A New Beginning

A Warm Welcome

Watauga County Arts Council is undergoing some changes. As many of you already know, Cherry Johnson, our director of 28 years retired on August 1, 2020. We are grateful to Cherry for her years of service. 

We are excited to introduce our new Executive Director, Amber Bateman. Amber is a Boone native, born in raised in the High Country. She moved back to the area with her husband and three kids in 2010 and quickly got involved in service to the community. She founded two nonprofits, Quiet Givers and Back 2 School Festival, which continue to serve our community to this day. Most recently, she volunteered and helped direct High Country Beer Fest, a fundraising event for Fermentation Sciences at ASU. 

An artist herself, Amber is eager to marry her passion for the arts with her love for High Country. She is excited to bring some new ideas and fresh perspective to help enhance the art scene in Watauga County and beyond. She has a desire to make the arts a destination of the High Country by showcasing the talented artists that reside here. She wants to help the Watauga County Arts Council be the go-to location for how to get involved with the arts in this area. 

Amber is excited to meet the Watauga Arts Council members and patrons of the Blue Ridge ArtSpace. She welcomes all to drop by the office and say hello. She is open to new ideas and wants to you to get involved. 

The Blue Ridge ArtSpace has been closed since March so Amber is very busy working toward reopening the building so classes, workships, and community groups can resume. If you have interest in volunteering to help get these efforts underway, please fill out a volunteer registration form or contact us, 828-264-1789.

Please join us in welcoming Amber to our Watauga Arts Council / Blue Ridge ArtSpace family! 

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