In the early days of COVID-19, local filmmaker Kira Bursky reconnected with an earlier medium and love — drawing. Seeing it as a type of meditation, her intention was to step away from the more analytical side of her brain and embrace the subconscious.
The result is Hide and Seek, the multidisciplinary artist’s first print collection. Inspired by “the beauty, playfulness and joy of the infinite present moment,” Bursky says, “I hope people get lost in a meditative game of hide and seek with the art; how many faces and bodies can you find?”
Along with her new print catalog, Hide and Seek has evolved into a series of collaborative projects with other creatives, including Lightform, a San Francisco-based company that works in projection mapping.
“I feel like my brain has been rewired to automatically see the multitude of different forms a creation can take,” says Bursky. “A design becomes a tapestry, which then becomes the focal point of a projection-mapping collaboration, which then turns into a musical experimental film. Hide and Seek went on an unexpected journey, and I enjoyed every second of it! Any art piece can truly take on a life of its own.”
To learn more, visit avl.mx/99k
‘In the Middle of Nowhere’
The Magnetic Theatre will host its first indoor performance in over a year with its latest production, In the Middle of Nowhere. Written by Burnsville playwright Bret Murphy, the play examines the unexpected relationship between a retired art professor and a young man recently released from prison.
“The story asks us to consider our worst secrets and to wonder how it’s possible to find a way toward forgiveness,” says Katie Jones, the theater’s artistic director. “My hope is that audiences will be moved to look at the people around them differently.”
Seating is limited to 30 people. Masks are mandatory, and social distancing is required. Performances run Saturdays at 2 and 6 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., May 1-16. To learn more, visit avl.mx/983.
Daydream Motel
Hustle Souls celebrates the release of its latest album, Daydream Motel, with a live, seated and socially distanced performance at The Grey Eagle on Friday, April 30, at 8 p.m. In a press release, the new EP is described as a “genre-jumping mashup of new school second-line funk and old school vintage soul.”
The Grey Eagle is located at 185 Clingman Ave. Tickets are $15. To purchase, visit avl.mx/99r.
Spring into Dance
The Asheville Ballet presents its latest production, Spring into Dance: An Artistic Bouquet, with two live performances, Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre.
In a press release, director Ann Dunn calls the event “a perfect opportunity for young people to encounter professional classical and contemporary dance in a wonderful collection of artistic visions, from funny to powerful, in a real theatrical experience.”
The Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre is located at 100 Gay St. Tickets are $20 for up to two guests; $30 for three. Masks are required. Participants are asked to bring their own chairs and blankets. Purchase tickets at avl.mx/99s.
Undiscovered Dinosaur
After a 20-year career as a musician and songwriter, Mick Lee retired to Asheville in 2016. Reflecting on his past escapades with fellow musicians — including Gladys Knight, Sting and Paul McCartney — he began work on a memoir.
Undiscovered Dinosaur: Adventures with Rock Legends of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s came out in the midst of the pandemic and offers a close and personal look at some of the biggest names in the music industry.
“I hope it entertains people,” Lee says, “while also giving them a sense of what it’s like to be a working musician — from the early days of getting established … through the ups and downs that most, if not all, musicians have to contend with.”
To learn more, visit avl.mx/99m.
Do You Know Me
Local Asheville artist Linda Larsen has teamed up with her son, Adam, for a new multimedia exhibit, Do You Know Me—Maybe all we can see is the shadow of what may be, on display at Flood Gallery Fine Art Center through Saturday, June 19.
At first glance, much of the work “may seem ordinary,” says Cynthia Potter, the gallery’s marketing and events coordinator, “but upon reflection, represents powerful messages regarding racial disparity, the question of innocence and wrongful incarceration.”
Potter notes that 50% of the exhibit’s monoprint portrait sales will benefit the Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted and reform the criminal justice system.
Flood Gallery Fine Art Center is located at 850 Blue Ridge Road, Black Mountain. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. To learn more, visit avl.mx/99p.
LitNotice
Luke Hankins, founder and editor of Orison Books, a local nonprofit literary press focused on the life of the spirit from a broad and inclusive range of perspectives, is establishing a new digital platform called LitNotice. The platform will offer customizable submission opportunities for creative writers. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is currently underway to finance the project. To learn more, visit avl.mx/9a2.
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