How to Spend a Day in Asheville's River Arts District

Welcome to Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD), where creativity and community converge! What began as a collection of old warehouses has transformed into a vibrant hub of art, culture, and commerce, thanks to the vision and energy of local artists. Spend your day immersed in the dynamic atmosphere of the RAD, where you can visit artists' studios, take hands-on workshops, and enjoy delicious food and drinks.

Asheville's River Arts District: From Industrial Hub to Creative Haven

Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD) is a destination that grew out of necessity. Artists needed cheap rent and large spaces. An industrial zone east of the railroad tracks had a glut of aging and empty warehouses. The area was ripe for change, and over two decades blossomed into a convergence of art, creativity, commerce and entertainment fueled by the dynamism of its inhabitants — those same artists and visionaries.

Today visitors to the RAD can visit artists at work, take a class, acquire an object d’art from its maker, and grab a bite and beer. On the second Saturday of every month, the River Arts District hosts its Second Saturday event, featuring gallery walks with demonstrations, workshops, live music, wine tastings, delicious food, and more. Visitors can check out as many studios in one day as possible, aided by free trolley rides between the 23 buildings spanning the two square miles or so that compose the district. 

Multiple studios are housed under one roof in a former tannery, a cotton mill and other manufacturing and agricultural facilities (sometimes so-noted with faded signs still clinging to their brick exteriors), making exploring and experiencing the work of more than 200 artists an accessible adventure.

Embark on Your Artistic Adventure

For your own personal trek about the district, wear light clothing (or in cooler months bring a sweater) and good walking shoes, since the RAD studio locations are spread out. Ultra Coffeebar, the first eatery in the RAD, features ceramics on display by the nearby Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts. Fortify yourself early with a classic everything bagel paired with a bracing cup of delicious coffee. Or grab a sweet hot chocolate from the GRIND, a Black-owned coffee shop and home to Black Wall Street Asheville. 

If you’re feeling creative, experience a class at Odyssey. The clay center also hosts lectures and exhibitions with opening receptions in its co-cop gallery where one can meet the artist, or sign up for a week-long workshop. Also experiential is Roberts Street’s North Carolina Glass Center, offering free glassblowing demonstrations, but also classes to create an ornament, paperweight or cup in only a few hours!

The Wedge Studios — three stories of painters, illustrators, sculptors, folks artists, narrative cartoonists — sit atop the Wedge Brewing Company. Abstract and encaustic (wax) artist Mark Bettis maintains a sleek gallery and studio adjacent, and similarly Michael Hofman Studios features a showroom of delicate lace-imprinted glazed porcelain ware. In between, find Stephen St. Claire's oil paintings and Philip DeAngelo for paintings, giclee, journals and more. 

To get a feel of Asheville's vibrant arts community, why not try it on wheels? Mountain Mural Tours offers a guided two-hour urban street art excursion via a private van, with pick up and drop off from The Foundy area in the River Arts District. Flying Bike Tours allows visitors to experience the RAD and adjacent West Asheville on their specialty e-bikes. The route includes breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an indoor art studio stroll and a scenic ride along the French Broad River greenway. On the way back, participants will ride through Asheville's Historic Southside neighborhood. 

Discover Hidden Gems and Iconic Studios

Following north, the Phil Mechanic Studios houses over 20 working artist, including the "World's Best Tape Artist" Stephen Lange. 

Down a few blocks, the Hatchery showcases jewelry and ceramic studios. Take a quick drive to the Asheville Cotton Mill Studios to explore the six artist studios/galleries under one roof there. Cotton Mill Studios also houses a music venue known as the Asheville Guitar Bar, and it just welcomed a new Cuban restaurant, Guajiro. 

Continuing along the river the Curve and Warehouse Studios come next, home to the grand dame and one of the visionaries of the River Arts District Pattiy Torno who first purchased her building here in the 1980s. Her hand-made clothing and modern quilts are a true Asheville find. The landscaped garden is lush and lovely, and in these studios you’ll also find the Silver River Center for Chair Caning, hearkening back to a more traditional and quite exquisite craft.

Continue the great art quest by traveling down to Riverview Station, where you’ll find a crowded antique shop that navigates like a rabbit warren full of discoveries, and check out the River Arts District's newest gallery, Tyger Tyger, or the garden inspired, Art Garden AVL. You never know what you'll find at Antiques at Riverview Station. The labyrinth of studios on the upper floors, ranging from handmade furniture to fine art and jewelry, deserve exploring as well. Artists such as Barbara Zaretsky (textiles) and Akira Satake (ceramics) have studios there. 

Just a block down the road, you'll find 12 Bones Smokehouse, which is now in the Foundation building. 12 Bones has served lunch to the likes of President Obama (he liked it so much he went back on a second visit to Asheville.) Pulled pork, blueberry chipotle BBQ sauce and jalapeno cornbread are touchstones here, all served on rustic tin plates. The Foundation Building also houses one of the RAD's two Wedge Brewing locations. There's a great outdoor patio surrounded by public art.

Complete Your Art Trek

Swing back around Depot Street to the Studio 375 Depot for photography, pottery, and basketry, the elegant NorthLight or modern LIFT studios and the 352 Depot Street Studios of painters featuring genres from expressionism to classical realism, landscapes, portraiture and abstracts.

Between those studios and Pink Dog Creative, a catacomb of more studios, you’ll find Vivian restaurant, where European meets Southern cuisine. For a rather substantial dinner based on classical old world cooking, the Bull and Beggar tucked away next to the Wedge Brewing and Bottle Riot brings haute cuisine to the RAD. 

And that brings a day of art-trekking full circle and to a satisfying close.