On View

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

The Center for Craft is excited to present a solo exhibition of patchwork textiles and inflatable sculptures by the Ohio-based fiber artist. Adrian’s volumetric, pneumatic work transports viewers into artifice, desire, and worldbuilding. Drawing from rich legacies of queer fiber art & theory, the exhibition features monumentally scaled works that physically respond to viewers presence by filling with air.

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

Jul

29

–

Sep

9

Jul 29, 2022

–

Sep 9, 2022

Photo credit:

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson, Hoot Eye, 2019. Courtesy of the Artist. Photograph by Alyssa Ruberto.

Artist ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson (Eastern Band Cherokee) bridges traditional Cherokee culture and contemporary life. Working across media, including basket making and pottery, her forms and patterns embody a continuous lineage of Cherokee past and present. Since 2019, Thompson has served as the consulting artist for “The Basket,” a new public art installation in downtown Asheville designed to recognize, hold space, and increase public knowledge surrounding past and present Cherokee arts, culture, tradition, and language.

To honor Thompson’s expertise and significant contribution to this installation, the Center for Craft commissioned the artist to create three, large-scale river cane mats. The weavings, which were uniquely considered to be viewed in the round, incorporate traditional Cherokee patterns, such as “Peace Pipe” and “Noonday Sun,” as well as Thompson’s distinct compositions. Within the exhibition, you may note that Thompson has woven her syllabary mark as a signature in the bottom corner of each mat. These mats are on view for the first time alongside examples of the artists’ rivercane baskets and designs as part of this exhibition.

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Bresler Family Gallery

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson

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Meet the artists

ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow

Cherokee, NC

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Faye Junaluska

Cherokee, NC

Lucille Lossiah

Ramon Lose

Cullowhee, NC

ᏯᏗ ᎺᏂ Betty Maney

Cherokee, NC

ᏗᎳᏂ Dylan Morgan

Cherokee, NC

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson

ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson

Patricia Welch

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Meet the artists

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CRAFT RESEARCH TALK

View the catalog

About RIPSTOP

The Center for Craft is excited to present a solo exhibition of patchwork textiles and inflatable sculptures by the Ohio-based fiber artist. Adrian’s volumetric, pneumatic work transports viewers into artifice, desire, and worldbuilding. Drawing from rich legacies of queer fiber art & theory, the exhibition features monumentally scaled works that physically respond to viewers presence by filling with air.

You can still sponsor RIPSTOP by contributing before July 12, 2024. Donate today for your opportunity to be recognized during the opening reception on July 26, 2024, and on the exhibition's Title Wall. To underwrite this exhibition, please donate now.

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about the artists

Photo credit: Jamie Hopper

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson is an esteemed second-generation basket weaver, veteran, entrepreneur, and enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

She expresses her appreciation for her ancestry and culture through her woven creations. The daughter of Geraldine W. Walkingstick and mother to ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson, ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson is the link to three generations of basket weavers. Thompson's work has received numerous awards and is part of the permanent collection of the University of South Alabama, Mobile. She is the recent recipient of a prestigious Arrowmont 2021 Appalachian Craft and Culture Fellow and the South Arts 2021 Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship. Her work has been published in the National Basketry Organization’s Tradition & Innovation in Basketry Today Juried & Invitational exhibition All Things Considered, and WNC Mountain Living Magazine. Mary has also taught basketry at the Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg Tennessee, Sequoyah Museum in Vonore, Tennessee, and at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, North Carolina. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Mary has served four terms representing the tribal members in the legislative branch of the Tribal Government. A mom, gardener, potter, and basket weaver, she continues to volunteer in the community and serves on several national and local boards.

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Curatorial

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

Thank

you to the

Virginia A. Groot Foundation

and

Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation

for

makng these residencies possible.

close

✕

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

RIPSTOP is supported, in part, by Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

N.C. Arts Council

close

✕

Learn more

→

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

2023

Curatorial

Fellow

This exhibition was supported, in part, by the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation,

ArtsAVL

close

✕

and Buncombe County Government.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

N.C. Arts Council

close

✕

Learn more

→

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

2023

Curatorial

Fellow

A special thanks to

North Bennet Street School

close

✕

and the

Foundry Hotel

close

✕

for sponsoring Handwork and Hope.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

N.C. Arts Council

close

✕

Learn more

→

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

Preservers, Innovators, and Rescuers of Culture in Chiapas is supported, in part by,

The Foundry Hotel

close

✕

The Center for Craft is supported, in part, by the

the N.C. Arts Council,

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✕

Aram Han Sifuentes is a recipient of the Center for Craft’s 2022 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship. This substantial mid-career grant is awarded to two artists to support research projects that advance, expand, and support the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice.

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

Cherokee Preservation Foundation,

close

✕

the

National Endowment for the Arts,

close

✕

and

AARP, Mountain Region North Carolina.

close

✕

For a full listing of the generous funders supporting the Center for Craft and our programming visit centerforcraft.org/support

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

Cherokee Preservation Foundation,

close

✕

the

National Endowment for the Arts,

close

✕

and

the

North Carolina Arts Council

close

✕

Learn more

→

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

The

Center

for

Craft’s

John

Cram

Partner

Gallery

presented

in

collaboration

with

UNC Asheville

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✕

UNC Asheville transforms lives through leadership and education. The designated liberal arts and sciences institution for the UNC System and one of the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts universities, UNC Asheville enrolls 3,600 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate majors and a Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree. UNC Asheville also encourages students to take part in a nationally acclaimed undergraduate research program and participate in interdisciplinary learning. From internships and hands-on projects, to study abroad and community engagement, students experience an education that extends beyond campus into the vibrant City of Asheville, the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the world.

Learn more

→

and

Warren Wilson College

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✕

A liberal arts college grounded in social responsibility, where hard work and community are more than just words.

Learn more

→

.

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

Cherokee Preservation Foundation,

close

✕

the

National Endowment for the Arts,

close

✕

and

AARP, Mountain Region North Carolina.

close

✕

For a full listing of the generous funders supporting the Center for Craft and our programming visit centerforcraft.org/support

Max Adrian: RIPSTOP

Through

Jul

26

–

Mar

29

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Exhibition

Connections in the Making

Through

Nov

17

–

Oct

31

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On View

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

On View

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

On View

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson: Connecting Cherokee Culture and Innovation

About RIPSTOP

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson

Curatorial

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.‍Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

Thank

you to the

Virginia A. Groot Foundation

and

Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation

for

makng these residencies possible.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.‍Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

RIPSTOP is supported, in part, by Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

N.C. Arts Council

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

2023

Curatorial

Fellow

This exhibition was supported, in part, by the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation,

ArtsAVL

and Buncombe County Government.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.‍Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.
‍
Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.