December 2025 Roundup: Built to Last
In this issue: award-winning gingerbread houses, your most-loved stories of the year, and a look back at ArtsvilleUSA’s ambitious 2025.
The whimsy of building with gingerbread—watching tiny trails of icing become a roof, then icicles. That spirit of building with intention, care, and joy feels like the perfect way to close out 2025.
Hurricane Helene hit our community hard. Federal arts funding vanished. And in my own home, we welcomed a baby. Still, through the long days (and longer nights), ArtsvilleUSA launched its first artist residency, staged exhibitions from Asheville to the Gulf Coast, and forged partnerships that zigzagged the country. This year taught us that building is about presence. It’s about the structures we create, knowing they matter precisely because they’re fragile, because they require tending, and because they bring people together in the making—a lot like a gingerbread house.
As we look toward 2026, I’m grateful for what we’ve built together: a community that understands art isn’t just decoration, but the infrastructure we need most when everything else feels uncertain.
Thank you for being with us.
Edible Architecture: Highlights From the 2025 National Gingerbread House Competition
The National Gingerbread House Competition made its post-hurricane comeback at Asheville's Omni Grove Park Inn this year, drawing 235 entries from 25 states—including a North Carolina accountant whose charmingly ramshackle "Tiny Gnome Builders" snagged the grand prize. Now in its third decade, the competition has quietly matured from regional curiosity into a legitimate arena where pastry chefs compete alongside home bakers, ramen noodles moonlight as structural beams, and James Beard finalists show up to judge. It's proof that the line between craft and fine art has always been more porous than the art world likes to admit—especially when the medium is this tasty.
Read the story here.
Revisiting ArtsvilleUSA’s Most-Loved Stories of 2025
This year, ArtsvilleUSA readers fell hard for stories about quilts, teapots, and Afghan women who refuse to let their culture be erased. What tied these fan favorites together wasn't just craft—it was the way art became a through-line for memory, resistance, and the kind of community-building that happens when people turn their concern into action. If you missed any of these while doomscrolling through the news cycle, now's your chance to catch up on the stories reminding us that creativity is the only antidote for consumption.
Read the story here.
We Didn't Know What 2025 Would Bring. We Made Art Anyway
ArtsvilleUSA had every excuse to hunker down in 2025, but instead, we went full throttle. This year, we launched our first artist residency, staged exhibitions from Asheville to the Gulf Coast—including the ambitious hurricane-commemorative A Tale of Two Cities—and built cross-state partnerships, all while dealing with Hurricane Helene's aftermath and the evaporation of federal arts funding. If you're looking for proof that scrappy regional arts orgs are doing the heavy lifting right now, this is it.
Read the story here.
News + Notes From Asheville and Beyond
Here’s where we share quick craft bites for busy hands and hungry minds. January’s lineup includes the end of Small Works 2025, a chance to sew Asheville’s largest fabric snake, and ceramic mentorships for artists ready to throw themselves into their craft.
Exhibitions + Events
- Small Works 2025: Small-scale artwork (12 inches by 12 inches or smaller) is on display and for sale at the Ferguson Family YMCA in Candler through January 5, 2026. Presented by ArtsvilleUSA and the Haywood County Arts Council, with sales supporting local artists and HCAC.
- Small Works 2025 Online Sale: Purchase small-scale artwork from the exhibition here. The online auction closes on December 31, 2025, at midnight.
- Art Place Gallery: An exhibition of community art, coordinated by ArtFolk, opens on January 6 at ArtsvilleUSA’s gallery space at the Ferguson Family YMCA. The show is free and open to both members and non-members.
- ReMix It Fundraiser: Help create Asheville's largest fabric snake at this community art event on January 24. Participants will decorate a 10x10 fabric square that will be sewn live into a collaborative art piece on display at ReMix It, a new creative reuse store opening in spring 2026. Get tickets here.
Artist Opportunities
- NC Arts Grants: The North Carolina Arts Council is accepting grant applications for the FY2026-2027 cycle through March 2. Applications open January 5 at ncarts.org.
- Inspired by a Song: Haywood County Arts Council invites artists to submit work for their 2026 inaugural exhibit, presented alongside HCAC’s Cool Jazz concert. Create a piece inspired by any song—any genre, any style. Submissions due Monday, January 13. Learn more here.
- Advanced Studies in Ceramics: Village Potters Clay Center has extended the application deadline for its Advanced Studies: Independent Study & Mentorship Program through January 9, 2026. The program offers emerging ceramic artists dedicated studio space, kiln access, and mentorship from six professional potters. Apply here.
In the News
- “ArtsvilleUSA teams up with Haywood County Arts Council for Small Works 2025” in the Biltmore Beacon
- “Edible architecture: Highlights from the 2025 National Gingerbread House Competition” in the Biltmore Beacon
Special Thanks to Our Partners
All images published with permission of the artist(s). Featured image: Omni Grove Park Inn & Day Spa.