Information
Landmark: Folk Art CenterCity: Asheville
Country: USA North Carolina
Continent: North America
Folk Art Center, Asheville, USA North Carolina, North America
Overview
In Asheville, North Carolina, the Folk Art Center draws visitors with its mission to preserve, share, and showcase Southern Appalachian crafts-both timeworn quilts and bold, modern pieces.Just a few miles from downtown Asheville, at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Center is run together by the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the National Park Service, and the Appalachian Regional Commission.Open all year, it’s a lively cultural hub that draws artists, collectors, educators, and curious travelers from across the globe, sometimes filling its gallery with the scent of fresh paint.It’s just me.The Folk Art Center opened its doors in 1980, yet its story began decades earlier, when the Southern Highland Craft Guild formed in 1930, born from the vibrant craft traditions of the early 20th century.During the Great Depression, this group sprang up to champion Appalachian craftspeople, giving their handmade quilts, carvings, and pottery a place to shine.The Guild gave artisans a place to sell their handmade goods, the scent of fresh wood shavings still clinging to them, and kept centuries-old traditions alive.The Folk Art Center became the Guild’s permanent home, complete with a museum and a bright, welcoming space to display its work.Tucked inside the Folk Art Center, the Allanstand Craft Shop has been open since 1897, making it the oldest craft shop in the country, with its roots in Madison County, North Carolina.Two capital I’s, side by side.The building blends sleek modern lines with the warmth of its rustic, regional roots, like sunlight spilling across weathered stone.Natural wood runs through its walls, open galleries stretch wide, and tall windows frame the Blue Ridge Mountains-together making it a cultural and architectural treasure.Inside, you’ll find three art galleries, a permanent museum collection, a 300-seat auditorium, a quiet library with dusty archives, retail shops, and spaces for classes and hands-on demonstrations.At the Folk Art Center, you’ll find three main galleries, each with its own character-one might greet you with bright quilts that catch the light.The Main Exhibition Gallery features rotating shows that highlight craft in both its traditional roots and modern twists, from hand-carved wood to sleek metalwork.You’ll often find exhibits filled with both practical and beautiful pieces-pottery warm from the kiln, hand‑woven baskets, gleaming metalwork, carved wood, intricate fiber art, and shimmering glass.You’ll often see work from Southern Highland Craft Guild artists, like hand-carved walnut bowls or vivid woven scarves, taking the spotlight.Curated with a clear theme, the exhibits dive into sustainability, heritage, and the spark of innovation in craft-like a handwoven basket made from recycled fishing nets.Two.Focus Gallery is a cozy, light-filled room that showcases the work of chosen Guild members or spotlights a single craft, like the delicate curve of a hand-thrown bowl.It spins a few times each year, like a weather vane catching the wind.It lets visitors step behind the scenes, catching the hum of tools and the ideas that shape each artisan’s work.Number three.The Permanent Collection Gallery showcases historical artifacts and heirloom crafts, from worn oak tools to hand-stitched quilts, tracing the evolution of Appalachian craftsmanship.It features pieces spanning from the late 1800s to today-handwoven textiles, sturdy tools, soft quilts, carved wooden figures, and some of the earliest basketry and furniture.It carries the imprint of Native American, Scots-Irish, German, and African American traditions, like the twang of a fiddle mingling with the beat of a drum.Four.The Allanstand Craft Shop sits at the heart of the Folk Art Center, drawing visitors with shelves of hand‑carved bowls and other local treasures.The shop showcases the work of more than 300 Guild members, from gleaming handcrafted jewelry and earthy pottery to warm quilts, woven textiles, wood-turned bowls, leather goods, and hand-forged metal pieces, plus vibrant glasswork and fine art.Every piece passes a juried review, so only the finest handmade creations make it to the shelves.The proceeds help the artists and keep the Guild’s educational mission alive, from paintbrush workshops to evening lectures.The sharp black letter V stood alone, angled like a bird in flight.From March through December, visitors can watch Guild members bring their craft to life each day-maybe hear the soft tap of a chisel or see fresh clay spin beneath practiced hands.You can watch artisans at work-floor loom weaving, pottery thrown and glazed while the clay spins under their hands, blacksmithing, woodcarving, quilting, chair caning, and doll making-all in a special area beside the craft shop, where the tools, techniques, and hours of skill are on full display.The Folk Art Center also hosts workshops-occasional, hands-on sessions where beginners and seasoned artists alike might shape clay or carve wood side by side.In the auditorium, you’ll find lectures on Appalachian history and craft, along with film screenings-rustic quilts and mountain landscapes flicker on the screen.We offer school group tours with hands-on lessons designed to match North Carolina’s educational standards, like identifying local plant species along the trail.Six.All year long, the Folk Art Center hosts lively festivals and craft days, each devoted to a particular art form or cultural tradition-like the bright splash of color at a weaving demonstration.Heritage Weekend in September brings two lively days of mountain culture, with banjo music echoing through the square, dancers clogging in bright skirts, storytellers spinning old tales, and artisans busy at their craft.It features the whimsical “World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition,” where a small wooden stick hums and spins like magic, just as it has in Appalachian tradition for generations.Wood Day brings together the art of carving, the spin of the lathe, and the craft of building sturdy, beautiful furniture.Glass and Metal Day showcases the craft of blacksmithing, the shimmer of molten glass being blown, and the fine detail of hand-shaped jewelry.Fiber Day showcases the art of weaving, dyeing, felting, and spinning-threads snapping taut on a loom, colors swirling in a vat.The events are open to everyone, with no cost to attend, and you might find sizzling food stalls, games for kids, and a band playing under the evening lights.Seven.The Robert W. Library and ArchivesInside the Folk Art Center, the Gray Library holds one of the Southeast’s largest troves of craft materials, from worn leather-bound journals to gleaming hand-carved tools.The collection holds over 20,000 volumes on craft, design, folk art, and Appalachian studies, along with weathered historical photographs, artist profiles, and oral histories recorded with local craftspeople.You’ll also find archival records of Guild members and past exhibitions.For researchers, artists, and historians, it’s a treasure-open to the public by appointment.Eight.Visitor Services are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the doors locked on major holidays.Admission’s free-just walk right in.There’s plenty of free parking for both cars and RVs, with wide spaces that make backing in easy.The building’s entrances and halls are fully wheelchair accessible.We’re glad to welcome service animals-whether it’s a calm guide dog at your side or a gentle companion resting at your feet.You’ll find restrooms here, along with a drinking water station where the fountain hums softly.Right outside, you’ll find picnic spots with tables tucked beneath cool, leafy shade.At the National Park Service desk, staff can help you find a trail on a detailed map, share Blue Ridge Parkway tips, and suggest the best spots to visit nearby.Nine.The Folk Art Center keeps Appalachian craftsmanship alive, gives regional artists both income and a spotlight, and invites visitors to see-and often touch-the tools and textures behind handmade art.It’s where tradition meets fresh ideas, all within the Blue Ridge Parkway’s sweep of ridgelines, drawing travelers who crave the blend of mountain beauty, history, and local identity.The Folk Art Center isn’t just a gallery or a shop-it’s a vibrant cultural landmark, alive with the spirit of the Appalachian Mountains, reflected in the deft hands, bold colors, and deep traditions of its craftspeople.It gives visitors a rare, genuine link to the area, like hearing a local’s voice echo through a quiet, sunlit street.
