What is HATCH Asheville? It’s the first running of an annual event that aims to inspire, educate, mentor and innovate in and across seven creative disciplines: architecture, design/technology, fashion, film, journalism, music and photography. It’s a front-row seat for anyone who wants to witness and participate in new art and new connections springing to life.
The festival builds on the strength of HATCHfest, held every fall in Bozeman, Mont., for the past five years. A sister festival, HATCH Asheville will follow the same model, showcasing and mentoring creative artists each spring. Asheville is the only city to attract a HATCHfest offshoot, and the local nonprofit that runs HATCH Asheville has contracted to stage the event here for the next 10 years.
HATCH events, which are detailed at the HATCH Asheville Web site (www.HATCHasheville.org), will feature professionals from each of the highlighted disciplines, who will serve as mentors to the festival’s “groundbreakers”—carefully chosen up-and-comers in each field. While a few of the events are ticketed, most are free and open to the public, and all offer an unprecedented opportunity to see, hear and interact with an extraordinary array of creative minds.
Look for the official HATCH Asheville guide in this week’s Mountain Xpress (the April 8 edition), where it appears as a special pull-out section, and in downtown-Asheville distribution locations during the festival.
Click here for the official HATCH Asheville site
Click here for the official events schedule online, and here for a PDF version
I can see by the numerous comments that this is really going to be a big hit. Their site is not designed very well, not very user friendly.
Did anybody go to this? They picked the wrong weekend… I had to work for employees that went out of town for Spring Break, so I missed it.
Hasn’t happened yet – the festival starts on the 15th.
Hey Orbit …
it’s knida’ hard to “go to this…”
when it hasn’t even happened yet!!!!!
It is this coming weekend.
Oops! What month are we in again?
Now and can go to some of this!
I’m going!
It’s too bad that they are charging so much. Each event has an entry fee. This should be a free – to students at the least.
1.Why do I want to hear others talk about how great their creative vision is? What good does this do for Asheville?
2.They list native artists, but I’ve never heard of them. Where have they been hiding all these years?
R. Brooke Priddy, “Fashion Discipline Head” – for her genius ability to sew lots of spandex with a serger. Wow.
SR: Actually, most of the events at the festival — almost 30 of them — are free and open to the public.
Still SR’s items one and two are still valid. What exactly anoints any of those people as professionals in their fields? Even some of the “fields” identified are shaky at best.
How does taking the name of a successful and known event on the other side of the country equate to legitimacy of the content of this one?
I’m all for credentialed professional development opportunities and mentorship by experienced professionals, and many aspiring creative types in Asheville could really, really use it, but c’mon. This smells like more Ol’ Asheville snake oil salesmen hocking their wares and inflated impressions of their deeds rather than actual professionals offering any real knowledge, experience or service to up-and-comers.
I’d love for Asheville to experience some legitimate industry expansion and professional development outlets in communications and design areas, but this just seems disingenuous at best. Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining, and please don’t keep enabling more “creative” people who’s only accomplishments are their well hewn sense of greatness and self promotion.