Framing the Future

For nearly four decades, The Bascom has grown from a small gallery into a destination where art and community meet. Today, its galleries, studios, sculpture trail, and outdoor spaces draw thousands of visitors each year, while programs reach people of all ages throughout the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau. As The Bascom looks ahead, it is turning its attention to what comes next: creating more opportunities to gather and ensuring that the arts remain an accessible and enduring part of life in the mountains.

Framing the Future, a campaign to support The Bascom, grew out of more than five years of planning and recently entered its public phase. It has two priorities: enclosing and expanding The Terrace into a year-round, weather-protected gathering space and strengthening the endowment that supports the center’s free, accessible programming.

Since 1985, The Bascom has served the Plateau as a place where people come together through the visual arts. What began as a small gallery has grown into a regional center for exhibitions, education, and hands-on creative experiences on a 6-acre campus in Highlands. Admission to all exhibitions is free.

The campus boasts three galleries—Bunzl Gallery, Thompson Gallery, and Joel Gallery— alongside the Dave Drake Studio for ceramics, the region’s only soda kiln at a center of its kind, a sculpture trail, and nature-based learning spaces. The Bascom welcomes more than 24,000 visitors annually and supports more than 250 artists each year through exhibitions, residencies, teaching roles, and retail partnerships.

The focus on The Terrace aims to resolve limitations with the space, which currently has canvas walls, no climate control, and exposure to unpredictable mountain weather. Through this campaign, retractable windows will enclose The Terrace into a year-round, all-season space, preserving the mountain views and open-air feeling while adding comfort and reliability. Programming can then continue in every season, whatever the forecast.

“The Terrace has always been the heart of our campus,” says Billy Love, Executive Director of The Bascom. “It’s where exhibitions open, where families gather on Community Day, where the community celebrates together. Enclosing and expanding it means those moments will no longer depend on the weather or the season. I imagine year-round gatherings, student showcases, artist lectures, and celebrations that bring people together every month of the year. That’s what this campaign makes possible: a gathering place as enduring as the community and region it serves.”

Reflecting on his deep ties to the community and work with the center, Mark Mahaffey, Co-Chair of the Framing the Future campaign, explains why he and his family are invested in The Bascom’s future.

“My wife Marianne and I have had a home in Highlands for 40 years, and I have been directly involved with The Bascom for the past five years,” he says. “We felt that The Terrace improvement project was an excellent way of giving back to the community that has meant so much to our family over these many years. The Bascom is such an important asset to the Plateau community for all ages, from children to seniors. We felt that the Framing the Future endeavor will enhance The Bascom’s mission for many years to come.”

The physical transformation is only half of the vision, however. A stronger endowment provides reliable support for free exhibitions, scholarships, residencies, and outreach and protects the financial footing needed to maintain the campus and expand partnerships. It is meant to be the foundation that keeps the center’s programming open and affordable for generations.

“The Bascom taught me how to turn wood at age 75,” says Charley Tarver, a member of the Framing the Future Campaign Steering Committee. “I want it to be here when my grandchildren are 75 and want to learn to turn wood or paint. The endowment is what makes sure of that.”

Susan Tarver, another member of the Framing the Future Campaign Steering Committee, explains why the effort is vital to the long-term success of The Bascom.

“An endowment is the anchor and foundation of an organization, giving it the ability to withstand adverse conditions in the market and unforeseen needs in annual operations,” she says.

Each year, The Bascom reaches more than 3,000 participants, including approximately 1,500 youth, through partnerships with more than 20 schools, libraries, senior centers, and youth-serving organizations. Free exhibitions, a needs-based scholarship fund, and community events such as Community Day, the Barn Dance, and the Dazzling Dahlia Festival keep the door open to families and individuals of all backgrounds. The Bascom reports that it generates more than $2 million in annual economic impact for Western North Carolina. For more information about Framing the Future, visit www.thebascom.org/framingthefuture.