Join us for a special gallery tour of Considerations: An Installation by Sarah Vaughn, with none other than Sarah Vaughn! Learn about the exhibition from the artist herself. 

Join artist Dail Dixon for an exploration of his exhibition, Dail Dixon: Modern at Scale. This program will explore Dail's life and development as an artist. 

Join Author Eddie Huffman as he takes us through is new book, Doc Watson: A Life In Music. Huffman will take us through the process of researching and writing the book and sharing some of his favorite stories about the man, the myth, the legend of the Blue Ridge, Doc Watson. 

The complex traditions of bluegrass music have long been shaped by powerful voices, both on stage and behind the scenes. This talk moves from the stage to the perimeter of the festival grounds and industry, highlighting the ways women have impacted the genre (largely without recognition).

Hatch Show Print is a letterpress poster and design shop located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1879, HSP is still designing and printing over 700 jobs a year, using the original wood type found on countless posters advertising live music, carnivals, circuses, and vaudeville and minstrel shows of years gone by, combined with hand carved imagery that spans the history of the shop. Though the 145 year old business is known for its twentieth century country music posters, the work the shop has put out over five generations in operation reflects changes in technology, communication arts, and commerce, as well as the evolution of popular entertainment.

Women are key figures in the history of Appalachia and its music. From the mothers of miners, pioneering women of bluegrass, and activists, the songs of women have long endured. Music sustains movements and carries stories throughout generations. By way of music, women brought the region’s issues to mainstream audiences through their songs. Giving a voice to the underrepresented and oppressed, these women asserted themselves in the heavily male-dominated music industry and became the voices of future generations. This talk examines some key women in Appalachia whose voices transcended generations and transformed the music we know today. 

This presentation and performance traces the history behind ballads from the Blue Ridge Mountains. While strongly associated with European and British Isles traditions, balladry in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia reflects a broad range of cultural influences, including roots in and stories connected to African and Native American experiences.

Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church has unveiled two frescoes by renowned artist, Ben Long. These frescoes depict the 23rd Psalm. Join us to learn how the frescoes made it to Rumple and their plans for the future of fresco. This discussion will feature Kathy Beach, Pastor at Rumple Memorial Presbyterian, and Jim Walters, fresco scholar, and driving force behind the fresco making its way to Blowing Rock.

Join BRAHM’s Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, Gabe Wilson, for a special evening we’re calling Cocktails with the Curator. Patrons can expect one part gallery tour, two part conversation, and a splash of cocktail party.

Music is an important thread in the fabric of our culture. Wilkes Heritage Museum Director, Jennifer Furr, will discuss the creation of the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame and how it links our region together.

BRAHM is excited to host a 3-day artist residency with the band Zoe & Cloyd. 

BRAHM is excited to host a 3-day artist residency with the band Zoe & Cloyd. 

Join BRAHM’s Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, Gabe Wilson, for a special evening we’re calling Cocktails with the Curator. Patrons can expect one part gallery tour, two part conversation, and a splash of cocktail party.

Join us for a fun musical evening in conjunction with exhibition SHIP/SHAPE. Music has been a key element to keeping the spirits high for sailors since people first took to the open seas.  In honor of this, BRAHM is excited to welcome performer and educator Terry Lyon for a performance of Sea Shanties. 

Artist Anna Buckner will be here to deliver her talk, “Motherhood and Mythmaking,” and discuss her inspiration, process, and art.

Join us for an exclusive breakdown of Appalachian ballad singing culture presented by 8th generation musician Donna Ray Norton. Norton has released three albums, been featured in countless concerts, documentaries and festivals and is a highly regarded member of the Madison County ballad singers and storytellers.

Free for Members and the public.

Inspired by early 20th century and mid-century modernist landscape architects Thomas Church and Roberto Burne Marx, Ron Cutlip has crafted a successful residential, commercial, and golf course design  career around a “Gardens are for People” philosophy. Believing a good design touches the human spirit, Ron developes a sense of art between structures and their gardens as a place to live in.

In 2010 with an exceptional landscape design practice in New York and at Rockefeller Center,  Ron and his family vacationed in and fell in love with Blowing Rock, and have never left. Ron’s local public projects have included the Regional Welcome Center on US 321, the Blowing Rock School playground, and most recently the gardens of the new Embers Hotel where his design softens a sharp architectural image to appear as though it has grown there all along.

With a nod to the BRAHM exhibit recognizing local artist and sculptor Alex Hallmark, who was commissioned by the Blowing Rock Garden Club for “The Gardener” sculpture in the Memorial Gardens, Ron will discuss garden design ideas for including meaningful art and space in our private gardens as “a place for people”.

Maud Gatewood rose to prominence in North Carolina as an aggressively independent voice in the visual arts. She also participated in the evolution of art across America, helping to sustain figurative art and simultaneously adding her unique viewpoint to hard-edged abstraction and, arguably, to pop art. This talk presents Maud Gatewood as a national figure in the arts via comparison with her many peers, including artists as diverse as Richard Diebenkorn, Frank Stella, and Alex Katz.

Amanda Szot has a BFA in Sculpture from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and is an In-House Sculptor at the Western North Carolina Sculpture Center and the Preparator at BRAHM.  She has a very active studio practice, often combining cast iron, wood, stone, beads, and found objects into images conveying her personal connection and the human relationship to the natural environment.  She will talk about her love of materials and their importance to the finished sculptures, as well as the process of casting iron from concept to finished work.

Join us for a discussion around Public Art with two people responsible for the placement of a lot of public art in the area! Amber Bateman, Executive Director of Watauga Arts Council and Lee Carol Giduz, former Executive Director of the Caldwell Arts Council. The speakers will share their experiences selecting and placing public art.

Free and open to the public.

This lecture will discuss how metal casting has influenced civilization in terms of sculpture production, early spiritual ideation, and modern day conveniences from industrialization.

Free for Members; $8 General Admission

Was North Carolina painter and educator Maud Gatewood a ”modernist”? What in fact does that label mean? If so, to what extent? Martha R. Severens will explore these questions in her lecture August 4 in connection with the exhibition, The Hard Edge & The Soft Line: A Retrospective of Maud Gatewood at BRAHM.

Join BRAHM’s Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, Gabe Wilson, for a special evening we’re calling Cocktails with the Curator. Patrons can expect one part gallery tour, two part conversation, and a splash of cocktail party.

Hear from MountainTrue’s Watauga Riverkeeper, Andy Hill, about dam removal projects in the High Country and the state of dam removal in the Southeast. We hope you enjoy learning about this conservation topic and it’s connection to improving water quality and habitat for sensitive and rare aquatic species.

The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum has helped to redefine Wilson, NC. By utilizing Vollis’ incredible, kinetic sculptures the downtown has become vibrant and community connection and economic development have followed.

Join us for a special screening of “Maud Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas.”

In 2021, #1 NYTimes bestselling author Jan Karon launched a nonprofit museum in her hometown of Hudson, NC, with a mission to advance the common good through literacy, creativity, and community. Join museum director Sarah Thomas to hear Jan's story from her childhood in Caldwell County to her years in Blowing Rock and her vision for having a positive impact on her local and global communities. Thomas will also share details about the museum's Oral History Library as well as outreach programs for educators, students, and creatives.

Join Docent Sam I Am Reep (and two very special guests) as we discover the wonderful world of of Dr. Seuss. From his beloved children’s books to the secret artwork that was kept hidden until after his death, our tour will uncover the “Cat Behind the Hat.” You won’t want to miss it!

Join App State’s Dr. Neva J. Specht for an in-depth look at the iconic Beaux-Arts Cone estate (known originally as Flat Top Manor) near Blowing Rock.