Black Mountain College collage exhibit spotlights Buncombe County arts legacy

A collage exhibition at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center is turning one of Buncombe County’s best-known cultural names into a summer draw in downtown Asheville. Black Mountain COLL (A)GE opened May 29 at 120 College Street and will remain on view through Sept. 5, pairing the college’s legacy with contemporary artists working in collage, performance and installation.

The opening reception Friday, May 29, ran from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and was free and open to all. The exhibition includes contemporary works by Lucas Samaras, Julian Jamaal Jones, Elias Sime, Andy Gambrell, Christopher Hamilton and Steve Pescatore, along with Drones in the Garden and Swannatopia, giving visitors a cross-section of artists who push collage beyond paper and glue into sound, image and live action.

That mix matters in Buncombe County because Black Mountain College remains one of the region’s most recognizable creative brands, still shaping how Asheville and Black Mountain present themselves as arts destinations. BMCM+AC says it is dedicated to preserving the history and exploring the legacy of Black Mountain College, and this show makes that mission visible in a way that museum-goers, students and working artists can experience now rather than only read about in a textbook. The exhibition frames collage as both a historical method and a living practice, which gives the college’s experimental influence a fresh local payoff.

The museum’s regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, making the show easy to fit into summer visits downtown. Related programming extends that reach, including a virtual conversation with Julian Jamaal Jones and a Sonic Collage installation and performance with Drones in the Garden, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. Those events add another layer for visitors who want more than a gallery walk through Buncombe County’s cultural history.

The calendar at BMCM+AC already looks ahead to the next chapter in that story. Imaginary Landscapes: Black Mountain College Architecture and Design is slated to open Sept. 25 and run through Jan. 9, 2027, keeping the museum’s focus on the school’s influence alive well into the fall and winter. In a county where arts identity helps define both civic pride and visitor appeal, Black Mountain COLL (A)GE is less a look back than a reminder that the region’s creative reputation is still being built in real time.