"Action Scene," by Timothy Ligon, 2009 oil pastel on paper, 17.5 x 24"

For more than 10 years, UNC Asheville has offered college classes at four regional correctional facilities. Inmate students have studied meteorology, psychology, public speaking and art, among other classes. Recently, art instructor Heather Lewis taught basic drawing classes at Avery Mitchell Correctional Facility in Spruce Pine. Work completed by the students will be on view at UNC Asheville this summer.

"Inmate Art," featuring some 40 drawings and collages by inmate students, will be on view June 30-August 28 at UNC Asheville's Blowers Gallery, located on the main floor of Ramsey Library. An opening reception will be held 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, in the gallery. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

"The exhibition will show a selection of both formal class work and personal, experimental drawings that reflect some of the students' concerns, ideas or circumstances," said Lewis.

UNC Asheville classes offered at regional correctional facilities are part of a federally funded program that allows inmates to earn college credits and begin building a transcript. To participate, inmates must be 25 years old or younger, within five years of release, have a high school diploma or GED, be able to read at a 10th-grade level. In addition, they must not have committed violent crimes. Some 1,900 local inmates have taken UNC Asheville classes.

Blowers Gallery, located on the main floor of UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library, is open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.