A group of four people smiling and looking at a paper bag outside a store with colorful artwork in the window.

From Redefine the Weekend to All Arts. All Ways.

Expanding How We Experience the Arts in Buncombe County

January 2025 | Over the past year, ArtsAVL’s Redefine the Weekend campaign invited residents and visitors to explore Buncombe County through arts experiences in Downtown Asheville, the River Arts District, Black Mountain, and Weaverville. The campaign highlighted performances, exhibitions, studios, and events that make our region vibrant—helping people rediscover familiar places and encouraging them to follow curiosity somewhere new.

The success of Redefine the Weekend revealed something powerful: arts engagement doesn’t happen only on weekends, and creativity isn’t confined to a few districts. Arts are happening everywhere, all the time—and in countless ways.

Building on that momentum, ArtsAVL is evolving the campaign into All Arts. All Ways., a countywide initiative designed to showcase the full diversity of artistic experiences across Buncombe County. From large venues and cultural institutions to small studios, rural spaces, pop-up events, and community-centered arts, All Arts. All Ways. reflects the breadth of how creativity shows up in our daily lives.

Behind the scenes, ArtsAVL has been working closely with Amp’d Designs to refresh and expand the campaign’s approach—reimagining how arts stories are told, how audiences discover events, and how artists and organizations are connected countywide.

A cornerstone of this work is the Arts Guide, ArtsAVL’s annual, pocket-sized print and digital publication. Now in its second edition, The Arts Guide helps residents and visitors navigate Buncombe County through the arts by spotlighting artists, venues, arts districts, and creative businesses across the county—serving as a year-round resource that complements the All Arts. All Ways. campaign.

As part of the campaign’s evolution, ArtsAVL’s online hub has moved from artsavl.org/weekend to artsavl.org/insider, creating a more expansive, always-on destination for discovering arts events, stories, and opportunities. In tandem, the weekly Redefine the Weekend email has transitioned into The Insider—a refreshed weekly arts events roundup that now goes out every Sunday, aligning with how people plan their week ahead.

Together, the Arts Guide, The Insider, and ArtsAVL’s digital storytelling and advertising form a connected ecosystem that supports discovery, access, and visibility for artists and arts organizations countywide.

All Arts. All Ways. is also about access and inclusion. By expanding beyond a pilot footprint, the campaign recognizes artists and organizations across the entire county and supports a more equitable, visible, and resilient arts ecosystem—one that reflects the people, places, and practices that define Buncombe County.

As ArtsAVL continues this work, the invitation remains the same—just broader: explore freely, start anywhere, and engage with the arts in the ways that matter most to you. Because in Buncombe County, creativity truly lives everywhere—all arts, all ways.