2020 AVL Protest Murals & Speaker Series
Virtual exhibition, auction, and speaker series supports continued change and healing in our community.
Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, on May 25, 2020, protests broke out across the nation.
Floyd was killed after a White police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. In response, hundreds of protestors gathered in downtown Asheville from May 29- June 6, 2020, with cries for justice and change.
During this time, Lowe’s Home Improvement generously donated plywood for downtown business owners to cover their storefronts while Asheville had its own reckoning. Business owners and artists seized this opportunity to lend their support for needed changes by painting murals on the plywood covering downtown businesses. Local muralists Gus Cutty, Kathryn Crawford, and Dustin Spagnola were the driving force behind this initiative.
When it came time for the murals to come down, local artists Evar Hecht and Ben Nelson had the foresight to collect and temporarily store these works, gathering over 150 pieces of plywood. The Asheville Area Arts Council, with the help of Dogwood Health Trust, then stepped in to move the murals to a secure, climate-controlled storage facility and worked with Aisha Adams of Equity Over Everything to determine next steps.
After several Covid setbacks, the arts council is proud to have partnered with the Martin Luther King Jr Association of Asheville and Buncombe County to present this virtual exhibition, auction, and speaker series. It is our hope that the proceeds from the auction will support continued change and healing in our community.
All proceeds from this auction will be split evenly between The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville, Buncombe County’s COPE Program, and the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Arts Build Community Grant. Auction ends February 28, 2022.
View the murals online at ashevillearts.com/protest.
AVL Protest Mural Speaker Series
BIPOC Public Artists in Asheville
Beginning at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, moderator Stephanie Hickling Beckman, Executive Director of Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective, will lead panelists in a discussion about what it is like to be a BIPOC public artist in Asheville.
BIPOC Engagement in Public Art
Beginning at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, moderator Sekou Coleman, Executive Director of Asheville Writers in Schools and Community, speaks with panelists about engaging the BIPOC community in local public art initiatives. Panelists include Dr. Joseph Fox, Stephanie Monson Dahl, Marsha Almodovar, and Micah Mackenzie.
This series is presented in partnership by the Martin Luther King Jr Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, and the Asheville Area Arts Council. Support for this series is provided by Dogwood Health Trust.
To register, go to ashevillearts.com/protest.
