AN UPDATE FROM BMCM+AC ON 10/4/2024:

We have made the very difficult decision to cancel the ReViewing BMC conference. Hurricane Helene crashed through Asheville and Western North Carolina with devastating results. Our museum is ok, as are our collections, and all staff members. Many of you have reached out to check on us, and we are very appreciative for your concern and support. We have power at the museum so the climate is stable. Many in our city and region do not have power yet. Almost nobody has water, and won’t have it for an unknown number of weeks. This includes lodging places like hotels and airbnbs. With the uncertainty of a water restoration timeline, we feel like we must cancel. It’s so disappointing, because things were looking very exciting for the conference program. We aren’t able to contemplate rescheduling at this point, but maybe that will be possible eventually.

-- The BMCM+AC Team

ReVIEWING Black Mountain College 15

International Conference

Co-hosted by BMCM+AC and UNC Asheville

at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center

October 25 – 27, 2024
Thematic Focus: Living with the Land
Keynote Speaker: David Silver

ReVIEWING Black Mountain College conference is a forum for scholars and artists to contribute original work on topics related to Black Mountain College and its place in cultural history.

The format is designed to be interdisciplinary, with sessions that will include panels, presentations, performances, and workshops. BMC itself was a uniquely interdisciplinary organization, generating output from its faculty and students that often involved the melding of the visual, performing, and literary arts. Each year, conference participation reflects this; past presentations have explored wide-ranging, fruitful intersections such as (to name just a few of the most recent examples) how Charles Olson’s “projectivist” poetics inspired works on the stage and screen; the influence of choreographer Merce Cunningham on Abstract Expressionist painters trained at BMC such as Pat Passlof and James Bishop; the photography of poet-publisher-artist Jonathan Williams; the path from BMC’s first Summer Institute in honor of Arnold Schoenberg, to the design and philosophy of contemporary summer arts programs today; a performance connecting Ruth Asawa’s sculpture to contemporary dance; and a workshop offering attendees the opportunity to weave on looms with found materials, as Anni Albers’ BMC students did.

ReVIEWING 15 will take place October 25 – 27th, 2024. It will take place in conjunction with BMCM+AC’s fall 2024 exhibition, The Farm at Black Mountain College, curated by David Silver and Bruce Johansen. This three-day program will explore the legacy of Black Mountain College, and the theme Living with the Land can also apply to many other disciplines and practices related to BMC, including environmental sustainability, education, visual arts, poetry, architecture, indigenous history, and more. In the spirit of BMC, the conference challenges disciplinary boundaries, and will present contributions of all genres, including performances, panels, presentations, workshops, and more.

David Silver is a professor of environmental studies and urban agriculture at the University of San Francisco (USF), where he has been since 2006. At USF, he teaches classes in urban ag, hyperlocal food systems, and food, culture, and storytelling, and serves as faculty advisor for the USF Community Garden, USF Food Pantry, and the USF Seed Library. Fiercely interdisciplinary, David has taught and published in multiple fields, including American studies, communication, environmental studies, internet studies, media studies, and urban agriculture. For over a decade, he has been researching the farm and food at Black Mountain College, practically pitching a tent in the Western Regional Archives, resulting in multiple articles, book chapters, and, in September 2024, The Farm at Black Mountain College, his book co-published by Atelier Éditions and Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and an exhibition, co-curated with Bruce Johansen, at BMCM+AC.

Ticket information:

-- Attendance to the conference and any of its events is FREE for UNCA students, faculty, and staff. Members of the UNCA community do not have to pre-register online. --

FULL CONFERENCE PASS: The conference fee is $85* and includes lunch on Saturday and a 1-year membership to the museum.
The fee for current members and students is $50.

KEYNOTE ONLY: This ticket covers ONLY the Keynote Address on 10/25 by David Silver. (Included in Conference Full + Day Passes). Keynote only tickets are $10 for BMCM+AC members and students, $25 for non-members.

FRIDAY DAY PASS: A day pass ONLY for Friday, 10/25. This includes admission to the Keynote Address and the reception at BMCM+AC Friday evening. The Friday day pass is $15 for BMCM+AC members and students, $30 for non-members.

SATURDAY DAY PASS: A day pass ONLY for Saturday, 10/26 - $25 for BMCM+AC members and students, $55 for non-members. Includes lunch.

Tour of BMC Campus on Sunday, October 27: The tour group will meet from BMCM+AC on Sunday morning (exact time TBD, please stay tuned). After coffee and conversation at the museum, carpools will depart for a special tour of the BMC Lake Eden Campus and a Book Launch event for David Silver's The Farm at Black Mountain College. This special event is not included in full or day conference passes and costs $20.

*Online pre-registration ends at 5pm on Thursday, Oct. 24th. For at-the-door tickets, the registration fee will increase to $100 for non-members, so online pre-registration is highly encouraged.

For more information, visit: www.blackmountaincollege.org/reviewing/