truly a sense of “ownership.”

   The current guesstimate is there are about 140 artists in residence spread throughout 16 buildings including potters, photographers, painters, candle makers, weavers, woodworkers and sculptors. On most weekends many of the artists’ studios are open for people to observe them working and purchase their creations. Also on the second Saturday of every month they host workshops and classes and other educational opportunities.

   Twice a year two days of festivities highlight our Fall and Spring Studio Stroll. They are held on the second weekend in June and November and over 80 studios are open and the artists are available to discuss their work. It is a very fun and festive atmosphere during this time and a great opportunity to get an early jump on buying presents.

   Other businesses have moved into the district now including 12 Bones Smokehouse, Clingman Café and the Wedge Brewery to name just a few. It appears that the edible and the artistic are very intertwined in life in the RAD. Eating upon handmade dishes, drinking out of handmade mugs not only looks better, it somehow tastes better!  Many of the establishments rotate new art shows in and out of their establishments which causes patrons to want to check out the galleries in the district. It appears to be a win- win for everybody! That’s just the kind of city Asheville is, a place where many of the pleasures in life, not only art but beer as well, are handmade. 

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.”  Scott Adams