Rebuilding Asheville after Hurricane Helene
Making Well Wishes
We are accepting donations of journals, books, paper, writing and coloring instruments, and art supplies for use in our space and for giveaways. Please send to: 39 S. Market Street Asheville NC 28801
In these times, we must find, share, and continue to generate hope and find our center of peace in it all. #ThePeoplesAsheville
If you can make it downtown, we’ll be here from Monday – Friday from 11 am – 6 pm. Parking is available at Public Works builidng at the corner of Eagle and Charlotte Streets.
In addition to being an active partner in Bridging The Gaps, we have redesigned Noir’s space to be a creative and regenerative space for processing and healing for community organizers, volunteers, and other community members. We have extended our hours to meet the demands of those working.
unapologetically B.L.A.C.K
Black Liberation thru
Arts, Culture, & Knowledge
Noir Collective AVL, a Black-owned boutique, art gallery, and bookstore featuring Black entrepreneurs, is located on “The Block” within the retail spaces of YMI Cultural Center, one of the oldest operating African American cultural centers in the United States.
With YMI as the hub, “The Block” was a thriving Black business district within one of Asheville’s Black communities, East End / Valley Street neighborhood.
And like many Black neighborhoods that thrived during Jim Crow South, this neighborhood, along with others in Asheville and around the country, was devastated by programs like Urban Renewal.
While we cannot change the past, we can look forward to an inclusive future.
39. S Market Street Suite C
828.484.2323
noircollectiveavl@gmail.com
Open: Tuesdays by appointment
Wednesday–Saturday 11am–6ish
“Amber Eyes,” by Jenny Pickens 2022
“Nobody is Free until Everybody is Free”
~ Fannie Lou Hamer
Our mission is simple, to bring Black back to The Block.
Arts
What is BLACK Art?
“What is Black art? Black art to me is anything created from Black hands. We are by nature creatives, inventors, skilled from the blood of our ancestors. Artist, cooks, musicians, dancers, visionaries and the list goes on. Regardless of the obstacles put in our way we have always been able to achieve Greatness. My art is a reflection of my cultural identity. A gift from my ancestors.” ~ Jenny Pickens
Open Conversations: Is AI Art a tool of oppression or accessibility for the BLACK artist?
“I think that the reason that I really wanted to do AI is because our kids need creative capacity… I needed a tool. I can’t draw. If I had a tool like this to expand my mind… We need something to innovate our community. My art is about innovation, is about transcending. All I’m about is representation. Where can you go and find Black art. This the only place you can go and find representation.”
~ Chasity Leake
We are a community.
Noir Collective AVL is a community network of wellness warriors, creative activists, and social justice visionaries, cultural keepers and peace makers.
We believe that in order to achieve collective liberation, our community needs to focus on opening greater opportunities for access, especially economically, that has been historically denied to African Americans and other people of color.
Our goal is to provide a passive income source to our current consignors.
Culture
We come from a family
of entrepreneurs
Ajax, age 20, started their first small business at age six. From hand stamped tee shirts and handmade swing skirts to selling lollipops at the local flea market, they’ve had a knack for business! They’ve also been publicly sharing their creative projects from a young age. Ajax grew up in a Montessori school, founded by their mom, and have learned best in collaborative environments, where differences can thrive and whole communities can learn from one another.
alexandria is a native New Yorker who moved to the South, her parents’ birthplace and decided to make a difference in the lives of women. She opened a women’s empowerment bookstore and then an art gallery for underground artists located in the heart of the White elite district of Broad Street, the line her grandmother warned her not to cross during childhood visits. Six years later, observing the need for quality education for families like hers, alexandria founded a Montessori school which she directed for 16 years. alexandria moved to Western NC in 2015 and is inspired by her young adult children, both of whom are also entrepreneurs.
BEYOND the HYPE
Ajax and alexandria in conversation with Black Enterprise: Creating an Ecosystem focused on B. L. A. C. K. (June 2023)
Local and regional artists, designers, and craftspeople
Latest news
from our Blog
Le Mot Noir
Weekly meetings are held in the the art gallery so that attendees are surrounded by the works of local Black artists, with the gatherings designed as a stream-of-consciousness writing and sharing session. Writers are also welcome to bring pieces that they are working...
Kinship
Come Visit Us
Noir Collective AVL is located at YMI Cultural Center in the historic Black business district of downtown Asheville referred to as The Block.