Asheville is Number Two for Small Cities with Art |
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AmericanStyle Magazine once again named Asheville as the number two small city in the United States for art for 2009! Santa Fe continues to be ranked number one. Asheville is noted for its Art Deco cityscape, the Folk Art Center, Biltmore Estate and the Grove Arcade. Additionally, American Style lauded Asheville's commitment to craftsmanship in the partnership between HandMade in America and a local home developer.
According to AmericanStyle:
This perennial favorite, located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has it all: gourmet restaurants, award-winning accommodations and an arts scene that dates to the turn of the century, when Edith Vanderbilt helped organize a program to teach traditional crafts here. Asheville is “bursting at the seams with artists,” enthuses reader Jenny Moore. Fellow admirer Monica Williams calls it “the Paris of the South.”
CITY STEAL: When visiting the Asheville Art Museum, stop by the Art-o-mat tucked into a corner of the Museum Shop. The repurposed cigarette vending machine dispenses original, one-of-a-kind works of art, all priced at $5.
COMING SOON: Join some 300,000 people at Bele Chere, the self-proclaimed largest free street festival in the Southeast, July 24-26. Along with craft booths, live music and family activities, arts demonstrations have been added to this year’s event.
 Top 25 Art Destinations
AmericanStyle Magazine, June 2009
Interpreting the results of AmericanStyle’s 2009 Top 25 Arts Destinations poll was a little like reading tea leaves. Were readers looking for security in making their selections this year? Reassurance? Bargains? Sure bets?
Or did the majority of this year’s voters just really, truly, wildly love New York, Buffalo and Santa Fe? We think it’s an exuberantly mixed-up combination of all the above.
Aside from one Midwestern city that came out of nowhere to ruffle up the rankings in the Mid-Size category, all three top destinations in both the Big and Small Cities groups, plus the first and third place holders in the Mid-Size Cities category, have stayed exactly the same as last year.
New York City, which was the No. 1 Big Cities arts destination in 2008, came in at No. 1 again with almost double the number of votes over second-place winner Chicago, which also held the No. 2 spot last year. And Washington, D.C., which placed third on the Big Cities list in 2008, is third again this year.
Dark horse Chattanooga, Tenn., which didn’t place anywhere at all in the Mid-Size Cities rankings last year, muscled its way into the No. 2 spot for 2009, forcing former second-place holder Scottsdale, Ariz., down two notches to No. 4. Buffalo, N.Y., held on to its top spot in the Mid-Size ranks for 2009 by a tight margin (fewer than 100 votes), while Pittsburgh, Pa., came in solidly again this year at No. 3.
Santa Fe, N.M. (No. 1), Asheville, N.C. (No. 2), and Sedona, Ariz. (No. 3) all held on to their top rankings in the Small Cities & Towns category again this year, although some interesting shuffling has taken place within the list for places like Saugatuck, Mich. (5th place this year, up from 24th in 2008), Laguna Beach, Calif. (17th on this year’s list, up two spots from last year) and Tubac, Ariz. (ranked 23rd in 2008 but failed to make the cut in 2009).
What follows are complete lists of all 25 winning cities in each category, plus budget-minded tips and information for making your money go further in some of the most exciting arts destinations in the United States.
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Top 10 Big Cities
(Populations of 500,000 or greater)
1. New York, N.Y.
2. Chicago, Ill.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Albuquerque, N.M.
6. Boston, Mass.
7. Seattle, Wash.
8. Atlanta, Ga.
9. Philadelphia, Pa.
10. Los Angeles, Calif.
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Top 10 Mid-Sized Cities
(Populations of 100,000 to 499,999)
1. Buffalo, N.Y.
2. Chattanooga, Tenn.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa.
4. Scottsdale, Ariz.
5. New Orleans, La.
6. Charleston, S.C.
7. Savannah, Ga.
8. Cleveland, Ohio
9. Ann Arbor, Mich.
10. Minneapolis, Minn.
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Top 10 Small Cities & Towns
(Populations of fewer than 100,000)
1. Santa Fe, N.M.
2. Asheville, N.C.
3. Sedona, Ariz.
4. Taos, N.M.
5. Saugatuck, Mich.
6. Key West, Fla.
7. Berkeley Springs, W.V.
8. Boulder, Colo.
9. Carmel, Calif.
10. Corning, N.Y.
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 Arts Walk: Asheville
By Marla Hardee Milling
AmericanStyle Magazine, June 2007
In the past decade, Asheville, N.C., has experienced a rebirth of sorts. Once booming, its downtown suffered a slump in the 1980s and became almost desolate. Today there are few reminders of that grim period, as the city’s heart pulses with a menagerie of new condos, cafes, entertainment and, of course, art.
Ranked by AmericanStyle readers as one of America’s Top Arts Destinations, Asheville is much more than just a naturally beautiful locale in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It practically qualifies as a work of art itself, with stunning Art Deco architecture, outdoor sculptures lining a creative 1.7-mile Urban Trail that winds through downtown, and a work-in-progress: the Pack Square Park. When completed later this year, this newly updated 6.5-acre public area, located in front of the Buncombe County Courthouse and Asheville City Hall, will boast the work of several area artists, including Weaverville, N.C., artist Kathy Triplett, whose one-of-a-kind sculptural ceramic tiles will decorate the main stage of the park.
There are many points of entry to begin an Arts Walk in Asheville, but you can’t go wrong by starting on Biltmore Avenue at some of John Cram’s successful enterprises: Blue Spiral 1 (38 Biltmore Ave., 828-251-0202) and the new Bellagio Everyday (40 Biltmore Ave., 828-255-0221). Cram’s first store, New Morning Gallery (7 Boston Way, 828-274-2831), and the original Bellagio (5 Biltmore Plaza, 828-277-8100) are both located in historic Biltmore Village, about 10 minutes south of the downtown area. Biltmore Village is at the entrance to George Vanderbilt’s famed Biltmore Estate—a tour through the estate, America’s largest private residence, is another treat for art lovers.
Last year, Cram bought the building next to Blue Spiral 1 and expanded the gallery, and also opened Bellagio Everyday, which offers innovative art-to-wear at a variety of price points. The new building included something that Cram says he loves dearly. It’s a freight elevator, which makes moving large objects among the building’s three floors a much simpler task. Blue Spiral 1 features 30 annual exhibitions, as well as works by more than 100 Southeastern fine artists and craftsmen. “The gallery keeps reinventing itself,” says gallery director Jordan Ahlers. “There’s always a different group of artists.”
If you’re ready to escape the hustle and bustle, Asheville offers plenty of opportunities, including the gardens of the Biltmore Estate.
Pick up a copy of the 2008 Asheville Downtown Gallery Guide before you leave Blue Spiral 1. It provides a map of locations for area galleries, studios and museums.
A few streets over, across from the popular Malaprop’s Bookstore, is Ariel Gallery (46 Haywood St., 828-236-2660), a cooperative featuring the work of about 20 local artists. Weaver Vicki Essig is one of Ariel’s founding artists, who came together in 2002. The gallery features handcarved pottery by Karen Newgard and glasswork by William and Katherine Bernstein, as well as exquisite jewelry, handcrafted furniture and works in clay and metal.
Eclectic and whimsical art fills Asheville’s former Woolworth store. Now called Woolworth Walk (25 Haywood St., 828-254-9234), the two-level space features booths offering jewelry, paintings of Asheville landscapes and familiar downtown buildings by artist Jeff Pittman, pottery and other art for sale. Plus, the old Woolworth soda fountain has been updated and is back in business.
From Haywood Street, turn up Battery Park and stroll to the Grove Arcade (1 Page Ave.), which contains stores like Mountain Made (1 Page Ave., Suite 123, 828-350-0307), boasting the work of more than 80 western North Carolina artists. Manager Melinda Knies points to Tommy Williams, who created the tile on the front of the store’s counter, as one of the rising stars in the pottery world. Mountain Made also features hand-blown ornaments and goblets by Jason Probstein and handcrafted furniture by Ronno L. Cooke. Profits from Mountain Made support Mountain BizWorks’ small business development services.
Another stop in the Grove Arcade is the Arts & Heritage Gallery (1 Page Ave., Suite 115, 828-255-0775). This gallery features rotating exhibits and demonstrations by artists in residence, as well as regular artwork for sale, including traditional Cherokee crafts, basketry by Billie Ruth Sudduth and small, layered wood bowls by Jim McPhail. Gallery manager Sylvia Organ shows off a unique part of this store—a huge Mountain Stories laser map. There’s an interactive screen to help viewers explore the history of crafts in this region.
And don’t miss the famed Grove Park Inn (290 Macon Ave., 800-438-5800), created by E.W. Grove, the same man behind the downtown Arcade. Located about 10 minutes north of downtown, the inn is decorated with Arts & Crafts furniture. A stop at the next-door Grovewood Gallery (111 Grovewood Road, 828-253-7651) is a must for its impressive display of garden sculpture, handcrafted furniture, ceramics, jewelry, glass and more.
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