Our Mission Valley River Arts Guild, formed in 2010, supports the talent and creativity of the artists in our community, unifies our community around the promotion and education of the arts through classes and events, and enhances the livability and quality of life of our county residents and visitors to our region as an art-centric community. Our mission is, and has always been, to become a regional arts destination. Housed in a 1985 building called the MAC, Murphy Art Center, our organization is located in downtown Murphy, North Carolina, in the heart of far western Tier I Cherokee County. The Arts Guild has grown from 15 founding members, to over 75 artists and crafters from many of the southern states, nurturing the development of many emerging artists. With no paid staff, our members are the work force volunteers that accomplish everything that we do as an organization. Each artist member helps to operate the MAC gallery by sharing work stints, as well as volunteering on the many committees we have, in order to support our many community projects.
Our Programs Since 2011, our volunteer-driven community art organization has produced so many art programs including the huge First Friday Murphy Art Walk events every month, showcasing music, arts, crafts, and theater. Valley River Arts Guild volunteers organize a hands-on crafting table at each Art Walk event which serves approximately 400 children yearly. Our Art Walk program supports approximately 4500 artists and crafters yearly and is attended every year by well over 8000 lovers of Appalachian arts and crafts. Art Walk is supported by the merchants and corporate sponsors of our area as well as through grants by the Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority and the Cherokee County Casino.
Our organization organizes and teaches a year-round Kids’ Art program at our Murphy Art Center, as well as a wonderful variety of classes for adults and teens. Our educational programs reach 750 children yearly and over 400 adults. Our Kids Classes Program is supported in part through grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, and fundraising by the Education Committee volunteers of the Valley River Arts Guild.
The MAC, Murphy Art Center, is a showcase gallery for regional artists’ Appalachian arts and crafts and serves as the ‘Welcome Center for the Arts’ in our region. Our 75 artists and crafters manage the gallery as well as volunteer on our multiple committees for maintaining the building and grounds and serving on our many community projects. Our visitor count into the Murphy Art Center yearly reaches nearly 18,000 lovers of the Appalachian arts and crafts of our region. Community and member donations as well as grants by the North Carolina Arts Council help to fund a small portion of our general operations.
The MAX Project, Murphy Art Xplosion, Outdoor Art Gallery is one of our newer projects, with framed canvas art panels installed throughout the historic downtown in an ever-changing seasonal display of art talent hailing from the Southern states of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida, and reaching further every year as the project grows. Multiple downtown locations feature 70 artworks of professional artists as well as new and emerging artists. We estimate that close to 50,000 persons have viewed and enjoyed The MAX Project just in its first year of installments, and the project will be a draw to our area for the future as more artists and artworks are featured. Grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cannon Foundation, and the Tourism Development Authority have financed this unique project.
The volunteers of Valley River Arts Guild are now organizing the SMArt Tour: Smoky Mountain Art studio tour of the working artist and crafter studios located in our beautiful Appalachian Smoky Mountain region. 14 artists will be featured in a self-driven, self-guided tour during the last two weekends of April, 2024. Up to 20 additional artists will also be featured to demonstrate their arts and crafts at The MAC, Murphy Art Center during the two weekends of this exciting event. Our organization plans to promote this unique event far and wide, in order to showcase and support our many regional Appalachian artists, to educate the public on how these arts and crafts are created through artist demonstrations within each working studio, as well as showcasing the beauty of our Smoky Mountain region as folks drive from studio to studio. Grant funding has been awarded by the Cherokee County Tourism Authority to support this event.
The Valley River Arts Guildis in the process of construction of an addition to our building for a Special Events Gallery (by enclosing the drive-through of our former bank building) to house larger juried art shows, singer-songwriter workshops, educational art seminars, week-long art camps for kids and teens, invited special guest artist exhibitions, music listening room events, varied cultural performances, the Silver Arts annual show, and so much more. The goal for the creation of this space is to improve the people’s lives of our area, to educate the community about the arts, and to provide a space that supports the artists and musicians of our tri-state area. Grant funds have been awarded by the Cherokee County Tourism Authority and by the Jandy Ammons Foundation to finance this wonderful community project.
To have your name or dedication added to our entryway Legacy board at the Murphy Art Center, please contact us or consider sending in your donation to: Valley River Arts Guild, 12 Peachtree Street, Murphy, NC 28906 828-360-3038