Culture watch

Holding Their Own

Say what you will about our hometown’s pretensions of being a world-class art haven, but when it comes to posters, Asheville Art Museum recently proved it can hold its own against the big kids. The AAM’s poster for Tradition and Beyond: The Basketry of Billie Ruth Sudduth took home an Honorable Mention in the “institutions with budgets greater than $500,000” division of the 2006 American Association of Museums’ Publications Design Competition. The poster, created by local artist and designer Susan Rhew, put the AAM on equal footing with the likes of the Smithsonian, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

High School Doesn’t Always Suck

Speaking of local artists taking their work to a national level, four area high-school students recently received a major honor, being named recipients of 2006 National Scholastic Art Awards. Tia Simpson, Lindsay Moore and Jacob Thelen received National Silver Awards for work of exceptional merit, and Kaitlyn Henderson received the National American Visions award for representing the art of her region. Their works, as well as the 1,600 other winners from across the country, will be on display this summer at the Corcoran Museum in D.C.

And While It May Not Be National

Winners were announced for the first annual Brevard College’s Juried High School Art Competition. First-place honors went to Brevard High School senior Jessalyn Irvin for “untitled,” a stark, off-kilter, black-and-white photo of a man standing in front of a door, bottles of beer at his feet. She took home $150 in cash and $1500 in scholarships to Brevard College programs. More than 30 entries were submitted for the contest.

New On DVD

The Asheville-centric indie flick For Catherine was recently released on DVD. The low-budget “inversion” of the romantic-comedy formula debuted in the 2005 Asheville Film Festival to mixed reviews, but the filmmakers hope that the feature will find a larger audience through DVD sales. The release includes a number of extras, such as outtakes and a feature commentary by writer/director Ethan Hunter and actors Grant Henry and Travis Barkley. The film is available for purchase through 207pictures.com.

And On the Literary Front

Asheville-based writer Jaye Bartell recently had selections from his “White Items” poetry series included in CutBank Poetry 65. The collection includes works of fiction, poetry, criticism and photography from around the globe, and is published by the University of Montana in Missoula.