Haywood Street Congregation

Haywood Street Congregation gathers the best assets of the Asheville, North Carolina community to provide support for mentally ill, addicted, and unhoused adults. The organization’s mission and ministry are wide ranging and innovative, knit together around the theme of Holy Chaos. In 2019, Haywood Street embarked on a signature project that would bring more visitors to their sanctuary to experience the congregation firsthand. More awareness will bring much needed financial support, allowing the community to realize more of its mission.

Specifically, the fresco is “Affirming sacred worth, restoring human dignity, and sabotaging the shame of poverty, the Haywood Street Fresco announces, in plaster and pigment, that you matter.” This vision draws on a tradition of traditional fresco painting as perpetuated by formally trained artists living and working in Western North Carolina. The fresco, located within the sanctuary at the Haywood Street Congregation, is now a stop on the Blue Ridge Fresco Trail as well as the Asheville Mural Trail.

Outcomes

  • The commissioned mosaic in the main sanctuary at the Haywood Street Congregation is part of the North Carolina Fresco Trail and helps to attract tourists to the mission and ministry of this unique organization. Heurista worked with volunteers and staff to develop a online preview of the fresco to help potential visitors better understand what they would be seeing and how it fit into the work of the Haywood Street Congregation. Access to the digital content and additional storytelling is presented in the welcome center, providing interpretation for visitors.

  • Using the digital story telling platform, Philanthrosphere®, Heurista worked with the fresco planning committee to provide a virtual tour with media rich stories, multiple displays, and interconnected content. Now anyone can explore the fresco themes, models, artists, and donors in context with the larger Haywood congregation mission and ministry. In addition to explaining the fresco, the portal provides recognition for those who have provided support for the project and encourages additional giving.

  • The digital tour allows viewers to learn more about the fresco and how it fits into the orignaization’s mission.

  • The digital content provides information on all services offered by the Haywood Street Congregation.

  • A scalable version of the finished mosiac allows for remote viewing.

  • The artisans who created the mosaic are featured .

  • Individuals from the community served as models for the fresco.

  • Easily updated stories loop in the welcome center.

  • Personal stories convey why people choose to support the organization.

  • Donors are recognized with personalized content.

  • A campus map helps prepare visitors visitors for arrival.