The Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League celebrates their fiftieth anniversary. Margaret Gilbert and Olive Granger started the league in 1967, recruiting mostly women artists in Black Mountain and the surrounding region. Members continue the legacy of its founders through regular meetings, displays of work and varied art classes.
Only New York City, San Francisco, and Santa Fe have a greater concentration of artists than the state's mountains. Among the most notable are Stoney Lamar, woodcarver; Carol Bomer, painter; David Wilson, glassblower; and Michael Sherrill, potter.