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ArtsvilleAuthor: ArtsvilleUSA
Straight from the Blue Ridge Mountains, join host Elise Wilson from ArtsvilleUSA for a top-ranked craftsmanship podcast exploring heritage craft, contemporary art, and the stories behind Western North Carolina artists. Create a deeper connection to artists and the arts history of WNC as we explore handcrafted pottery, woodworking, glass blowing, metal sculpture, from Asheville, Boone, and beyond. Listen now and celebrate creativity with ArtsvilleUSA. Language: en Genres: Arts, Design, Visual Arts Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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RED Metal Rising: Rachel David on Art as Activism in the Public Sphere
Episode 31
Wednesday, 24 June, 2026
If you’ve ever rounded a corner in Asheville and come face-to-face with a monumental ripple of forged steel, chances are you’ve stumbled across the handiwork of Rachel David of RED Metal. In a city teeming with murals and microbreweries, her abstract public sculpture “Fluvial”—a centerpiece of ArtsvilleUSA’s Open // Air exhibition—refuses to be neatly filed away in the usual taxonomy of public art. Installed along the urban trail outside the old S&W Cafeteria and forged in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the piece is Rachel’s meditation on how water carves, erases, and remakes everything it touches.In this episode, we explore what it takes to create art that belongs to everyone, from smashing through the old boys’ club of metalsmithing to designing with a community’s anxieties in mind. Along the way, Rachel recalls professors who nudged her off one path and onto another, wrestles with the realities of survival as a craftsperson, and muses on the power of public art in a city still haunted by the memory of a life-changing storm.Get Involved / Where to Find MoreExplore “Fluvial” in person in downtown Asheville or virtually in Open // Air.See Rachel’s work at upcoming open studio tours: American Craft Council nationwide tour (July 18), the Haywood County Studio Tour (September, check the Haywood County Arts Council for details), and The Big Crafty (July 11 - 12).Watch for new work in the Haywood Community College Sculpture Garden later this year.Follow SIBS and SPARC to plug into inclusive metalsmithing.Contact & SocialWebsite: www.redmetal.netInstagram: @__redmetal__Facebook: @redmetal1245Episode CreditsHost: Elise Wilson, ArtsvilleUSA Executive DirectorGuest: Rachel David, Red MetalProduced by: ArtsvilleUSA / Arterial Inc.Newsletter: Subscribe to the ArtsvilleUSA Newsletter for more stories and updates on the arts and crafts scene in Western North Carolina.
