The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM) has been awarded a 2024 South Arts Presentation Grant. These funds will allow the museum to bring eighth-generation ballad singer Donna Ray Norton to Blowing Rock for a three-day artist residency in September 2024.
Norton’s residency will take place September 12–14, 2024, and will consist of a Thursday evening craft talk at BRAHM, school visits on Friday to teach students a local ballad and a concert on Saturday the 14 at BRAHM. All the public programs associated with the residency will be free and open to the public. The programs will be one part education, one part cultural enrichment and all fun.
Willard Watson, BRAHM program and outreach director, said, “We are so grateful to be awarded a 2024 Presentation Grant. This funding will support BRAHM’s efforts to present and preserve the cultural traditions of Southern Appalachia. There are few cultural ambassadors with the longstanding talent of Donna Ray Norton.”
Donna Ray Norton is an eighth-generation ballad singer from the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. She is from a community, Sodom Laurel, that is well known for its rich heritage and musical community. The town was nicknamed “Nest of Singing Birds” by the famous folklorist, Cecil Sharp.
Norton’s family has a direct lineage to the people Cecil Sharp recorded singing the old love songs when he came through Western North Carolina over 100 years ago. Her maternal grandfather, Byard Ray, was a very well-known fiddle player around the country. Her paternal grandfather, Morris Norton, was also a musician who played the banjo, tune bow and the paper bag. Her mother is ballad singer Lena Jean Ray, who attended college in New York City during the American folk music revival. She is the second cousin of renowned ballad singer, storyteller and musician, Sheila Kay Adams.
For more information contact Willard Watson, BRAMH’s program and outreach director by emailing Programs@BlowingRockMuseum.org or calling (828) 295-9099.
About South Arts
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture. In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee—with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation—South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships and programs. For more information, visit southarts.org.
About BRAHM
BRAHM’s mission is to curate, preserve, educate and inspire. Rooted in the creative cultures of Appalachia, BRAHM will cultivate a community that extends beyond its walls and region, positioning Western North Carolina as a leader in the arts. The 25,000-square-foot Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, known as BRAHM, opened its doors on October 1, 2011. Located off Main Street in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, BRAHM provides cultural enrichment by promoting the arts, and Southern Appalachian heritage and history, through educational programs, exhibitions, and activities. The permanent collection of more than 600 objects includes works by Elliott Daingerfield, Maud Gatewood, Elizabeth Bradford, Mark Hewitt and other American impressionist and post-impressionist artists. Open year-round, 24,000 visitors are welcomed free of charge to experience 25 changing exhibitions. BRAHM also has an outreach education program that encourages arts education in local schools, daycares, and senior centers. For more information, visit blowingrockmuseum.org.
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