A fun event has been added to the agenda during the opening celebration/reception/exhibit of the 2018 ArtScape Banner project on Friday, April 6. Each ½ hour from 5 pm to 7:30 pm, free trolley rides to view the new banners on downtown streets and in Historic 7th Avenue will be offered. These ArtScape Trolley Tours are offered in conjunction with the 10th annual Blue Bucket Campaign, held in April — Autism Awareness Month — to benefit Henderson County Exceptional Children’s Services. The funds are earmarked for field trips, bus rides, and educational materials for Henderson County’s exceptional children. The ArtScape Trolley Tours, provided by The Trolley Company and Mike’s on Main restaurant, will pick up and return passengers in front of Woodlands Gallery, 419 N. Main St. in Hendersonville. Woodlands Gallery is one of three downtown galleries participating in the reveal/reception for the 2018 ArtScape Banner project on April 6.
History of the Blue Bucket Campaign
Patty Adamic, the owner of Mikes on Main restaurant, has been a fundraiser for Autism Awareness for ten years. In the early days, a musician who played at the restaurant set out a blue bucket for tips. Those tips were donated to autism efforts. When the musician moved on, Adamic relocated that blue bucket near the cash register for donations. Later, she began installing blue lights in her restaurant during April to acknowledge Autism Awareness Month. When customers asked “Why the blue lights?” she could explain her support for autism. Through the years she has sponsored bike nights connected with the Blue Bucket Campaign and sock hops on the sidewalk in front of her diner. This year, she hired the trolley for the ArtScape opening on Friday, April 6, 5-7:30 p.m., the only day the ArtScape Trolley Tours will be available. ANYONE can ride the trolley – for free. But there will be a blue bucket for voluntary donations for autism on the bus!
Upcoming Reveal/Exhibition/Reception to Celebrate New 2018 ArtScape Banners
The public is invited to the 2018 celebration/ reception/opening exhibition on Friday, April 6, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., to be held concurrently in three downtown locations within easy walking distance of each other – at Art Mob Studios & Marketplace, 124 4th Avenue East; at Art On 4th Gallery & Studio at 125 4th Avenue West; and at Woodlands Gallery, 419 N. Main Street in Hendersonville. Live music, appetizers, and drinks will be provided at all locations. Artists will be offering the artwork depicted on the banners for sale to the public. Sponsors of banners in the 2017 ArtScape Banner Project will receive the banners they sponsored in last year’s exhibit during the reception.
Old Banners Come Down, New Banners Fly in 2018
By the end of March, the 2017 banners will be removed from light posts by Hendersonville Public Works Dept. and replaced with the new outdoor art exhibit for 2018. From 177 submissions, 49 artworks were chosen by a two-person jury for the upcoming ArtScape Banner Project. And the recent addition of Sophia Beck’s work in the youth category completes the exhibition of 50 banners – all hung on light posts in downtown Hendersonville and along Historic 7th Avenue.
The project’s objective is to create a colorful outdoor gallery experience for all ages, making Hendersonville an exciting and unique art destination. The ArtScape Hendersonville banner project is a collaborative effort of the Art League of Henderson County, the Arts Council of Henderson County, and Downtown Hendersonville, Inc. ArtScape Hendersonville received funding from the Community Foundation of Henderson County and Henderson County Tourism Development Authority.
For more information visit www.artscapehvl.org or email artscapenc@gmail.com. More information is also available on Facebook at ArtScapeHendersonville.