Join us for an artful afternoon on the plaza! In conjunction with American Perspectives, we welcome artists Kimberly English, Casey Engel, and Nora Mosrie. Drop by the plaza in front of the museum to enjoy artist demonstrations in weaving, quilting, and corn husk flowers. Come inside the atrium to listen to live music by folk musicians Madeline Dierauf, Gabe Nassar-McMillan, Liam Coker, and Claire Hoke.

1:00-4:00pm: Ongoing artist demonstrations on the plaza

1:00-5:00pm: Live music in the atrium

About the artists:

• Kimberly English is an artist and educator living and working in Asheville, North Carolina. She earned her BFA in Fibers as a Distinguished Scholar from Savannah College of Art and Design, and her MFA in Studio Art from University of North Carolina subsequently. Kimberly’s practice seeks to recontextualize everyday cloth, exploring themes central to the history of the production of cloth, its labor force, and the local impact of a global economy. Her work has been exhibited widely, most recently through Slouch Gallery, Vox Populi, and the Ackland Museum at UNC Chapel Hill.
• Casey Engel is an interdisciplinary artist primarily working in printmaking, ceramics and textiles. In 2015, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Printmedia from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since graduating, she has worked at various fine art print shops throughout Chicago as well as Western North Carolina; such as, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, Starshaped Press, the Evanston Art Center, and Starfangled Press. She was the Gallery Manager and a Studio Assistant at Odyssey ClayWorks and teaches there. Casey has exhibited throughout Western North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Washington and Chicago and is represented by Blue Spiral 1.
• Nora Mosrie is an interdisciplinary artist and educator in both the visual and performing arts. Her visual art works include abstract acrylic paintings, fiber work, photography, ceramic sculpture and Heritage Craft. Nora is dedicated to sharing her enthusiasm for the arts with intergenerational audiences through a variety of community venues. She is a teaching artist for several organizations including the Asheville Art Museum. In addition to participating in both solo and group art exhibitions, Nora creates and exhibits art in her studio at the Red House Studios and Art Gallery in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

About the musicians:

• Madeline Dierauf is a Western North Carolina fiddler who grew up listening to old-time Appalachian Music. For the past 12 years, she has played the fiddle, starting with bluegrass and Irish music, before fully committing to the old-time tradition. She has learned from local musicians such as Beanie O’Dell, Emily Schaad, and Nicky Sanders of the Steep Canyon Rangers. The fiddle has taken her to stages varying from Wilkesboro’s Merlefest to the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and she recently won first prize at the South Carolina State Old-time Fiddle Competition. In 2020, she released her debut EP, Walk On By, which features original and traditional songs.
• Claire Hoke is a singer songwriter born and raised on North Carolina land and music. She’s been performing around WNC since 2018 in various groupings and these days finds herself settling into playing her tunes solo. Drawing inspiration from artists like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Sarah Jarosz, Claire weaves her innermost musings into the fabric of her fingerstyle and open tuning driven music. She uses songwriting to express things that are honest, uncomfortable, and sometimes left unsaid
• Gabriel Nassar-McMillan is a multimedia artist and musician based in Asheville and a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, Asheville with a Bachelor’s degree in New Media. Through this major he was able to explore his love for both music and video, and worked closely with artists in the UNCA Department of Music on local performances and studio recordings. Gabriel is a self-taught musician and has been composing his own melodies since he was first able to write, even recording this work at a young age. He finds American acoustic folk music to be an intriguing blend of minimalism and emotional honesty, a combination which has influenced his own writings and has left songs stuck in his head for countless hours, some of which he will be performing at this event.
• William (Liam) Coker is a musician and recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, Asheville with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Music and Jazz. In addition to these genres Liam plays a wide variety of music, including Bluegrass. He contributes guitar and banjo to his local ensemble, and they perform traditional folk music as well as historical Bluegrass compositions. As a guitar player of ten years, Liam remains fully committed to his passion for playing and brings joy to his friends, family, and audiences through his music.