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BOONE, N.C. — The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University invites the community to a Spring Exhibition Celebration on March 2 from 6–10 pm. During this event, held in conjunction with the First Friday Downtown Boone Art Crawl, the Turchin Center will celebrate five exhibitions in grand style. The public is invited to “engage, discover and connect through the arts.” This is a wonderful opportunity to meet the artists and gain an “insider’s view” of the featured exhibitions. This event will be the beginning of a series of events celebrating the Turchin Center’s 15^th year anniversary! This festive evening will include live music, refreshments and a cash bar and is free and open to the public.

Exhibitions

“Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition”
March 2 – June 2, 2018 in the Mezzanine Gallery
In its 15th year, the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) provides both amateur and professional photographers with the opportunity to showcase their interpretation of the unique character, people, places and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians. The categories include: Adventure, Blue Ridge Parkway, Culture, Our Ecological Footprint, Flora/Fauna and Landscape.

1,082 entries were submitted and the jury panel selected 56 finalist images that are on display in the Mezzanine Gallery beginning March 2.  Visitors to the Turchin Center are invited to participate in the People’s Choice Award selection beginning on Friday, March 2 through March 23, 2017. All awards will be announced on Saturday March 24, 2018, at the Saturday screening of the Banff Film Festival and through media outlets. Rich Campbell, associate director of Appalachian’s Outdoor Programs says, “We were thrilled with the number of images submitted this year as 1,082 is very close to our record number of images. In addition, the quality of the images is stunning. We can't wait for the general public to see what has inspired artists and photographers over the course of the year."

The jury who selected the 56 finalist images and the final award-winning photographs are accomplished photographers and artists.  Garner Dewey is the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Director at Appalachian State University, and is an accomplished photographer and 3D modeler. Craig Dillenbeck is the lead installer and preparator at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. He earned his B.S. in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Technical Photography. Cheryl Zibisky holds her MFA in Photography and teaches commercial photography at Appalachian.  In addition to her artistic practice, she works as a commercial photographer.

The AMPC is a partnership between Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts and the Virtual Blue Ridge. The AMPC provides support for the university’s Office of Outdoor Programs and their extended expeditions that are educational journeys of discovery that take students around the world. The competition is generously sponsored by the Mast General Store and supporters include the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Nikon Cameras, Stickboy Bread Company, Bistro Roca, Peabody’s Wine and Beer Merchants, Smoky Mountain Living, Footsloggers of Blowing Rock, and Appalachian Voices. Visit the AMPC for more information: www.appmtnphotocomp.org 

“Pieces of the Puzzle: Community Outreach”
March 2 – June 2, 2018 in the Community Gallery
The Turchin Center’s arts and education outreach programs connect the university arts resources to a diverse audience of students, arts patrons, teachers and learners. There are many “pieces of the puzzle” of the Turchin’s outreach programs and each piece strengthens community participation in the arts by creating an environment in which individuals of all ages experience the power and excitement of creating art.

This exhibition celebrates the process of art making and of free play that participants experience when they respond to color, texture, and design in the world around them. According to Pegge Laine, Outreach Coordinator, “When participants let go of the voice that says ‘but I am not an artist’ they allow their creative spirits to soar." The TCVA gratefully acknowledges Nancy and Doug Brittelle for their sponsorship of this exhibition.

Participating outreach groups include:

• Hidden Talents: Emerging Artists of Junaluska features clay, alcohol inks and painting of the women of the African American Junaluska Community.  They have come together through art, and now share with one another, encouragement and support while relieving stress and promoting healing.
• Beyond our Walls highlights the art of disabled adults from Watauga Opportunities.  They support and encourage one another as they create work from the heart and strengthen self-esteem through each project completed.
• Healing Arts offers opportunities for homeless children and adults at the Hospitality House and Rock Haven.  The program provides a safe haven and creative play while making something special to keep with them as they journey through life.

The Artist Within is a six-week expressive arts program for third and fourth graders and focuses on self-esteem, community, problem solving and expressing emotions through art experiences. This program is sponsored in part by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Cooperative.

WYN with Art serves adolescents in the Western Youth Network, in a relaxed environment to build character and confidence through positive role models and skill development so that participants can reach their full potential.

Inkalicious is an ongoing open studio experience for community members and Appalachian students to explore the magic of alcohol inks. 

Blazing Easels allows young artists age 7-12 an opportunity to explore elements such as line, shape, colors, texture and two and three-dimensional form.

Creative Peacemakers provides opportunity for self-expression through art and provides a safe place to share thoughts and feelings at Bradford Park.

Art, Books and Children (ABC) was a partnership with the Appalachian Regional Library system to deliver art supplies and books to children at libraries in Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties. Children participated in art making and story-time

Western Clay Guild: The Crack Pots,  a program of the Western Watauga Community Center, has embraced members of the Junaluska community and is mentoring them in their journey with clay. Materials used in this program are provided through the support of Appalachian Home Care.

Find Your Art: Appalachian Student Outreach offers free arts programming for all Appalachian students. Workshops include open studio, Inkalicious: Alcohol Inks, and a step-by-step paint night class. All experience levels are welcome – all that is required is a willingness to allow the experience and the materials to inspire!

Trash to Treasure provided community members the opportunity to create art during two workshops led by Barbara Hardy and Bob Ray, the artists from the exhibition Circles of Influence. Community members created inspiring works of art from found objects including clean materials typically deposited in trash and recycling bins. 

 “Art Department Faculty Biennial”
Feb. 2 – May 5 in Galleries A and B
The Faculty Biennial showcases the outstanding and thought-provoking work of Appalachian State University’s multi-disciplinary faculty. The mission statement of the Department of Art is well reflected in the faculty created art:

“TO US, ART AND DESIGN ARE MANY THINGS. They are the voice that speaks louder than words. They are the muses, the calls of the siren and the taskmasters. They bring us together and push us deep inside ourselves to chase the elusive. They challenge us, drive us, and make us achieve the impossible. They are our life.”

Providing direct engagement with current creative and scholarly research, the exhibition initiates critical dialogue about the nature of contemporary art. This exhibition offers the opportunity for students, community members, faculty and staff at Appalachian State University meaningful opportunity to learn about the many creative ideas and art practices being explored and taught within the university. In addition to the exhibitions at the Turchin Center, there is also work at the Smith Gallery located in the Schaefer Center for Performing Arts.

“Creative Democracy: The Legacy of Black Mountain College”
January 12 – June 2 , 2018 in the Main Gallery

This exhibition features the artwork of many of the artists who attended and taught at Black Mountain College during its colorful 24-year history. Some of those artists are still working. The exhibition looks at the legacy of the Black Mountain College artists, what the Black Mountain experience meant to them, their influences on one another and their continuing place in the art world. Showcasing paintings, furniture, sculpture, clay, collages, glass, textiles, books and poetry, the exhibition includes works by: Basil King, painter, poet and illustrator; Martha King, poet, writer and dancer; Frank Hursh, painter; Harrison Begay, watercolorist and silk-screen printer; A. Lawrence Kocher, architect and furniture designer; M. C. Richards, writer, poet, dancer and ceramicist; Karen Karnes, ceramicist; Peter Voulkos, ceramicist; Ragland Watkins, weaver; Bacia Edelman, ceramicist and sculptor; Jose Mariano de Creeft, sculptor; Ronald (Ron) Robertson, painter; Lorna Blaine Halper, painter; Elizabeth Jennerjahn, dancer; Robert Motherwell, screen printer; Fielding Dawson, writer and visual artist; Jacob Lawrence, painter; Jane Slater Marquis, stained-glass sculptor; and Emily Wood, weaver.

The TCVA gratefully acknowledges Tina and Gary Silverstein for their generous support of the Black Mountain College exhibition.

“High Country Herbarium: Preserving Plants & Plant Communities in the Southern Appalachians”
Feb. 2 – Aug. 4, 2018 in the Mayer Gallery

Guest curated by faculty and staff in the Department of Biology at Appalachian State University, High Country Herbarium: Preserving Plants and Plant Communities in the Southern Appalachians through Art and Science, is a collaborative and interdisciplinary exhibit displaying herbarium vouchers from Appalachian State University's I. W. Carpenter, Jr. Herbarium, with paintings and drawings, photography, music and poetry written specifically for the exhibit.

Established in 1958, the I. W. Carpenter, Jr. Herbarium houses approximately 30,000 specimens and is actively adding to the growing collection located in Rankin Science West. The Herbarium is a local and regional resource for botanical research, with an emphasis on plant species from natural communities in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

This exhibition blends the ultimate purpose of art and science—preservation—in a single public exhibit at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. The artistic pieces off this exhibit are juxtaposed against the elegant aesthetic quality of the herbarium voucher—the pressed specimen housed in herbariums. Ultimately, the exhibit hopes to bring public awareness to the herbarium and cultivate a rich regional botanical identity by joining the unique perspectives of seemingly distant academic disciplines and engaging the local community with current artistic and scientific work at Appalachian State University.

The Department of Biology curatorial team includes: Dr. Zack E. Murrell, Chair; Andrew Jenkins, M.S., Lecturer; Tesa Madsen-McQueen, Graduate Assistant; Daniel Jenkins, MFA Candidate, Poetry, Warren Wilson College; and botanist David Mercier, Conseil et expertise botanique.

Visit www.tcva.org exhibitions for detailed information on all the exhibitions

ArtTALKS are led by exhibition artists and scholars who provide deeper insight into their creative practice, the context for the exhibition and the historical and contemporary issues that influence them. They are held at 6 pm in the Turchin Center Lecture Hall.

February 28: Frank Hursh – Painter and BMC alumnus.

March 1: Basil King - Painter, poet and illustrator and former Black Mountain College student. March 28, Julie Thomson - Independent scholar and curator.  

April 18: Alice Sebrell – Program Director, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

April 25:  Panel Discussion - Conservation and Recreation: Finding "middle ground" in the High Country and beyond. A multidiscipline approach to address the science and policies for balancing recreation and conservation in imperiled natural areas.

For more information about ArtTALKS, visit tcva.org/calendar/events.

The TCVA is celebrating 15 years in 2018. Join us on Friday, May 4 for a special birthday celebration!

About the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts:
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, named for university benefactors Robert and Lillian Turchin, fulfills Appalachian State University's long-held mission of providing a home for world-class visual arts programming.  The largest facility of its kind in the region, the center presents exhibition, education and collection programs that support the university’s role as a key educational, cultural and service resource. The center presents multi-dimensional exhibits and programs and is a dynamic presence in the community, creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the power and excitement of the visual arts. Its seven galleries host changing exhibitions featuring local, regional, national and international artists. 

The Turchin Center is located at 423 West King St., in Boone. Hours are 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Tues. - Thurs. and Saturday, and Noon - 8 p.m., Friday. The Center is closed Sunday and Monday, and observes all university holidays. Admission is always free, although donations are gratefully accepted. For general inquiries, to be added to the mailing or e-news list, to obtain donor program details or to schedule a tour, call 828-262-3017, e-mail turchincenter@appstate.edu or visit tcva.org. The Turchin Center can also be followed on Facebook and Twitter @TurchinCenter.

Sponsors:
The Turchin Center receives critical support from a group of outstanding media sponsors that are dedicated to promoting the arts in our region, including: High Country 365, High Country Radio, WFDD 88.5, WDAV 89.9 and WASU 90.5FM.

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CONTACT:

Lynn Rees-Jones
828.262.7309