UNCA to host photo exhibition of Asheville’s East End

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

1

Photo by Andrea Clark

Press release here:

“Asheville’s East End Circa 1968,” a historical photography exhibition by Asheville artist Andrea Clark, is on view through February 26 in UNC Asheville’s Blowers Gallery. The exhibition includes 26 framed black-and-white photographs and a large historical map of Asheville. A reception will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, in the gallery, with a talk by the artist at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Clark, who moved to Asheville’s East End in the late 1960s, began documenting the neighborhood’s changes as the City of Asheville launched an ambitious program of urban renewal. Hundreds of buildings on and around Valley and Southside streets were removed and residents were scattered across the city. Dozens of schools, black-owned businesses and homes were lost. Clark’s photo collection is among the only remaining visual documentation of these demolished neighborhoods.

Selected images from previously unpublished photographs were displayed in Asheville in 2008. The exhibition spurred community conversation and sparked the interest of the North Carolina Humanities Council. The Council awarded major funding to expand the exhibit this year.

Blowers Gallery, located on the main floor of UNC Asheville’s Ramsey Library, is open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call 828/251-6546.