Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

Name: Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
Address: 120 College Street, Asheville, NC, 28801, US
Telephone: +18283508484

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Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

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www.blackmountaincollege.org

The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center preserves and continues the legacy of educational and artistic innovation of Black Mountain College. We achieve our mission through collection, conservation, and educational activities including exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

10/14/2026

Tonight! ⁠Join us for an evening moving between biography, memory, spiritual practice, and live music as we explore Alice Coltrane’s extraordinary and still-expanding legacy. We are thrilled to celebrate the publication of the first full biography of Alice Coltrane. Author Andy Beta and musician Surya Botofasina will discuss Coltrane, her legacy, and Beta's new book. Afterward, Surya, who was mentored by Coltrane, will perform. Together, the conversation and performance will explore Coltrane’s extraordinary legacy as a musician, composer, and spiritual leader.

🗓️ Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 at 7PM
📍 Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {120 College Street}
🎟️ $12 General Admission / $8 for BMCM+AC members + Students w/ID

ABOUT THE BOOK:⁠
Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of Alice Coltrane, a groundbreaking artist whose work transformed the possibilities of jazz, spiritual music, and American experimental culture. Deeply researched and expansive in scope, Andy Beta’s book restores Coltrane to her proper place as one of the great musical visionaries of the 20th century while tracing the extraordinary artistic and spiritual journey that shaped her life and work.
⁠
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:⁠
Surya Botofasina was mentored by Alice Coltrane from an early age, and her musical and spiritual teachings continue to shape his work. A keyboardist, composer, and Music Director of the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers, Surya has carried Coltrane’s devotional musical legacy around the world while developing a distinctive practice of his own. Following the conversation, he will perform a set honoring the spirit and continuing influence of Alice Coltrane’s music.

You can learn more about the event and get tickets on our website: https://buytickets.at/blackmountaincollegemuseumartscenter/2426699

10/13/2026

If you've visited the new exhibition, "Imaginary Landscapes," you probably remember the 12-foot-diameter Geodesic Dome suspended from the ceiling and hanging over the research library. The dome on view, created by Mark Alexander Hanf and Chas Llewellyn, is based on the 1949 dome that Buckminster Fuller and the BMC community successfully erected in 1949.

During the summers of ‘48 and ‘49, Buckminster Fuller sparked the imaginations of fellow BMC faculty members and students with a vision of a radical new architecture: the Geodesic Dome. This synthesis of Nature’s most efficient structures- the circle, sphere, and triangle- encloses the maximum amount of volume with the minimum amount of materials, and becomes stronger as it scales up in size.

This sculptural installation celebrates Fuller’s first successful dome construction at BMC in ‘49. It is based on 31 “great circles” or equatorial circumferences drawn on a sphere. Fuller immediately simplified this original design, and all subsequent domes are based on an even more efficient icosahedral structure.

No known blueprints or online calculators for dimensions exist, so all chord lengths for this dome were calculated with classic geometric techniques and tools such as drawing compass, protractor, and trigonometry. Parts were custom fabricated based on archival photos. Fuller’s experiments with Geodesic Domes at Lake Eden are a beautiful symbol of the interdisciplinary and collaborative learning at the heart of Black Mountain College. May the synergy of its arcs and angles inspire and allow us all to remember that “We are called to be architects of the future...” - R. Buckminster Fuller

Come see this sculptural work and more as part of the current exhibition, "Imaginary Landscapes: Black Mountain College Architecture + Design"

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Mark Alexander Hanf and Chas Llewellyn, Geodesic Dream: ReMEMBERING The Future, 2026. Steel, Aluminum, Polyvinyl Chloride, Dyneema, and Stainless Steel. Courtesy of the Artists.
Special Thanks to Alice Sebrell, Jeff Arnal, UNC Asheville STEAM Studio, Chas Llewellyn, Sara Sanders, Jacob Misch, John Hurt, Zip Tie Domes, Phil Hanf, Nancy Hanf, Adelyn Hanf, Jason Cannoncro, Blox Emslie, Bucky Fuller, and all the invisible hands that assisted and guided this project
Slide 2 Image: Hazel Larsen Archer, Construction of the Geodesic Dome, 1949. Gelatin silver print. © The Estate of Hazel Larsen Archer. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

10/12/2026

This Wednesday, October 14, 2026, BMCM+AC presents an evening event celebrating the publication of Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane, the first full biography of Alice Coltrane, by writer and journalist Andy Beta. The program will feature a conversation with the author and with musician Surya Botofasina moderated by Jeff Arnal, followed by a performance by Surya. Together, the conversation and performance will explore Coltrane’s extraordinary legacy as a musician, composer, and spiritual leader.

ABOUT THE BOOK:⁠
Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of Alice Coltrane, a groundbreaking artist whose work transformed the possibilities of jazz, spiritual music, and American experimental culture. Deeply researched and expansive in scope, Andy Beta’s book restores Coltrane to her proper place as one of the great musical visionaries of the 20th century while tracing the extraordinary artistic and spiritual journey that shaped her life and work.
⁠
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:⁠
Surya Botofasina was mentored by Alice Coltrane from an early age, and her musical and spiritual teachings continue to shape his work. A keyboardist, composer, and Music Director of the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers, Surya has carried Coltrane’s devotional musical legacy around the world while developing a distinctive practice of his own. Following the conversation, he will perform a set honoring the spirit and continuing influence of Alice Coltrane’s music.

⁠Join us for an evening moving between biography, memory, spiritual practice, and live music as we explore Alice Coltrane’s extraordinary and still-expanding legacy.

Tickets are $12 General Admission / $8 for BMCM+AC members + Students. You can learn more about the event and get tickets on our website: https://buytickets.at/blackmountaincollegemuseumartscenter/2426699

10/11/2026

For its first eight years, from 1933 to 1941, Black Mountain College operated out of the buildings of the Blue Ridge Assembly, a YMCA summer camp founded in 1906 by Willis D. Weatherford. For $4,500 a year, the College leased the monumental Robert E. Lee Hall (now renamed Eureka Hall), the dining hall, gymnasium, several cottages and full furnishings. At the conclusion of each school year, Black Mountain College packed up their belongings into the attic so that the Blue Ridge Assembly could resume occupancy for the summer.⁠
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Lee Hall contained almost all of the College's vital functions: classrooms, the library, shared sleeping quarters for students, faculty apartments, and studies—private workspaces for students and faculty. The outdoors was a constant part of life at Blue Ridge, and students and faculty alike frequently hiked the surrounding hills. A large columned porch overlooking the Swannanoa Valley to the north and a sun porch on the south were beloved spaces for relaxation, entertainment, and sometimes classes. In the evenings, or during colder weather, the hearth in the spacious lobby was the venue for fireside chats, lectures by visitors, and community meetings.⁠
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The College became aware that Blue Ridge would not be its permanent home; in 1937 they purchased land on the other side of the Swannanoa valley. The new site was not yet ready to house the College’s operations, but faculty and collaborators began to make plans. After years of strained relationships with Blue Ridge, the College finally moved in 1941 to Lake Eden, its final home. Many aspects of the College's life and educational model at Blue Ridge were replicated at Lake Eden, forever influencing the College’s atmosphere.⁠

Text excerpted from "Imaginary Landscapes: Black Mountain College Architecture and Design," on view until January 9, 2027!
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Kenelm Winslow, Lee Hall at the Blue Ridge Assembly, circa 1936 – 1938. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Gift of Kenelm Winslow, Jr.

10/10/2026

This artwork is currently on view as part of "Imaginary Landscapes: Black Mountain College Architecture and Design." From the upward gaze of both the kissing figures to the pocket watch to the smoke-billowing industrial buildings set in the background, this painting has a dream-like quality that is both strange and compelling. The title of the work, "Peace," further adds to the air of mystery. ⁠
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This work was painted on the BMC campus by René Pinchuk, who attended the 1946 summer session. He became interested in attending BMC through his friend Ray Johnson, who wrote Pinchuk letters from the college campus. While at BMC, Pinchuk studied with Josef Albers and Jean Varda. He said of his time at the experimental college, “It was without a doubt the most inspiring school I had ever been to.”⁠
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René Pinchuk, Peace, 1946. Oil on canvas. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

10/09/2026

Join us for an evening performance at BMCM+AC by the Critical Response Trio (Jason Kao Hwang, Anders Nilsson, and Michael T.A. Thompson) on Thursday, October 29th, 2026 at 7PM!

Arising from the synergy of composition and improvisation, through the kaleidoscopic sound world of the electric violin, guitar and drum set, Critical Response challenges the disillusionment and divisiveness that encircle this moment in history. They have performed in venues throughout New York City, including Roulette in Brooklyn. Their first CD, Book of Stories, received international praise. This past summer Critical Response recorded their second CD, Uprising, which will be released in 2027.

You can learn more about the artists and purchase tickets on our website at /www.blackmountaincollege.org/events/critical-response-trio/

10/08/2026

The Eric Firestone Gallery in New York City is currently showing an exhibition of early works by Pat Passlof titled "After Magic" which will be on view until October 31, 2026. Pat Passlof was a student at Black Mountain College during the Summer Institute of 1948, when she studied closely with Willem de Kooning, Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, M.C. Richards and Merce Cunningham. Passlof’s time at BMC was central to her development as an artist. After BMC, she continued her studies with de Kooning as his private student in New York City.

Passlof, a major figure of the New York School of Abstract Expressionists, was fundamental in downtown galleries and the intellectual milieu of the 1950s. This is the gallery’s second solo exhibition of Passlof’s work, following a strong five-year period in which institutions, writers, and the market have reinforced her position in the canon, and its historical re-investigation.

The exhibition includes approximately 35 small paintings, dated between 1948-62, along with two monumental canvases from the period. It documents the artist’s earliest work, from her 1948 summer at Black Mountain College to the early 1960s, when she was living on Tenth Street in downtown New York. Works from this period were exhibited at the artist cooperative she co-founded, the March Gallery, and the famed Green Gallery, directed by Dick Bellamy.

You can learn more about the exhibition on Eric Firestone Gallery's website at https://www.ericfirestonegallery.com/exhibitions/after-magic-early-works-by-pat-passlof-1948-1962?view=slider #3

10/07/2026

NEXT WEEK! BMCM+AC presents an evening event celebrating the publication of Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane, the first full biography of Alice Coltrane, by writer and journalist Andy Beta. The program will feature a conversation with the author and with musician Surya Botofasina moderated by Jeff Arnal, followed by a performance by Surya. Together, the conversation and performance will explore Coltrane’s extraordinary legacy as a musician, composer, and spiritual leader.

ABOUT THE BOOK:⁠
Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of Alice Coltrane, a groundbreaking artist whose work transformed the possibilities of jazz, spiritual music, and American experimental culture. Deeply researched and expansive in scope, Andy Beta’s book restores Coltrane to her proper place as one of the great musical visionaries of the 20th century while tracing the extraordinary artistic and spiritual journey that shaped her life and work.
⁠
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:⁠
Surya Botofasina was mentored by Alice Coltrane from an early age, and her musical and spiritual teachings continue to shape his work. A keyboardist, composer, and Music Director of the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers, Surya has carried Coltrane’s devotional musical legacy around the world while developing a distinctive practice of his own. Following the conversation, he will perform a set honoring the spirit and continuing influence of Alice Coltrane’s music.

⁠Join us for an evening moving between biography, memory, spiritual practice, and live music as we explore Alice Coltrane’s extraordinary and still-expanding legacy.

Tickets are $12 General Admission / $8 for BMCM+AC members + Students. You can learn more about the event and get tickets on our website: https://buytickets.at/blackmountaincollegemuseumartscenter/2426699

10/06/2026

This past weekend, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center hosted our 16th Annual ReVIEWING Black Mountain College International Conference! With more than 70 presentations by BMC scholars, artists, and enthusiasts from around the globe, the weekend was a celebration of Black Mountain College's enduring impact.

From architecture to poetry, design to music, this year's program was truly interdisciplinary. We explored topics including architectural pedagogy at Black Mountain and beyond; the centenary of poet Robert Creeley’s life and work; the continuances and influences of BMC within creative communities in California; the recollections and artistic work of BMC students and teachers who navigated the campus with an illness or an embodied setback; and so many more groundbreaking topics. Workshops allowed participants to learn-by-doing through activities like paper weaving, generative poetry, and color studies. Presenters at ReVIEWING 16 hailed from 19 U.S. states and 5 different countries!

Although the ReVIEWING Conference is only one short weekend, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center preserves and continues the legacy of Black Mountain College all year round. For 16 years, ReVIEWING has been one part of that work. We are a living museum, and it is our community of academic and independent scholars, artists, curators, and passionate advocates who keep this history active and help its legacy continue to grow. Up next, our fall performance season continues, and our exhibition "Imaginary Landscapes" is on view 11am-5pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays!

We look forward to sharing additional memories and photos from this year's conference in the coming weeks. We wish all of our BMC global community safe travels, and we can't wait to host you again next year at your home-away-from-home!

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Photo on 5th slide by Julie J. Thomson

10/01/2026

The ReVIEWING Conference starts TOMORROW! From October 2-4, 2026, there will be more than 70 scholars and artists presenting at this interdisciplinary event, exploring the legacy of Black Mountain College from a myriad of different vantage points. Today we're highlighting two presentations taking place tomorrow on the first day of the Conference. It's not too late to register to attend! You can register for the conference on our website at www.blackmountaincollege.org/reviewing
⁠
Friday, October 2, 2026 1:30 – 2:45PM
🌀 Visual Riddles and the Unexpected: The Art of Ruth Asawa and Ray Johnson by Elliot Inman
🧵 To Monte Alban and Back Again: Anni Albers at Black Mountain College by Katherine Kuenzli

There are so many more sessions and presenters throughout the conference! You can also check out the full schedule, project abstracts, and presenter bios on our website.

Address

120 College Street
Asheville, NC
28801

Telephone

+18283508484

Website

https://www.blackmountaincollege.org/

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