Hendersonville, NC (Hendo) Audio Public Art Tour

About Hendersonville, NC (Hendo) Audio Public Art Tour

Take a guided tour of the murals and other art in downtown Hendersonville, North Carolina. Hear from the artists who created them about the inspiration for, details of, and the process of bringing the art to life. Much of the tour can be taken on foot as most of them are located within a 1/2 mile radius of the central downtown area of Hendersonville. But a few will require a short drive outside of the downtown area. Thanks to the North Carolina Arts Council, the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority, and the Arts Council of Henderson County for their generous support.

Publisher

Storytelling, Education, and Arts Programs (steap.net) Hosted by Edwin Stepp

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Aug 2024

Latest episode

15 Aug 2024

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Aug 2024

   The "City of Four Seasons Mural" by Diamond Cash (101 E. Allen St.)

   This episode features the “City of Four Seasons” mural painted by Diamond Cash. Hendersonville is known as the city of four seasons because of its consistent temperate weather. Residents here enjoy the pleasures of each season without having to experience the extremes that can come with each of them in other parts of the world. Artist and photographer Diamond Cash created the City of Four Seasons mural for her hometown of Hendersonville, NC. From an early age, Diamond has always had a talent for photography, painting, and drawing. She has a B.A. in Studio Arts from UNC Greensboro. She is passionate about teaching art and believes she can teach anyone who is willing to learn. Diamond’s work has been featured in several magazines, and she has been commissioned by Hendersonville to create several significant public art projects. It includes two hands clasping in front of the Rainbow flag signifying diversity and inclusion. The name of the town hovers over well-known symbols of the city. As a “Bee and Tree” city, images of both feature prominently. Since bears are a symbol of Hendersonville, two of them lounge at either edge of the scene. The town is very famous for its apples and other delicious veggies. And last but not least, an acoustic guitar highlights the rich musical heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Diamond tells how she conceived the design for the mural and how she made it come to life.

2. 

   15 Aug 2024

   The Jump Off Rock Mural Restored by Knox Crowell (142 3rd Ave West)

   This episode features the Jump Off Rock mural on the side of the Brooks Tavern building at 142 3rd Ave. West. The date of the original mural is unknown but is estimated to have been painted sometime in the 1920’s. In 2014, the mural was restored by local artist Knox Crowell. Knox is a trained graphic artist and illustrator with an interest in local history. He is a former director of Henderson County Heritage Museum. In addition to restoring this mural, Knox has painted nearly half a dozen murals over the years in the area. The main subject of the mural is Jump Off Rock, a large stone outcropping on top of Davis Mountain which rises above Hendersonville just a few miles to the west of downtown. It has long been a tourist destination because of its beautiful views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The mural advertised the site and encouraged visitors to make the short drive to enjoy the vistas. Knox said it was a challenge to bring the iconic wall art back to its former glory and he will tell us about how he did it and the challenges he faced. Knox will also give us some of the history of Jump Off Rock and Laurel Park, the community where Jump Off Rock is located and where he grew up.

3. 

   14 Aug 2024

   The Coca-Cola "Ghost" Murals Featuring Muralist Amber Thompson (303 N. Main St.)

   This episode features the Coca-Cola mural at 303 N. Main St. which faces south overlooking 3rd Ave. West. One might think that a mural advertising America’s favorite soft drink is out of place in the Hendo Art Tour. But there is an interesting history behind these murals that the Coca-Cola company commissioned at the turn of the 20th Century. It is estimated that they installed over 16,000 of these murals all over the United States and especially in the South beginning in the 1890’s. Over time, many of these vibrant artworks, became weathered and faded. Because of that they became known as “ghost murals.” The term “ghost” refers to their aged appearance, which adds to their nostalgic charm. Hendersonville has three Coca-Cola murals. The oldest one was painted on the side of the former Justus Pharmacy building in 1907 to advertise the soda fountain inside, which of course served Coca-Cola. The mural was refurbished by sign painter/artist Andy Thompson, who painted his first sign for Coca-Cola in 1958. Andy Thompson left an indelible mark on the world of Coca-Cola advertising, working with the iconic brand for well over 50 years before his death in 2017. He worked on so many of the company’s murals, that toward the end of his career he could not say exactly how many he had worked on. Since Andy Thompson is no longer here to talk about his work on the murals, his granddaughter, Amber Thompson, joins us to tell us about her grandfather’s work. Amber is following in Andy’s footsteps with her own sign and mural painting business. Andy began to train her to restore these murals just a year before he died, but she learned enough from him that Coca-Cola is commissioning her to do the restoration work. Amber will tell us about the history of the Coca-Cola murals, her grandfather’s work on them, and why they are so greatly valued in the communities where they were painted.

4. 

   14 Aug 2024

   The Nature in North Carolina Mural by Vasily Polevoy (318 N. Main St.) Black Bear Coffee

   This episode features the Nature in NC mural at 318 N. Main St. on the façade of the “Hands On Children’s “ just above the Black Bear Coffee shop. Nature in North Carolina is an 18x18 mosaic created in 1993 by Ukrainian artist Vasily Polevoy. Vasily Polevoy was a well-known painter, muralist, and mosaic artist from the Soviet Union who suffered persecution for his religious faith and for artwork that did not fit within the Communist Party’s ideology. As a result, he was forced to work in a factory and was barred from the USSR Artist’s Union. But he continued to practice his art underground. Eventually, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Hendersonville. Moved by Polevoy’s story, a local businessman commissioned him to do this mosaic mural. Unfortunately, Vasily passed away some years ago, so we cannot hear directly from him about the mural. But it is a marvelous piece of intricate art. So, listen as we do our best to describe it.

5. 

   14 Aug 2024

   The Hendo Bee Line & Life Line Sidewalk Murals by Elizabeth Queen (Corner of 3rd Ave E & Main St to Corner of 7th Ave E & Maple St)

   This episode features two sidewalk murals, The Hendo Bee Line and the Hendo Life Line. The Life Line mural begins at the corner of 3rd Ave East and Main Street. It follows the sidewalk east to King Street, then turns north running on the west side of King until it reaches 4th Ave. East. At that corner, it crosses over to the east side of King and continues to proceed north to 5th Ave East. Crossing to the north side of 5th Ave., it turns east again and continues one block to Grove Street. Across Grove, another sidewalk mural begins called the Bear or Mountain Crossing mural. That mural extends along 5th Ave East from Grove to N. Pine St. where another sidewalk mural is located. The HENDO sign language mural spans the sidewalk from N. Pine to Maple St. This mural spells out the nickname of Hendersonville, “Hendo” in both letters and American Sign Language. Both the Bear Crossing mural and the Hendo mural were created and painted by Diamond Cash and will be featured in another episode. Just past the Hendo mural, at the northeast corner of 5th Ave East and Maple Street, the Hendo Bee Line mural begins. It runs north between Maple Street and the old Southern Railway tracks until it reaches the historic Hendersonville train depot in the heart of the revitalized 7th Avenue District Elizabeth Queen, the creator of both the Bee Line and the Life Line murals, will tell us about them and guide us on the tour of them. She is an artist who is passionate about using art as a communal activity with the goal of bringing people from all walks of life to collaborate on public art projects not only to beautify the local community but to inspire community service. The Bee Line mural was commissioned first by the city of Hendersonville to fulfill a grant they received from the AARP for just such communal art projects. Hundreds of people came out to help Elizabeth paint the mural. The project was such a success that those citizens that worked on it asked when they could do another one. Because of that Elizabeth got the idea to create another mural connecting the main downtown area to the Bee Line mural and the 7th Avenue Historic District. Elizabeth resides in Hendersonville, NC and has led several art projects in various media that accomplished this community goal. She compares her directing of those projects to “choreography” which is a lovely way to think of getting people to work together to create something beautiful. Listen now as she tells us how the projects got started and the communal spirit that was built as they were created and completed.

6. 

   14 Aug 2024

   The Good of the Hive Mural by Matt Willey (NW Corner of 3rd Ave E and King St)

   This episode features “The Good of the Hive” mural on the back wall of the Hands On Children’s Museum located at 318 N. Main St. The best view of the mural is from the parking lot adjacent to 3rd Ave East & King St in the rear of the building. The painting is one of over 50 such murals that have been painted by Matt Willey, a very talented artist and muralist. Matt has been on a mission for the past few years to paint 50,000 bees in murals all over the world to draw attention to these amazing pollinators and the environmental threat they are facing. But his goal is broader than just trying to protect them. He is exploring what we can learn from the way they behave in the hive. He is sharing what he has learned from their social system and the connectedness they exhibit to one another. Making the analogy that “The bees are to the hive what we are to the planet,” Matt hopes to spread something that the bees instinctively understand—that what is good for the hive is good for each bee. His work on these murals has garnered worldwide attention to the importance of bees and other pollinators for the earth’s ecosystem and the important lessons we can learn from them. When Matt painted his first mural in La Belle, FL, he had no idea that it would lead to scores of requests from around the world to create similar murals. Hendersonville was one of the first cities to ask for a bee mural in their community. Kim Bailey, a local farmer and owner of Milkweed Meadow Farm, which focuses on growing pollinator-friendly plants like milkweed, found out about Matt and the FL mural while volunteering for Bee City, USA. She got in touch to ask him to come to Hville and then led the effort to raise the funds to finance the project. While Hville was one of the first to seek out Matt for a bee mural, the process would not be as easy as Kim first thought. Matt relates that story and then all the details of the mural including the images he chose and their symbolism.

7. 

   14 Aug 2024

   The Veterans Mural by Andrea Martin (135 4th Ave E)

   This episode features the Veterans Mural, on the building at 135 4th Ave East. The mural faces east overlooking King St. This 92’ x 20’ painting features local military heroes and their families. It was painted by Andrea Martin, an interior designer, artist, and muralist based in Hendersonville, NC. She is a native of Henderson County and owns Meliora Cabinetry in downtown Hendersonville. She has painted dozens of murals all over the Southeastern U.S. After being moved by the story of a veteran that had experienced criticism, stress, and negativity after returning from Vietnam, Andrea was motivated to find a building on which she could paint a mural in tribute to all veterans. She had to be persistent and resourceful to make it happen, working with the building owner, navigating city regulations, trying to find time while working another full-time job, and enduring the challenges of painting her first mural. She overcame them all and completed the mural. To her surprise it won a national award for the most striking mural in the nation in 2016. Andrea starts by telling us how she found the building and the perseverance she had to exhibit to make it happen. Then she will describe each of the images in the mural and their meaning and symbolism.

8. 

   14 Aug 2024

   Bear Crossing Sidewalk Mural by Diamond Cash (Corner of 5th Ave. E. & Grove St.)

   This episode features the Bear Crossing Sidewalk Mural which spans the walkway from the corner of 5th Ave East and Grove Street to the corner of 5th Ave E. and N. Pine St. The mural was painted by Diamond Cash and was commissioned as part of a grant the city received from the AARP for a community art project. The city used the funds to fulfill a goal of connecting the main street downtown area with the historic 7th Ave district by installing art along the sidewalks between the two areas. The hopw was that it would entice visitors to make the ½ mile walk and enjoy both sections of town. Diamond is a native of Hendersonville and has painted several murals for the town, including the City of Four Seasons mural on this audio tour. She will tell us about the Bear Crossing mural and the inspiration for it.

9. 

   14 Aug 2024

   HENDO Sign Language Sidewallk Mural (Corner of 5th Ave. E. & N. Pine St.)

   This episode features the HENDO ASL Sidewalk Mural which covers the walkway from the corner of 5th Ave East and N. Pine Street to the corner of 5th Ave E. and Maple Street. The mural was painted by Diamond Cash and was commissioned as part of a grant the city received from the AARP for a community art project. The city used the funds to fulfill a goal of connecting the main street downtown area with the historic 7th Ave district by installing art along the sidewalks between the two areas. The hope was that it would entice visitors to make the ½ mile walk and enjoy both sections of town. Diamond is a native of Hendersonville and has painted several murals for the town, including the City of Four Seasons mural and the Bear Crossing Sidewalk mural both featured on this audio tour. HENDO is a nickname for Hendersonville and Diamond was inspired to spell it out in both colorful letters and sign language to recognize an often-overlooked part of our community, the hearing impaired. She will tell us about the mural and the inspiration for it.

10. 

    14 Aug 2024

    Youthful Journey Up 7th Avenue by Billy Smith (628 7th Ave. East)

    Welcome to the Hendersonville, NC Audio Public Art Tour. This features the mural titled, “Youthful Journey Up 7th Avenue,” located at 628 7th Avenue East. It is a tribute to this historic 7th Avenue district and the people who live in the community. It was created and painted by Billy Smith, an accomplished artist from Brevard, NC. Billy has painted murals all over Western NC. He is the president of the Transylvania County Arts Council, the county where Brevard is located. Listen as he describes the inspiration for the mural and the meaning of each of the elements in it.

11. 

    12 Aug 2024

    The Old Lab Designs & Mercantile Floral Murals by Paulina Guajardo & Janna Watson (730 Locust Street)

    This episode features two lovely floral murals at the Old Lab Designs and Mercantile shop at 730 Locust Street located in the historic 7th Avenue District. This area of Hendersonville is undergoing a tremendous revitalization. For many years the area has been dominated by industrial buildings and warehouses that were strategically positioned near the main railroad terminal and depot. During those times, it was not a destination for locals or visitors who didn’t have some business to transact there. But that has been changing rapidly over the past few years as new businesses catering to the general public have sprung up. Restaurants, bakeries, art galleries, bars, breweries, and even a distillery have opened to make the neighborhood a must-see stop on a trip to downtown Hendersonville. In addition to the eateries and galleries, there are some very interesting retail shops new to the area. One of those stores is the Old Lab Designs and Mercantile, a beautiful and unique shop with unusual gifts for men and women alike. The owner is Janna Watson and she is realizing her vision of bringing rich texture to the streets of the town, not only in the items she sells in the store, but also the store building as well. When Janna first moved in, the building epitomized that industrial look of the area, rough and crumbling red brick walls with very little inviting character. She was determined to spruce it up and make it much more beautiful and help the area become more inviting. So she decided to adorn both sides of the building with murals. She commissioned a talented artist from Miami, Paulina Guajardo to paint the murals. Paulina was able to finish it all very quickly over two short trips. Paulina is an up-and-coming artist originally from Mexico. Her mother is a renowned Mexican artist in her own right. Paulina and Janna will guide us through the murals and tell us about the inspiration for them.

12. 

    11 Aug 2024

    Butterfly & Mountains Mural by Andrea Martin (127 5th Ave. W.) Dandelion Restaurant

    This episode features the Butterfly and Mountains mural at the Dandelion Restaurant on 5th Ave. E. The mural was painted by Andrea Martin and was done to honor women who work at the Safelight Organization. Since 1984, Safelight has been providing trauma informed services that allow survivors of interpersonal violence (domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder abuse, child abuse, and those in other violent situations) to build new, violence-free lives in a sustainable way. Safelight provides a multifaceted approach to counteracting abuse and violence in the community as they serve these survivors of interpersonal violence. All services and programs are offered free of charge. Andrea Martin is a local artist and muralist and has painted over 25 murals all over the Southeastern U.S. She is the owner of Meliora Design located in downtown Hendersonville. Two others of her murals are featured on this audio tour including The Veterans Mural and the Get Outside Mural. Andrea will tell us about the inspiration for the mural and why she chose the elements for the painting.

13. 

    5 Aug 2024

    Unity in Bloom Mural by Rosalia Torres-Weiner (310 Freeman Street)

    This episode features the “Unity in Bloom” mural located at 310 Freeman Street which is the home of the Interfaith Assistance Ministries, or IAM. IAM is a non-profit organization made up of a wide array of faith groups whose mission is to provide assistance to Henderson County residents experiencing crisis with basic needs. IAM graciously provided the space for this beautiful and colorful mural to create a warm welcome for their patrons. The mural was painted by Rosalia Torres-Weiner, an artist, activist, and community leader from Charlotte, NC. Her art captures the themes, colors, and rich symbolism of her native home of Mexico. In 2010, Rosalia shifted the focus of her work from commercial art to art activism, after witnessing the repeated injustices and dysfunction of our immigration system. She calls herself an “Artivist” because she uses her art not just to beautify but to create social impact. Her work is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum as well as many other prestigious museums in the Southeastern U.S. Rosalia is joined by her husband Ben Weiner who also assists her with her work. They will describe the theme and symbolism of the elements in the Unity in Bloom mural. Rosalia will talk about the inspiration for it and why she was so eager to paint at this particular location.

14. 

    4 Aug 2024

    The Get Outside Mural by Andrea Martin (137 Sugarloaf Rd.) at SafeNest Storage Back Wall

    This episode features the Get Outside Mural which in on the back wall of SafeNest Storage at 137 Sugarloaf Road. The mural can be seen from the Exit 49A off ramp on Interstate 26 where it intersects U.S. Highway 64. To get a close up view of it, the storage company will grant access to the mural through their front office during their normal business hours according to the artist who painted it. The artist is Andrea Martin, an interior designer, artist, and muralist based here in Hendersonville. Andrea is a native of Henderson County and owns Meliora Cabinetry in downtown Hendersonville. She has painted murals all over the Southeastern U.S. and, of course, several of those are right here in Henderson County. Three of those are here in Hendersonville and are featured on this audio tour, The Veterans Mural and the Butterfly and Mountains Mural. Andrea started painting murals when she was moved to honor local Henderson County veterans. She volunteered her time and resources to do that first mural. After that she found other places that she felt needed artwork to improve the area and inspire others. She conceived of the idea for the Get Outside mural in an effort to cover up an eyesore that greeted visitors to Hendersonville at the I26 Exchange. The building was a former discount clothing store that had long since closed up. Ugly graffiti littered the huge wall facing the busy cloverleaf and she was bothered by the fact that that would be the first impression of her hometown by tourists when they arrived. She took the initiative to approach the new owners of the building and they happily agreed to give her the huge wall as a canvas. She tells us more about her motivation for that and then will describe all the elements of the mural which features ten different natural attractions in the local Blue Ridge Mountains.

Contact Hendersonville, NC (Hendo) Audio Public Art Tour

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