Art Anywhere, Anytime: How PAVE Makes Exhibitions Permanent and Accessible
ArtsvilleUSA’s new Partner Archival Virtual Exhibition program provides a digital platform for live exhibitions and archived collections, accessible indefinitely.
When the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Grad Show opened its doors at the Folk Art Center on May 9, visitors wandered among stackable ceramic jars, hand-carved rocking chairs, and silver jewelry—the culmination of months of creative labor by emerging artists like Esi Hutchinson. For both audiences and artists, the highly anticipated annual exhibition has traditionally been a fleeting experience, bound to the walls of a Western North Carolina gallery for just a few months.
This year, that changed. Thanks to ArtsvilleUSA’s Partner Archival Virtual Exhibition (PAVE) program, the show—and its stories—now live on, accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. “Accessibility is one of ArtsvilleUSA’s core values,” says executive director Elise Wilson. “We exist to support the artists of WNC, and PAVE allows us to share what’s special about our region’s arts and crafts scene with the rest of the world. Now, anyone in the world can experience the depth of creativity found here.”
What is PAVE?
‘A Tale of Two Cities’—our inaugural PAVE exhibition—brought audiences in Western North Carolina and New Orleans together for a collaborative experience commemorating the anniversaries of Hurricanes Helene and Katrina; photos: New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.
And they have. ArtsvilleUSA’s virtual exhibitions have gained international attention, appearing everywhere from Malaysia to AOL and Yahoo! Finance.
The concept behind PAVE is simple but powerful. ArtsvilleUSA partners with curators and galleries across Western North Carolina to create virtual exhibitions that are permanently archived online. For galleries, PAVE means additional promotion, improved visibility, and new sales opportunities, without the burden of managing complex digital platforms. For artists, it’s a chance to expand their digital footprint and connect with nearly 100,000 ArtsvilleUSA followers. For audiences, it’s an open invitation to experience shows they can’t attend in person and to explore the work and stories of WNC artists in depth.
“We’ve been wanting to put our exhibits online and talk more about the artists, but we can only do so much,” says Valerie Berlage, curator of collections and exhibitions at the Southern Highland Craft Guild. “We have limited womanpower.”
This fall, the Guild turned to PAVE for its annual New Members exhibition at the Folk Art Center. “It was a pretty easy experience,” Valerie says. “Aside from a few small hiccups with artist statements and bios, it was really intuitive. I’m not technologically savvy, so if I say it was easy, it really was.”
How PAVE Works: A Light Lift for a Custom Experience
(l–r): Maggie Connolly's 'Lidded Vessel,' as seen in the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s 2026 New Members Exhibition at the Folk Art Center; reimagined in a dynamic virtual gallery through the PAVE program; and accompanied by the artist’s bio and social links; photo: Tiffany Payne.
The PAVE process is streamlined: Curators contact ArtsvilleUSA, provide basic information about the artists and show, and choose their promotional goals. ArtsvilleUSA handles the rest: data management, digital promotion, and archiving. Exhibitions can even include QR codes in the gallery, so visitors can scan and dive deeper into the virtual show. “It’s really great to have this one spot where people can scan a QR code and be taken directly to the exhibit and the artist,” Valerie says. “They can read more, see other types of work the artist makes, and explore at their own pace. Having PAVE manage that for us has been a huge relief.”
For curators like Valerie, the benefits are tangible: more foot traffic for live exhibitions, a new way to engage visitors, and a permanent record of their shows. “Shared resources, education, marketing, conservation; we’re doing all that through these PAVE exhibitions. I, for one, am really grateful to be a part of it.”
Join the PAVE Program
(l–r): Rachel Flovin's 'Obergefell,' as seen in the 2026 Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Grad Exhibition at the Folk Art Center; and reimagined in a dynamic virtual gallery through the PAVE program; photo: Elise Wilson.
With PAVE, exhibitions like the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Show and the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s New Members Show are no longer limited by geography or dates. Instead, every show becomes part of a growing digital archive, building a lasting record of WNC’s arts and crafts ecosystem.
“People are eager to see the work from this richly creative region,” Elise says. “We take our mission seriously to bring their work to the world, so artists can focus on their art rather than marketing, and we can uplift the region’s creative economy. PAVE lets us honor the work of gallerists and curators who deserve audiences in the hundreds of thousands and beyond.”
To learn more about launching your own virtual exhibition through the PAVE program, contact Elise Wilson, ArtsvilleUSA Executive Director, at elisewilson@artsvilleusa.com.