Asheville's River Arts District among the best art scenes in U.S.? It's up for debate
ASHEVILLE - Across the U.S., creatives are shaping and driving the art scenes that strengthen and drive communities.
Yet, a recent poll questions whether Asheville’s River Arts District fits the criteria of an inspiring arts district that culturally enriches the city and those who visit.
On March 1, 10Best, a digital media component of USA TODAY, announced the results of its Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Arts District in the U.S. in which readers cast votes for the favorite arts district.
RAD was in the running but didn’t earn enough votes to make the Top 10 on the list that ranked Dallas Arts District as No. 1 with Knoxville Arts District in Tennessee ranked No. 2 and the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District in Minneapolis ranked No. 3.
"The River Arts District is a glowing example of how the arts can be used as a powerful tool for revitalization,” Katie Cornell, executive director of ArtsAVL, said in an email. The arts council supports arts professionals and businesses in Buncombe Country through connection, advocacy and grants.
“The artist-run leadership model in the River Arts District has created a supportive and thriving home for artists, and in turn created a nationally recognized destination where visitors get the unique opportunity to see artists at work and view a vast variety of different artworks all in one location,” Cornell said.
The Citizen Times visited galleries and studios and asked some of the creatives who work and exhibit in RAD if the arts district should have been on the Top 10 list, and the resounding answer was “yes.”
Yet, there’s more that can be done to improve RAD, as well as concerns for how to keep the district local-focused and maintain its creative essence.
River Arts District’s creative culture
Craig Setzer, a woodworker, specializes in furniture making and is a featured artist at Foundation Woodworks’ gallery and has worked in the attached woodworking studio for nearly a year.
He called RAD “a magnificent place” and said he’s surprised it wasn’t voted among the best art districts in the U.S.
“It’s one of the most creative and inspiring places that I have been in the country and in Asheville,” Setzer said. “You walk around and it's filled with so many different people and ideas and creativity that it inspires you to want to make things.”
For two years, Nabil El Jaouhari has exhibited his paintings and woodburning artworks at Mark Bettis Studio & Gallery at Wedge Studios. He said it was “weird” that Asheville didn’t make 10Best’s Top 10 list.
“It’s such a mecca for artists,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool idea to have all these old, abandoned industrial buildings be turned into studios and artist sanctuaries.”
El Jaouhari said one thing that makes RAD unique is that the public can visit studios and witness the artists making their artwork. He said the city’s arts community widely ranges from technically trained fine artists to self-taught artists and crafters. Also, Asheville’s arts community extends from RAD to downtown.
Spreading the gospel of RAD
Art and nature's beauty both bring people to the city, according to Cornell.
"Many areas along the Blue Ridge can boast about beautiful scenery, but it is our creative community in particular that brings national attention to the Asheville area,” Cornell said.
Setzer said he promotes RAD on social media and people are often surprised at how much art and creativity is in the arts district.
The Philadelphia native has visited other arts communities, including New York City, California and the Wynwood Art District in Miami but said there’s a distinctive difference in Asheville.
“The arts scenes in those areas are awesome and creative and inspiring as well but there’s something special about Asheville in that you find so many people who are starting out their art career in Asheville that may not be as well-known as these people in the big cities and they’re producing the most amazing and incredible art that I’ve seen,” Setzer said.
Rare finds in RAD
Foundation Woodworks offers a shared woodworking studio designed to help woodworkers build their businesses by providing designated workstations for artists to rent. Setzer said the style of the studio is a rare find.
Bryan Kerr and his wife, Erin, founded the custom furniture company Kerr Woodworking and began working from Foundation Woodworks four years ago.
The couple lived in Seattle before moving to Asheville in 2020 and has visited many U.S. cities. Kerr said RAD is “inspirational” every day.
“Having lived here, I feel like this is a great art community,” he said. “The things we love about being in the River Arts District is not only being in a co-op shop where you can communicate with other woodworkers about ideas for projects but as soon as you walk out the door, there’s so much life and culture and stuff happening.”
ArtsAVL considers artists working in the performing, visual, craft, literary, media, and interdisciplinary mediums as contributors to the creative economy.
Brody Romnes, a woodworker who’s been with the Foundation Woodworks for five months, said street art adds to RAD’s personality, too.
“There’s so many different mediums down here like glassblowing and people doing baskets and us doing woodworking,” Romnes said.
Improvements and concerns
City development has aided in the sculpting of RAD, like the greenway along the French Broad River and new residential housing and businesses. The same elements that have supported the arts district have the potential to harm it.
Julie Armbruster, who specializes in acrylic and ink on wood panels, said she began to see changes in RAD a few years after moving into the space at Wedge Studios in 2009. She said the city began to invest in sidewalks and signage that made arts studios and galleries more accessible to the public.
“There are very few specific arts tours of towns in the United States and our city has decided to invest in art tourism. I was shocked (RAD) wouldn’t be Top 10 because there aren’t that many cities that are interested in investing in the arts,” Armbruster said.
However, Armbruster said pedestrian traffic and studio guests in RAD have declined due to the recent construction of new development projects and roads.
This winter, ArtsAVL conducted a Creative Space Study in response to artists’ concerns about the rising cost of living. Cornell said local artists and arts businesses have expressed concerns about being priced out of the Asheville area. She said affordable living and workspaces are increasingly becoming more difficult to find, especially in areas like RAD.
"The River Arts District is currently experiencing growing pains and are in some ways a victim of their own success,” Cornell said. “Construction in the area is making it harder to get around, and businesses are also feeling the dip in tourism ― both majorly impacting sales. New development will definitely bring people to the area, but as property values in the area go up, so does the cost of studio space. Many artists are concerned that it is only a matter of time before the arts are pushed out of the River Arts District.”
Setzer said recent development efforts have been great, but he’d like to see more marketing efforts to attract wider audiences, and for more abandoned buildings to be renovated and repurposed for art studios.
“There’s talk that they’re going to be putting in a train station right here so you can take a train from here to like Charlotte and other areas, so we’re excited for that further down the road to bring in some more traffic to the River Arts District,” Setzer said.
Kerr said he’d like to see more single and larger studio availability, and he’s concerned that bringing more non-art-related businesses into the district will take space away from the local arts community. He said he’s witnessed that happen in Seattle and that it can change the culture of a city.
“My only worry is, moving into the future, that more places like that start opening means less places for artists to be. That could be a potential issue down the road, like you take the art out of the River Arts District it no longer becomes what it is known for,” Kerr said.
10Best's Top 10 Best Arts District for 2024
Dallas Arts District, Dallas.
Knoxville Arts District, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, Minneapolis.
University Circle, Cleveland.
Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee.
Tulsa Arts District, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Arts District Houston, Houston.
Richmond Arts District, Richmond, Virginia.
Wabash Arts Corridor, Chicago.
The Pop District, Pittsburgh.
For more, visit 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-arts-district-2024/.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville's River Arts District jilted on 'best arts scenes' list
