Hickory – Hickory Museum of Art’s Fall into Folk takeover of all three floors of the Museum is now open. Our Fall into Folk season has transformed the entire museum into a celebration of the creativity, vision, and ingenuity of self-taught artists,” said Executive Director Jon Carfagno. “We are grateful for the artists, collectors, and partnering museums who have worked with us on this extraordinary set of exhibitions and programs.”

The takeover opening date of October 2, was chosen to coincide with the Foothills Folk Art Festival (FFAF). However, due to the rise in new weekly cases and unprecedented patient volumes in emergency departments, Downtown Newton Development Association (DNDA) and Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) postponed the festival until May 14, 2022. DNDA and Hickory Museum of Art leadership agreed the most effective way to maintain the festival’s commitment to folk artists and their work is to protect the health and safety of all parties involved.

In the spirit of the Foothills Folk Art Festival and support of its artists, both DNDA and HMA will host a variety of Folk Art Pop-Up events leading up to May 14, 2022. These events will feature artists who were juried to participate in the October 2 festival.

Members-only access to HMA’s galleries is back for the “Fall into Folk” takeover! Once again the Museum will open for exclusive access for our Members on Mondays from 10 AM – 4 PM beginning October 18. Since our building is closed to the public on Mondays, members should enter through our Education Wing entrance (3rd Street side) by ringing the buzzer. Museum operating hours are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, Thursday from 10 AM-8 PM, and Sunday from 1 to 4 PM.

Join us from 7-9 PM on Saturday, October 23 for an Evening with Jeanine Head Miller. Jeanine Head Miller is the Curator of Domestic Life at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. Miller was instrumental in her museum’s acquisition of Susana Allen Hunter quilts and artifacts which is the source of this spectacular exhibition. Miller’s slide presentation invites you into Susana’s world to explore a style of quilt making born out of necessity and frugality—and one inspired by a wealth of inner creativity. At 8 PM we will head into the galleries for an informal exhibition walk-through with Miller. Tickets are $15 for non-members and $10 for members and may be purchased at www.hickoryart.org or in the Museum’s business office on the second floor.

Do you have a special quilt? We’d love to hear about it and possibly exhibit it for a week or two on our Community Quilt Wall during the Susana Allen Hunter exhibition. Send a short story, video, or audio clip about your quilt to [email protected].

The Fall into Folk take-over continues with collectHMA: Recent Gifts from Albert Keiser, Jr. The exhibition features a selection of recent gifts to the Museum’s Collection from Albert Keiser, Jr. Folk artists include Howard Finster, Alpha Andrews, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Minnie Evans, Benny Carter, and more. The exhibition will on view in the first floor Shuford Gallery through March 13, 2022.

In the collectHMA: Painting Doppelgängers exhibition we pair painting look-alikes from our collection – matching a folk art painting with a fine art painting. Folk art is work created by a self-taught artist and fine art is work created by an artist with formal art training. We had fun with the title of this exhibition. The term “Doppelgänger” may be a stretch in the most technical sense of the word when comparing these paintings, but we liked its meaning of look-alikes that are biologically unrelated. These pairings have strong affinities to each other, yet they were created in different times and / or places.

Hickory Museum of Art is taking every precaution to keep you safe during your visit. HMA will be carefully monitoring the health crisis in regards to the safety of our community. Please visit www.hickoryart.org for the most current information regarding events.

The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter is sponsored by Inside Out Performance Fabrics, Vesco ToyotaLift, United Arts Council of Catawba County with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, and annual sponsors Shurtape Technologies and Alex Lee, Inc. The exhibition collectHMA: Recent Gifts from Albert Keiser, Jr is sponsored by Von Drehle Corporation and annual sponsors Shurtape Technologies and Broyhill Family Foundation. The exhibition collectHMA: Collection Doppelgängers is sponsored by annual sponsors Beaver Family Foundation, Deal Financial Group, and Vanguard Furniture.