Landscape is never just scenery. Across American visual culture, images of land have shaped ideas about identity, ownership, belonging, and power—influencing how Americans understand both place and themselves. In this opening lecture for Horizon Line: 250 Years of American Landscape, curator Ian Gabriel Wilson-Rhodes introduces the exhibition’s central ideas by exploring how representations of our physical surroundings have functioned not only as subjects for artists, but as a cultural framework through which Americans have imagined history, nationhood, and the environment.

Studio Saturdays: Youth aged 12-18 are invited to join us at BRAHM every second Saturday from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm this winter and spring for directed studio time inspired by famous artists. Explore new styles and processes for making art. Meet new friends and express your creative side. Materials and snacks provided. 

Free for the community. Reservations encouraged.

Join us at the Western Watauga Community Center from 12 PM to 2 PM for a free art class. Registration not required. Open to the public. Materials provided. Classes brought to you by BRAHM and the Watauga County Project on Aging.

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

1st & 3rd Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:30 am | Ideal for preschool-aged children & an adult: Process-based art activities plus storytime.

Ever wonder what makes an artist tick? From where do they get their inspirations? How do their life experiences translate into great works of art? And how do they make art with a message that matters?

A lively, humorous and articulate speaker, artist Eric Serritella shares his journey in “Mind Into Matter,” a PowerPoint presentation filled with images that bring his story to life.

Take a moment for tea, for contemplation, for art, and for community. Artist Eric Seritella will perform a traditional Chinese tea ceremony to a soundtrack provided by pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen. Complimentary tea and treats from Happy Persimmon will be provided at the event. 

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Join us at the  Lois E. Harrill Senior Center from 10 AM to 12 PM for a free art class. Registration not required. Open to the public. Materials provided. Classes brought to you by BRAHM and the Watauga County Project on Aging. 

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

Join us in celebrating the history of the Juluska community and the Watauga High School students who brought that history to our community gallery!

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

1st & 3rd Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:30 am | Ideal for preschool-aged children & an adult: Process-based art activities plus storytime.

This program is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Bryant and Nancy Hanley Foundation.

Thomas McLamb is an experimental guitarist with a background in punk, hardcore, noise, and ambient sound design. His approach to music, combining both guitars and synthesizers, is inspired by other experimental guitar players like Derek Bailey, Jim O'Rourke, and Thurston Moore, as well as avant-garde composers like Roland Kayn, Morton Subotnick, and Éliane Radigue. 

Bring your own supplies and projects to work on and workshop with the group! Bring friends or make new ones.

Ready to start a new project? Why not try some winter weather items for folks heavily affected by the storm?

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

In this program series, BRAHM's programs and outreach director Willard Watson III will be in conversation with interesting and creative people from across the region. We hope you'll join us for a drink, a snack, and quality conversation. Just make sure to come curious. 

April is National Poetry Month, so we are working with the High Country Poet Laureate, Hilda Downer for a writing workshop. 

Downer will read some of the poems from the anthology, Had I a Dove: Appalachian Poets
on the Helene Flood, as examples of narrative poetry.

Studio Saturdays: Youth aged 12-18 are invited to join us at BRAHM every second Saturday from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm this winter and spring for directed studio time inspired by famous artists. Explore new styles and processes for making art. Meet new friends and express your creative side. Materials and snacks provided. 

Free for the community. Reservations encouraged.

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

1st & 3rd Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:30 am | Ideal for preschool-aged children & an adult: Process-based art activities plus storytime.

World-renowned artist Patrick Dougherty will present a public talk at Appalachian State University on April 16th in conjunction with his first-of-its-kind exhibition, Patrick Dougherty: Pilgrimage, currently on display at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM) through May 17, 2026. This talk is free and open to the public.  

Start off your weekend with art and wellness! Artful Yoga brings mindful movement to the museum galleries to enrich body, mind, and spirit. In this special installment instructor Stacy Shamy will lead a light movement practice to wake up the body and then rest on the mat for a deep sound journey. Start off your weekend with art and wellness! Artful Yoga brings mindful movement to the museum galleries to enrich body, mind, and spirit. In this special installment instructor Stacy Shamy will lead a light movement practice to wake up the body and then rest on the mat for a deep sound journey. 

Inspired by the Patrick Dougherty exhibit and the weavings of Anni Albers, Taryn Griggs and Chris Yon (the Yoggs) will present a new work for six dancers at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum during the Blowing Rock Winter Festival. The Yoggs are galvanized by Albers and Dougherty's use of a simple element, for Albers the thread, for Dougherty the sapling, to make intricate works that invite the audience to engage, interact and dream of possibilities. In response the Yoggs  will use simple everyday movements like walking, running and skipping to create a physical tapestry. 

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

Willard’s Wonderings & Watauga Wanderings is a special program series hosted by BRAHM’s Programs & Outreach Director Willard Watson III. At each session, Willard will be joined by fascinating individuals working in riveting jobs throughout the High Country. Join us for an engrossing conversation about the place we live in & love.

Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Ideal for 6-12 year olds: Creative art-making activities highlighting a variety of artists and methods.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

Bring your own supplies and projects to work on and workshop with the group! Bring friends or make new ones.

Ready to start a new project? Why not try some winter weather items for folks heavily affected by the storm?

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

A journey into the fascinating and remarkable life of pioneering Japanese immigrant photographer and conservationist George Masa, by filmmaker and biographer, Paul Bonesteel

Studio Saturdays: Youth aged 12-18 are invited to join us at BRAHM every second Saturday from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm this winter and spring for directed studio time inspired by famous artists. Explore new styles and processes for making art. Meet new friends and express your creative side. Materials and snacks provided. 

Free for the community. Reservations encouraged.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

In this interactive talk about birches; we will explore identifying characteristics and morphology, uses by humans and animals and importance in the landscape in Appalachia. 

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

Make time for yourself on Wednesday evenings for a weekly mindfulness and meditation Group. The gatherings will explore meditation, mindfulness and consciousness. Combining years of meditation practice experience with his lifelong passion of living in service to others, Eric Devrie will be guiding the weekly meditation group.

Learn to paint in a relaxed atmosphere, inspired by Barn Above Pond by Wolf Kahn. Each participant goes home with a finished work of art. All materials, including canvases, acrylic paint, brushes, and aprons, are provided. Our trained instructor will lead you step-by-step.
Wine, beer, and light snacks are complimentary.

Bring your own supplies and projects to work on and workshop with the group! Bring friends or make new ones.

Ready to start a new project? Why not try some winter weather items for folks heavily affected by the storm?

This program is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Bryant and Nancy Hanley Foundation.

This lecture will explore how Southern landscape painters captured the terrain of the American South. From the craggy ridgelines of Appalachia to the humid stillness of the Louisiana Swamp, artists rendered the region not merely as scenery, but as mythic space—charged with history, identity, and atmosphere. Special attention will be given to artists who frequently explored and sketched the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Learn to paint in a relaxed atmosphere, inspired by Spring at Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire by Gustave Wiegand. Each participant goes home with a finished work of art. All materials, including canvases, acrylic paint, brushes, and aprons, are provided. Our trained instructor will lead you step-by-step.
Wine, beer, and light snacks are complimentary.

Learn to paint in a relaxed atmosphere, inspired by Le Chemin a travers les champs by Jean Metzinger. Each participant goes home with a finished work of art. All materials, including canvases, acrylic paint, brushes, and aprons, are provided. Our trained instructor will lead you step-by-step.
Wine, beer, and light snacks are complimentary.

Learn to paint in a relaxed atmosphere, inspired by The Eiffel Tower by Georges Seurat. Each participant goes home with a finished work of art. All materials, including canvases, acrylic paint, brushes, and aprons, are provided. Our trained instructor will lead you step-by-step.
Wine, beer, and light snacks are complimentary.