Collected Culture: BRAHM

BY JORDYN DANIELS

Established in 2011, the Blowing Rock Art and History museum has worked tirelessly to showcase the history of Blowing Rock and cultivate a space to share art with the community.

Throughout the year BRAHM holds a variety of events and programs for people within the community of all ages. BRAHM’s programs for children include multiple summer camps and several clubs. The summer camps are for children ages seven to 12, and vary based off of the specific program.

This summer, BRAHM will host one of the largest and most unique collections of art organized by the GHS Art Collection Inc. in association with the Gardenia High School Student Body from California. The exhibition called “GIFTED: Collecting the Art of California at Gardena High School, 19191956” has a strange origin. In 1919, the high school’s principal prompted the students to purchase local works of art to hang in the school, leading years of collecting art in California. The collection of work which highlights the American impressionist movement and was curated by Susan Anderson.

“The California impressionism movement was important in the development of American Impressionism, the American vernacular art, all that stuff. These work it’s called the California or the Gardena High School collection because starting in 1919 this high school had the idea to buy art, every year a senior class would buy pieces of art. Now they have this incredible collection. And we’re going to be the site of the first time this collection will be exhibited on the East Coast,” said Willard Watson, BRAHM’s program and outreach director.

The collection will exhibit more than 40 paintings demonstrating early to mid 20th century style and technique.

The exhibition will be viewable from June 20 through Dec. 30. The exhibition is supported by the Miriam & Robert Hayes Charitable Foundation with additional funding provided by Our State Magazine.

The annual Plein Air Festival will return to BRAHM August 15-19. Artists from all over the nation travel to join the festivities, painting onsite across the mountainous area surround the Blowing Rock. Artists can then submit two pieces of work from the festival to be hung in the museum, called the Wet Paint Exhibit. Community members are encouraged to purchase the work. Artist have the option to leave the art hanging in the exhibition for up to two months if the art is not sold during the wet paint sale.

“It’s just a chance to support living artists and his work the creation of art in the High Country. And the museum was founded around a collection of artwork from the artists Elliot Daingerfield, who came to this area for painting and plein air painting.” Watson said.

BRAHMS’s mission is to provide cultural enrichment. By promoting the arts and southern Appalachian heritage and history, educational programs, exhibitions, activities and permanent collections, according to the website. The museum is the only art and history museum in the High Country, and one of the only free admittance institutions in the area.

“There’s no cost, because we see it as our responsibility to educate the public about this area southern Appalachia has such as a history of misrepresentation and stereotyping, that people that are from here can grow up with a negative perception of their home or of themselves, because of the stereotypes that exist,” Watson said, “By having an institution that puts the culture and history of the region at the forefront, and using it as our responsibility to present historical facts right, when people come here, if they’re a tourist, this might be the only place that they come in contact with Appalachian history and not the caricatures that they see.”

For more information on the museum visit www.blowingrockmuseum. org/