Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts

Experience the diverse art, culture and heritage of the Western North Carolina region and much more through our Cultural Art Program offering a wide variety of community programs.

July 30 Public Meeting: Proposed Public Art Ordinance and Policy

The City of Asheville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department and the City of Asheville Public Art Board are holding a public meeting regarding a proposed update of the public art ordinance and policy.  The meetings will be held at noon and at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 30 at the Public Works Building at 161 South Charlotte Street in downtown Asheville.

Documents for upcoming public meeting:
Current Public Art Policy
Current Public Art Ordinance
Proposed Public Art Policy
Proposed Public Art Ordinance

Registration is now open for the Public Art 360 Conference, to be held at the Crest Center and Pavilion in West Asheville from Thursday, September 23 through Saturday, September 25, 2010. Public Art 360 brings together artists and arts administrators primarily from the southeast region to learn about best practices in the field of public art. The Public Art 360 was last held in 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Highlights of the 2010 conference include sessions by Barbara Goldstein, Public Art Director for the City of San Jose and creator of the Public Art Academy; a keynote address by Bill Ivey, former director of the National Endowment for the Arts during the Clinton administration and author of "Arts Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed our Cultural Rights;" and a closing address by conceptual visual artist Mel Chin.

Discount registration for Asheville residents and artists is available, as well as scholarships for enrolled students. To view the conference schedule and for information about registration, visit the Public Art 360 website at www.publicart360.com or contact Diane Ruggiero at 828-259-5815 or druggiero@ashevillenc.gov.

Public Art Update:

Work continues throughout downtown on maintenance and installation of the public art collection including the Urban Trail. Scheduled projects include:

Pack Square Park (to be completed by Labor Day 2010)

• Re-installation of Monument Corner (Urban Trail Station #27) and related plaque in front of the Jackson Building;
• Re-installation of four story plaques: Walk into History (Urban Trail Station #1), Crossroads (Urban Trail Station #2), Man and Mountain (Urban Trail Station #24), and Time Remembered (Urban Trail Station #26);
• Re-installation of donor bricks in Pack Square just east of Vance Monument;
• Re-installation of Time Remembered time capsule (Urban Trail Station #26);
• Re-installation of donor plaque for Childhood (Past & Promise, Urban Trail Station #23).

Other areas

• Re-installation of the donor plaque for Historic Hilltop (Urban Trail Station #11);
• Cleaning of Grove's Vision (Urban Trail Station #10);
• Plaque cleaning scheduled for September 2010.

With the new design of Pack Square Park, the numbering of the stations will be slightly altered and a new map is being created and will be available in print and to download from the website in August 2010.

In July 2008, a conservation assessment was done for the public art collection throughout the city. You can view the report by clicking here.

Contact Information
Diane Ruggiero, Superintendent of Cultural Arts
Asheville Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts
Phone: 828-259-5815
Email: druggiero@ashevillenc.gov